Classics Challenge 3: Our Mutual Friend

My third Back to the Classics Challenge read was Our Mutual Friend by Charles Dickens. This was for the A 19th Century Classic category, any book published between 1800 and 1899. OMF was published serially between 1864 and 1865. It is a chunkster of a book at over 800 pages and it is also a crazy read!

The book has many different storylines and all of them weave together to show the contrast between the haves and have-nots and that there are good and bad people in both groups -- and that moving from one group to the other may change how good or bad you remain. I honestly couldn't get enough of this story. After a couple hundred pages, I downloaded the audiobook so that I could keep going even when the heavy book wasn't convenient to lug around. (Simon Vance's narration was fantastic! I think it might have been my first audiobook of his.) Some might find the beginning slow as all of the different groups and people are introduced but the wait was worth it. Dickens was much more progressive in this story on some of the things readers complain about in his earlier novels. I can only hope that this was because his views matured and not just that the times changed and he was writing to the audience.

Pinching my pennies,
K

Manga Classics: Great Expectations

I read this Manga Classics version of Charles Dickens' Great Expectations back at the beginning of May but, because it reads from the back, it ended up on my review stack without the spine showing and I completely forgot about it!

I was super curious about this one when I was offered a review copy and luckily it didn't disappoint. I'm not sure that it would be a good starting point for readers completely unfamiliar with the story because it cuts a bunch out and skips around but, for fans of the original, I think this is a great companion book. It takes some of the most interesting parts of the classic tale and gives them life. If you would like to see a preview of the art and story, visit the catalog website. I particularly liked revisiting the relationship between Pip and Joe Gargery and I loved the way that Miss Havisham was drawn, beautiful but broken.

Some of the other Manga Classics titles are Pride and Prejudice, Sense and Sensibility, Les Misérables, and the one I think I will look for next, Jane Eyre. I would also love to see them tackle Wilkie Collins at some point!

Enjoying a different view,
K

#MarchMagics - Dodger

The first book I'm going to mention for March Magics, Dodger by Terry Pratchett, isn't one I read this year. I actually listened to it as I wrapped Christmas presents in December. But the reason that I think it's a great one to share with all of you is that it isn't what you might expect from Pratchett if you're only familiar with his Discworld books.

The titular Dodger is a young man who is a tosher, someone who searches the sewers under Victorian London for valuables. His most priceless find, though, ends up being a young woman that he rescues from some very seedy men. Dodger then begins a journey through social strata, running into the likes of Dickens, Disraeli, and, eventually, making it all the way to the top.

There was so much to like about this story! There were amazing historical details, amusing uses of historical personages, harrowing moments, and also extremely touching ones. It was also just incredibly fun! Dodger is an amazing character and I plan to reread this book many times to spend more time with him.

If you're looking for a book to read this month but aren't really into fantasy/sci-fi, this would be a perfect choice. Pratchett is an amazing author no matter what the genre.

Toshing for the best reads,
K

New Release: Wilkie Collins

I was very excited to be offered a copy of Peter Ackroyd's new Ackroyd's Brief Lives entry, Wilkie Collins. 'Tis the season where one cannot help but choose one of Wilkie's brilliant stories to indulge in as the wintry gloom approaches. And what better way to preface a Collins read (mine was The Law and the Lady this year) than by learning more about the man himself.

Small in size (not unlike Collins himself), this book nevertheless covers Wilkie's life, including so many scandals and illnesses. It was an easy read and I appreciated the opportunity to flesh out those things I already knew about one of my favorite authors. It was obvious while reading that he is also one of Ackroyd's favorites and it produced a feeling of veracity about the facts in the book -- both from faith that Ackroyd was diligent in his research and also trust that he viewed Collins' actions in a more sympathetic light that some other biographers.

I have really enjoyed Ackroyd's non-fiction (including London Under) and fiction (featuring an RIP read from five years ago) and look forward to picking up his Brief Lives volume about Poe (and eventually getting back to the very large London: The Biography).

Solving the mystery,
K

A Visit (or Two) to Dickens Junction

Recently I was offered a book for review that turned out to be the second in a series and was also based on a book I hadn't read yet but wanted to. So thus began my reading project of the last month or so.

First up was, logically, the first Dickens Junction Mystery, The Christmas Carol Murders by Christopher Lord. I was excited about reading this one. It promised many elements that I enjoy -- a cozy mystery, a beautiful Oregon setting and a tie-in to a well-known story from one of my favorite authors.

