After the sensational BBC adaptation of Great Expectations over Christmas and the success of the international celebration that is the Dickens 2012 event, it has been hard to avoid the fact this year sees us celebrate 200 years of Charles Dickens on 7 February, the bicentenary of his birth. With a Hollywood version of Great Expectations also released later this year, and various other activities planned across the world, now is the perfect time to celebrate one of the world’s favourite writers. The man who created some of the best-loved characters and books in literary history still remains a contemporary influence, and here at the Book People we have a brilliant collection of sixteen of his most famous novels at a great price of just £26, with free postage.
We thought we’d take a look at some of our personal favourites of his creations in a little more detail:
Fagin (Oliver Twist): A character that you just can’t trust but won’t forget in a hurry, Fagin runs a school for thieves and is even described as “disgusting” by Dickens. Teaching the likes of the Artful Dodger and Oliver to pickpocket to survive the mean streets of London, he also lets them live in squalor. A complex individual with links to many of the characters Oliver encounters on his journey, he manages to be funny and creepy at the same time.
Ebenezer Scrooge (A Christmas Carol): With this character, Dickens managed to create someone who has become synonymous with Christmas, even if he was lacking in festive spirit. A mean penny-pinching gentleman who was horrible to employees, his life takes an unexpected turn when he is visited first by the ghost of his former partner, Jacob Marley, and then by three more mysterious spirits that all attempt to show him the error of his ways. Scrooge was just unforgettable in every way.
Nicholas Nickleby (Nicholas Nickleby): A flawed hero, young Nicholas takes it upon himself to look after his financially poor family following the sudden death of his father, and feels a duty to protect them. A fiercely loyal boy with a ferocious temper, sometimes he lets his naivety get the better of him and Dickens hints that his emotional outbursts are due to the sudden situation he finds himself in. The tumultuous relationship between him and his evil, greedy Uncle Ralph is fascinating to read.
David Copperfield (David Copperfield): Dickens’s “favourite child”, David Copperfield has an element of an autobiographical creation about him. The novel is told through his eyes and follows him from childhood to adult life, and the optimistic, idealistic character encounters many unforgettable people, including Uriah Heep and Aunt Betsey Trotwood. Beset by tragedy throughout his life, David perseveres relentlessly as he embarks on working life from a young age and finds love and loss.
Miss Havisham (Great Expectations): The wealthy spinster who was jilted on the morning of her wedding and then vowed to seek revenge on men. Stopping her clocks, locking herself away in her rotting mansion and wearing her wedding dress forever more, she adopts a young girl called Estella and vows to use her in a vengeful mission against the opposite sex, with Pip a central figure in her cruel game. Miss Havisham is a memorable and manic individual.
Mr Micawber (David Copperfield): Wilkins Micawber was an industrious individual who would always be willing to help others, but could hardly look after himself and his family. At times pompous, vain and careless with money, these faults were offset by his kind and generous nature as he lived in hopeful expectation – even when in debtors’ prison. An eloquent but extremely funny character stuck in a woeful financial situation.
Little Dorrit (Little Dorrit): Born in a debtor’s prison, Amy ‘Little’ Dorrit spends her entire life caring for her imprisoned father and numerous others, including Mrs Clennam. Her son Arthur is so taken with her sweet charm that he tries to get her Dad out of jail. When the Dorrits fall into money, she is the only member of the family not to get carried away with this new-found wealth. A kind and friendly soul that is always willing to help others, even in the confines of the prison.
Mr Pickwick (The Pickwick Papers): The president of the Pickwick Club, Samuel Pickwick is a kind and amiable gentleman who loves his life. Journeying across the English countryside, it is up to him and three other members of the club to report back on their findings to those back in London, showing the difference between country and city life. A wealthy, portly older man that was described in tremendous detail by Dickens, the amiable Mr Pickwick was the protagonist of Dickens’ first novel.
The Artful Dodger (Oliver Twist): A skilled pickpocket with a heart, The Artful Dodger Jack Dawkins plays a huge part in the narrative of Oliver Twist, as he is the leader of the child criminals that have been trained by Fagin. Although only still a young child, he acts much older, wearing adult’s clothes that complement his cheeky personality. He takes Oliver under his wing and offers him streetwise advice on how best to steal, but in a way that has kept readers laughing for years.
Little Nell (The Old Curiosity Shop): Orphan Nell Trent lives a lonely life with her elderly grandfather in his shop, and takes him to the Midlands to start a life as a beggar when he gets into money trouble. Happy to just live on the bare minimum, she has a positive attitude that helps make her journey around the country feel magical, until tragedy strikes. Little Nell is a remarkable and inspirational heroine that is widely hailed as one of Dickens’s greatest creations.
To choose only ten characters was tough, but this can only be a testament to Dickens’s ability in creating people that you really care about. Who are your favourites from his fantastic body of work? And who have we missed out?
The Charles Dickens Collection includes:
• David Copperfield
• Little Dorrit
• Hard Times
• The Old Curiosity Shop
• Martin Chuzzlewit
• The Pickwick Papers
• Oliver Twist
• A Tale of Two Cities
• A Christmas Carol
• Dombey and Son
• Nicholas Nickelby
• Bleak House
• Edwin Drood
• Great Expectations
• Our Mutual Friend
• Barnaby Rudge