Dickens Junction is a fictional town just outside of beautiful Astoria, on the northern coast of Oregon. It was founded by the main character's uncle, Ebenezer Dickens, as a place to celebrate the life and philosophies of his ancestor, Charles Dickens. Simon Alastair was adopted by his uncle after he lost his parents and he grew up in this small community. But now he's a wealthy heir and benefactor to the town -- and he also runs the town's bookstore, Pip's Pages. But one day Mervyn Roark, an acquisitions man for a mysterious company named Marley Enterprises, comes to town and buys an Ayn Rand book from the store, and thus begins a battle between the benevolent philosophies of Dickens and the more uncharitable ones of Rand.

Though this book would be filed as a cozy mystery, it really is a tale of tolerance and friendship, from the fledgling romance of the main character (who happens to be gay) to the support each community member offers up when the big bad corporation comes to town. Whether this is more of a commentary on small towns or on the philosophies of Dickens, I'm not entirely sure, but I did enjoy this aspect of the book. It made me immediately want to travel south and find this town. As for the murders, the victims were predictable but the murderer was not. And the romance was sweet and not one I would normally encounter in much of my reading so I enjoyed the diversion. My only complaint about the book is that there was just a bit too much description of what each character was wearing in every scene, down to brand names and fabrics. I didn't feel these descriptions added anything to the story and could have easily been edited out.

The newly-released second book in the series, The Edwin Drood Murders, posed a bit of a problem for me. I hadn't yet read Charles Dickens' The Mystery of Edwin Drood though it had been on my TBR for a while. Now, these mysteries still work even if you just have a passing knowledge of The Inimitable Boz (Dickens) and his novels but I saw this as a chance to clear another book off my TBR so I read the Dickens first. I'm going to save my discussion of that book for my next post but I will say that it did enhance my reading of this book.

It is a few months after the events of the first book and the United States Chapter (Western Sector) International Society of Droodists is hosting a conference in Astoria. These are scholars and fans of Dickens' last and only half-finished novel. There are a couple of late registrants mixed in with the regular (and still highly irregular) attendees and it isn't long before suspicions develop after some significant thefts and, ultimately, murder.

This was a good follow-up to the first novel. Simon and his boyfriend Zach make sense as a detecting team, one as a trusted local and the other as a resourceful journalist. The Dickens plot is again somewhat peripheral to the mystery but provides an interesting framework for suspicion. There isn't as much of a moral message in this story as there was in the first one but I think it was actually a stronger mystery.

I thought I had seen something about the next book in the series but now I can't find anything about it so I'll have to wait a while longer to see what's next for Simon and the Junxonians. Fingers crossed for Bleak House!

Enjoying a little homage with my murders,
K

Summer Project: London -- Update Two

source

My summer London project is winding down now but I have a few more London books to share with you that I read this summer --

I finished Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens in a fairly short time. It was full of coincidences and unfortunate events that strained belief but I thought Dickens did a very good job of portraying the lives of the poor and the orphaned and those who either attempted to help them or used them to their own benefit. Though one of his more "issues" based novels, it was surprisingly not very preachy or wordy. There is definitely quite a bit of sarcasm in it (which I enjoyed). The portrayal of London as a place where one can just as easily be found as lost was also fascinating. Though a more violent novel, I think it's also one of Dickens' more accessible ones and I'm happy to now understand many of the references to this novel that I've encountered over the years.

Next I moved forward in time to Consequences by Penelope Lively, a journey through generations from the 1920s through modern days. With many different personalities and relationships, I thought this was a fascinating story. It was my first Penelope Lively and if her books are all as quiet and touching as this one, I'm sure I'll find my way back to her soon. As for London, it was interesting to see how a home and a neighborhood changed over time in what was once an affluent area.

The Name of the Star by Maureen Johnson was one that I was going to save for the RIP challenge but then I was in the mood for something more modern after all of this summer spent mostly with a London of the past. What I got was one of the most "YA" books I've ever read. It took me a while to get into it, into the teenage awkwardness and drama, but once the supernatural part of the story started, I was hooked. There was a very terrifying villain and the main character, Rory, was interesting and convincing in all of her "teenness". This story took me back into the underground areas of London but also gave me a look at boarding schools and pubs. Quite fun and I look forward to the next book in the series, The Madness Underneath.

Finally, I had a hankering for some Agatha Christie and I still have a couple of unread novels sitting on my TBR, mostly those that feature Poirot and were made into tv films. I had to wait long enough until I couldn't remember the solution anymore so that they would be interesting reads. Hickory Dickory Dock is a boarding house mystery full of unlikeable twenty-somethings. With plenty of mentions of race relations (and some of Dame Agatha's own questionable descriptions of those non-white characters), this was a look into the workings of the succotash (please tell me a better word for it if you have one!) that is London.

This might be the end of my London reading for the summer. It was a really interesting experience to see so many different ages and sides of a single city and its people. One day I'll get to visit London and hopefully fill in the gaps that must exist after only learning about the city from books. I can't wait.

Letting my anglophilia shine,
K

A Week of Gift Ideas: For The Classics Reader

There are tons of options out there for readers who want to collect attractive copies of classics but, honestly, some just aren't that affordable (I still only have one of the clothbound Penguins -- The Woman in White). With the new Classic Lines series from Splinter (Sterling), you can get high presentation value classics at a much more reasonable cost (read: you could gift almost three books instead of one!).

With French flaps and printed end papers on sturdy paperbacks, these classics, designed by fashion illustrator Sara Singh, are gorgeous. I've already fallen for her Pip. I wish I could show you the back of Great Expectations because it's wonderful too -- a set table that obviously belongs to Miss Havisham and the quote "you are part of my existence, part of myself ..." (which is also on the endpapers).

The available titles are Emma, Great Expectations, Wuthering Heights, Jane Eyre, Pride and Prejudice, and Sense and Sensibility.

I think the colors on this Emma are gorgeous! And at $8.95 apiece, it would be easy to buy all six to start a young reader's classic library. I hope that the series expands too. I would love to see an Anne of Green Gables or a My Antonia in this style.

Celebrating the marriage of art and the written word,
K

A Year of Dickens: A Tale of Two Cities

I've done it. I finished my reread of A Tale of Two Cities, the bane of my high school existence. Twenty-some years ago, if I hadn't already read and loved David Copperfield, it might have been the end of my still short relationship with Charles Dickens. My sophomore English teacher, who I really liked despite the TOTC project, ruined this book for me by beating us over the head with themes, setting, characters, personification and all kinds of other evils. And so, even when picking up the book now, I couldn't help but notice some of the things that I was forced to evaluate many years ago. Yet, I was able to overcome and become absorbed in the plot and social commentary and I found myself actually enjoying my reread. I mean, how can anyone truly dislike a novel that contains both one of the best first lines of a book and also, arguably, the best last line as well. I also enjoyed Dickens' wit and I thought he was very fair in presenting both sides of the French Revolution. And, though not packed with wonderful characters, there were still a few gems in this one, like Mr. Jarvis Lorry, Miss Pross and Jerry Cruncher.

I don't know if I will ever read this story again but at least I no longer associate it with intense misery. Success!

In a far, far better place,
K

A Year of Dickens: His Best Never-Used Titles

Today's edition of Shelf Awareness for Readers had the following Dickens-related story in it today and I couldn't resist sharing!

The fake library of Charles Dickens. According to Lists of Note, in 1851 Charles Dickens decided to fill two spaces in the study of his new house "with bookcases containing fake books, the witty titles of which he had invented. And so, on October 22nd, he wrote to a bookbinder named Thomas Robert Eeles and supplied him with the following 'list of imitation book-backs' to be produced."

My favorite is probably the first one, History of a Short Chancery Suit, but I also love Drowsy's Recollections of Nothing. 3 vols and Munchausen's Modern Miracles. 4 vols. And now that I've looked up "Hansard", I absolutely love Hansard's Guide to Refreshing Sleep. As many volumes as possible.


From Wikipedia --

Hansard is the name of the printed transcripts of parliamentary debates in the Westminster system of government. It is named after Thomas Curson Hansard, an early printer and publisher of these transcripts.

Having a chuckle,
K

In Celebration of His 200th Birthday: A Year of Dickens

Charles Dickens, from Wikipedia

For Edgar Allan Poe's 200th birthday in 2009, I launched my Poe Fridays event, in which I read Poe almost every week for an entire year (read the wrap-up post). For Charles Dickens' 200th birthday, which is today, I can't imagine doing anything less. I probably won't read Dickens every week, because as much as I love him it would hurt my brain, but I will definitely use the coming year to celebrate him as much as possible.

Here is a tentative plan based on the books I own (links are to my previous reviews/mentions) --

Re-Reads

Great Expectations

David Copperfield

A Tale of Two Cities

A Christmas Carol

Complete Ghost Stories (as collected by Wordsworth Classics)

First Time Reads

Oliver Twist

The Pickwick Papers

Nicholas Nickleby

Little Dorrit

The Old Curiosity Shop

The Mystery of Edwin Drood

Those are eleven of the books I have in the house. I also have Bleak House but I'm not sure if I want to do a re-read of that Chancery chunkster (even though I really liked it) or if I should choose another book to read for the first time -- maybe The Pickwick Papers or Our Mutual Friend.

I also plan to read Claire Tomalin's Charles Dickens: A Life during the year and I might even re-read some of my favorite modern Dickens fiction like The Last Dickens by Matthew Pearl or Mr. Timothy by Louis Bayard. And, as an extra special gift for today, I bought myself The Dickens Bicentennary by Lucinda Dickens Hawksley and I chose the picture book A Boy Called Dickens by Deborah Hopkinson and John Hendrix for Z. We're going to start our Year of Dickens today!

And, as can only be expected, I will likely watch some film and miniseries versions of my favorites -- like the 1999 David Copperfield with the cutest little Daniel Radcliffe you ever saw as David, the brilliant Maggie Smith as Betsey Trotwood, and Bob Hoskins as the perfect Micawber.

As is the case with most of my personal challenges, I would love to have you join me, even through just one Dickens novel this year, but I am not setting up anything official. I'm definitely open to group reads though if there's any interest. As I said, I will be slowly reading Tomalin's biography over the next few months. And, I've been thinking about which novel to start with for February and have decided on A Tale of Two Cities, mostly because it's sitting partially read on my nightstand right now. As this is one of his shorter and most popular books, it would be a good starting place for many of you Dickens novices. After all, "[i]t was the best of times, it was the worst of times ..."

Happy birthday, Mr. Dickens,

K

"Not so tiny any more, that's a fact."

I received Louis Bayard's Mr. Timothy for Christmas last year and ended up saving it to read this year due to its holiday setting. This is the story of the adult Timothy Cratchit, a.k.a. "Tiny Tim" from Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol. Things have changed for Tim -- his parents are both dead as are some of his siblings, he no longer has a cane and braces but only walks with a slight limp and, perhaps saddest of all, he turns out to have never been the pious, optimistic child that we saw through Dickens' eyes.

Timothy is homeless right after his father's funeral but ends up with a room in a brothel. He doesn't patronize the business but rather helps the madam learn to read. Things are relatively comfortable for Tim until one day when he sees a young girl dead in the street a few blocks from his home. As Tim passes by the scene, he notices a strange brand on her arm -- a G with demonic eyes in the middle. As he dredges the Thames with an old sailor friend, Gully, looking for bodies worth money to grieving families and medical colleges, they bring up another girl with the same brand and appearance. Eventually, Tim feels compelled to investigate and find out what is happening to these girls. Joined by a street urchin named Colin and a frightened young Italian girl named Philomela, Timothy works to rid London of a horrific evil and also to exorcise his own demons of guilt and self-doubt.

Published in 2003, this is Bayard's first historical mystery and while it didn't have the same polish as his others (The Pale Blue Eye starring a young Edgar Allan Poe and The Black Tower about the missing Dauphin in Paris), this book easily transported me back to Victorian London. There were characters like the kind-hearted and optimistic Gully who could have been penned by Dickens himself. My only real issue with this novel was my decision to read it at Christmas time. Though it is based on A Christmas Carol, it is a dark and sometimes gut-wrenching story that was difficult to read in a time of happiness. Still, i enjoyed it and Mr. Bayard remains one of my authors to follow.

Appreciating comfort and joy,
K


Support our site and buy Mr. Timothy on Amazon or find it at your local library. We bought our own copy.

New Release: The Last Dickens

After my recent disappointment with Dan Simmons' Drood, I was excited to see that an author that I enjoy had also just written about Dickens' final unfinished novel The Mystery of Edwin Drood. This book is The Last Dickens by Matthew Pearl, released last week by Random House.

The main character in this book is the non-fictional James Osgood, a Boston publisher with Ticknor and Fields (which later became Fields, Osgood, & Company). This was the publishing house for such notables as Whitman, Longfellow, Emerson and later Mark Twain. They had the American publishing rights for Charles Dickens' later works and this novel concerns the time when, after hearing of Dickens' passing, Osgood and a female bookkeeper are forced to travel to England to search for the possible remaining parts of the story of Edwin Drood. They are in a race against time as the Americans don't respect British copyrights so as soon as other firms (in this case the Harper brothers) get copies of the Drood manuscript, they will begin printing their own competing copies of the novel. Osgood and Miss Sand are also being thwarted and menaced by an unknown villain who is seeking the same manuscript for his own personal reasons.

This book is a fascinating look into the publishing industry in America and is also a very compassionate and compelling look at the final years of Dickens. The mystery presented in this book is strong and I appreciated that there was no supernatural element in the story, as there was in Drood. This book also addresses the entry of women into the workforce and the hurdles they faced both in and out of the workplace. All of the historical information in this novel is incorporated seamlessly and it has a very authentic feel. I really enjoyed this book and was only disappointed that it mentioned Wilkie Collins in passing but did not have him as a character.

I recommend this book and if you haven't read Pearl's other novels, The Poe Shadow and The Dante Club, they are also books that feature authors as characters and are very well researched and written.

Wishing that no novel was left unfinished,
K


Buy The Last Dickens: A Novel on Amazon or find it at your local library.

Rerun Sunday: David Copperfield

K is traveling this week and so we will be revisiting some posts from the early days of WeBeReading ... the David Copperfield mini-series is reshowing on Masterpiece Classic right now. You can watch it online for a limited time as well.

"Whether I shall turn out to be the hero of my own life, or whether that station will be held by anybody else, these pages must show."

I didn't set out for my first two books in this favorites list to both be by Charles Dickens but I happened to watch a David Copperfield Masterpiece Theatre this past weekend and it has put me in the mood to discuss this book. This was written when Dickens was in his 30s and is thought to be his most autobiographical. This book contains one of the most lovable Dickens characters in Mr. Micawber and arguably (not really - it's a given) the most repulsive one -- Uriah Heep. It is hard to write a summary of a Dickens book because he writes about dozens of characters so I will give you the briefest one possible.

David is a boy who, as he says, is born "a posthumous child" -- after the death of his father. He lives a happy childhood with his mother and their servant Peggotty. When he is still young, his mother remarries a Mr. Murdstone who turns out to be the prototypical evil stepfather. David is sent away to school for a brief time and while he is there, his mother dies. Murdstone recalls him home and tells him that he is now on his own and sends him to London to work in a factory. Eventually he runs away from this horrible life to try his luck with his aunt, Miss Betsey Trotwood. She decides to take guardianship of him and this time he goes to Canterbury to study and become a gentleman and a man of business. Many sad and unfortunate things happen to him and those he loves but he constantly moves forward. Through all of this and through the following years, he retains his innocence and good nature even while coming into contact with treacherous and vile people. On the other hand, he is also rewarded with true friends and true love.

That seems like a very poor summary of the book because much of the value of it is in the well-written and diverse characters: Peggotty and her father Mr. Peggotty, Em'ly and Ham (Peggotty's cousins), Steerforth (David's school friend), Betsey Trotwood and her simple-minded friend Mr. Dick, the Micawber family that David lives with while he works in the factory in London, Mr. Wickfield and his daughter Agnes who David lives with when his aunt sends him to study, and finally the repulsive Uriah Heep. Each of these characters has something to add to the story which is why David, in starting the book, uses the words that he does -- that he may or may not be the hero of his own story.

This book is often overlooked because of the simple title and the prejudice against Dickens but it is really a fantastic story. If you aren't sure about it, I suggest that you watch the fantastic miniseries. It has Daniel Radcliffe (Harry Potter) as the young David Copperfield and other stars of British cinema including Bob Hoskins, Maggie Smith and Ian McKellen.

Worshipping at the altar of Dickens,
K


Buy David Copperfield on Amazon or find it at your local library.

Early Review: Drood

When I was offered the chance to read a novel starring two of my favorite authors as the main characters, Wilkie Collins (as narrator) and Charles Dickens, I jumped at the chance. Drood, written by Dan Simmons, is a psychological thriller based in Victorian London. Charles Dickens is in a life-changing train accident -- perhaps too life-changing. Has he become part of a dark underworld of drug addicts, murderers and mind-controlled minions? His friend Wilkie Collins follows him to the lowest depths to find the answers.

Simmons obviously did copious amounts of research and he has possibly included every biographical fact about Dickens and Collins that is available. He has written a very tangible portrait of London, especially its seamy underbelly, in the late 19th century. Unfortunately, I didn't enjoy this book as I thought I would. Many of the highly positive reviews I have read of the novel mention that the reader hasn't read much or any of Dickens or Collins books. I, on the other hand, have read many of their stories and I just didn't find the writing convincing as the work of a 19th century novelist, especially Collins, whose style I am very familiar with. The writing isn't bad, it just isn't this particular novelist's voice.

I also disliked the way that Dickens and Collins were portrayed. I have read books where some of my literary heroes, both fictional (Sherlock Holmes) and non-fictional (Edgar Allan Poe), have been turned into villains but they were still always written as true to character. This book takes liberties with the character and habits of these men to a degree that I was uncomfortable with. I worry that this book could give people false impressions of these men and their works.

I did enjoy the way that Simmons incorporated novels such as Bleak House and The Moonstone into the book. There were some interesting insights into the books and the process of writing a serialized novel. I also appreciated the emphasis on some of the social issues of the time -- the same issues that Dickens himself wrote about -- especially poverty.

This was a unique story but I think that some parts were just a bit too far-fetched and violent and the ending seemed rushed. After over 750 pages, I would have appreciated a bit more closure. If you haven't read any books by Charles Dickens or Wilkie Collins and are interested in them, go pick up a nice Oxford edition and read the biographical information at the beginning. If you want a Victorian thriller and don't mind if the characters are true-to-life, this book is for the most part entertaining. Drood is available on February 9th.

Avoiding the seamy side of town,
K


Buy Drood: A Novel on Amazon or find it at your local library.

"London. Michaelmas Term lately over, and the Lord Chancellor sitting in Lincoln's Inn Hall."

If any book title seemed designed to detract readers from approaching a book, I believe it would have to be Bleak House. Charles Dickens' first sentence doesn't offer much hope for an interesting book either. However, it turns out that Bleak House has some amazing characters, a mysterious plot and relatively little of Dickens' legendary long and tedious descriptions.

The main narrator of the story is Esther Summerson, an orphan who knows nothing of the circumstances of her birth or life before being placed with her current guardian. She is only told that her birth was a disgrace to her mother and herself. When this guardian dies, she gains the much more sympathetic and kind guardian, John Jarndyce, who also does not know anything of Esther's history. He also becomes guardian to two of his young cousins who are wards of the court -- Richard and Ada. Bleak House is the story of Esther's discovery of her true circumstances, Richard and Ada's love story, and many friendships and deeds, both good and bad.

The first two chapters of this book are difficult to get through but you become completely engaged in the story in the third chapter when Esther begins her narration. The most difficult (but rather essential) plot element of the story is a long-standing lawsuit over an inheritance called "Jarndyce and Jarndyce". It is this suit that holds up the futures of Richard and Ada as they wait in vain for an end to the litigation that has lasted generations. It is also this suit that causes John Jarndyce to take in his cousins and to try and break the suffocating hold that the suit has had over his family. Bleak House, the appellation of the Jarndyce home, is in fact a name that was established by a former Jarndyce who tried to resolve the court case but instead lost his hope and eventually took his own life over the futility of progressing anything through the courts of England.

As in all other Dickens stories, we receive his social commentary, discover kindness and dignity among the lower classes and shamefully bad behaviour by some who could afford to act better. I'm glad that I finally read this novel and would suggest it to anyone who enjoys Dickens and has a couple of weeks of free reading time.

Pondering the little kindnesses,
K


Buy Bleak House on Amazon or find it at your local library.

Favorite Book Number Two: David Copperfield

"Whether I shall turn out to be the hero of my own life, or whether that station will be held by anybody else, these pages must show."

I didn't set out for my first two books in this favorites list to both be by Charles Dickens but I happened to watch a David Copperfield Masterpiece Theatre this past weekend and it has put me in the mood to discuss this book. This was written when Dickens was in his 30s and is thought to be his most autobiographical. This book contains one of the most lovable Dickens characters in Mr. Micawber and arguably (not really - it's a given) the most repulsive one -- Uriah Heep. It is hard to write a summary of a Dickens book because he writes about dozens of characters so I will give you the briefest one possible.

David is a boy who, as he says, is born "a posthumous child" -- after the death of his father. He lives a happy childhood with his mother and their servant Peggotty. When he is still young, his mother remarries a Mr. Murdstone who turns out to be the prototypical evil stepfather. David is sent away to school for a brief time and while he is there, his mother dies. Murdstone recalls him home and tells him that he is now on his own and sends him to London to work in a factory. Eventually he runs away from this horrible life to try his luck with his aunt, Miss Betsey Trotwood. She decides to take guardianship of him and this time he goes to Canterbury to study and become a gentleman and a man of business. Many sad and unfortunate things happen to him and those he loves but he constantly moves forward. Through all of this and through the following years, he retains his innocence and good nature even while coming into contact with treacherous and vile people. On the other hand, he is also rewarded with true friends and true love.

That seems like a very poor summary of the book because much of the value of it is in the well-written and diverse characters: Peggotty and her father Mr. Peggotty, Em'ly and Ham (Peggotty's cousins), Steerforth (David's school friend), Betsey Trotwood and her simple-minded friend Mr. Dick, the Micawber family that David lives with while he works in the factory in London, Mr. Wickfield and his daughter Agnes who David lives with when his aunt sends him to study, and finally the repulsive Uriah Heep. Each of these characters has something to add to the story which is why David, in starting the book, uses the words that he does -- that he may or may not be the hero of his own story.

This book is often overlooked because of the simple title and the prejudice against Dickens but it is really a fantastic story. If you aren't sure about it, I suggest that you watch the fantastic miniseries. It has Daniel Radcliffe (Harry Potter) as the young David Copperfield and other stars of British cinema including Bob Hoskins, Maggie Smith and Ian McKellen.

Worshipping at the altar of Dickens,
K


Buy David Copperfield on Amazon or find it at your local library.

31 Books for Fall Spooks

I made this list of 31 books from my own collection that I think are befitting the spooky season that is autumn. Fall has already made an appearance here in the Pacific Northwest as we've had the hints of a chill in the air and plenty of rain. Halloween is a favorite time of year in our house and these books are some of my favorites. I don't expect anyone to read a book a day in October but feel free to use this list to find some good horror, mystery and suspense reads.

1. Murder on the Leviathan – Boris Akunin
2. Northanger Abbey – Jane Austen
3. The Pale Blue Eye – Louis Bayard
4. Lady Audley's Secret – Mary Elizabeth Braddon
5. Wuthering Heights – Emily Bronte
6. The Melancholy Death of Oyster Boy and Other Stories – Tim Burton
7. And Then There Were None – Agatha Christie
8. Hallowe'en Party (Hercule Poirot) – Agatha Christie
9. The Ladies of Grace Adieu and Other Stories – Susanna Clarke
10. The Haunted Hotel – Wilkie Collins
11. The Book of Lost Things – John Connolly
12. The Meaning of Night: A Confession – Michael Cox
13. Roald Dahl's Book of Ghost Stories – Roald Dahl
14. Best Ghost Stories – Charles Dickens
15. The Stolen Child – Keith Donohue
16. The Historian – Elizabeth Kostova
17. The Phantom of the Opera – Gaston Leroux
18. The Dream Stealer – Gregory Maguire
19. Lost: A Novel – Gregory Maguire
20. The Lighthouse at the End of the World – Stephen Marlowe
21. The Dante Club – Matthew Pearl
22. The Portrait – Iain Pears
23. The Raven and Other Stories – Edgar Allan Poe
24. Vincent Price: A Daughter's Biography – Victoria Price
25. The Shadow of the Wind – Carlos Ruiz Zafon
26. The Thirteenth Tale – Diane Setterfield
27. Frankenstein – Mary Shelley
28. Into the Mummy's Tomb – John Richard Stephens, editor
29. Dracula – Bram Stoker
30. Brat Farrar – Josephine Tey
31. The Picture of Dorian Gray – Oscar Wilde

If you choose any of these books to read this season, come back to this post and let me know what you thought of them!

Boo!
K