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The Life of Charles Dickens
LARGER THAN LIFE
When British writer Charles Dickens died in 1870, the whole world mourned. Dickens’s fame as an author was unprecedented: His novels, issued in installments, reached untold thousands of readers in Europe and America. He traveled widely, even paying two extended visits to the United States. And when, later in life, Dickens began giving public readings of his works, he consistently played to sold-out houses. This newly abridged, beautifully illustrated edition of the very first Dickens biography—written by his close friend and confidant John Forster and reissued in celebration of the two-hundredth anniversary of Dickens’s birth—presents a vibrant, up-close picture of the brightest literary star of the Victorian era.
When British writer Charles Dickens died in 1870, the whole world mourned. Dickens’s fame as an author was unprecedented: His novels, issued in installments, reached untold thousands of readers in Europe and America. He traveled widely, even paying two extended visits to the United States. And when, later in life, Dickens began giving public readings of his works, he consistently played to sold-out houses. This newly abridged, beautifully illustrated edition of the very first Dickens biography—written by his close friend and confidant John Forster and reissued in celebration of the two-hundredth anniversary of Dickens’s birth—presents a vibrant, up-close picture of the brightest literary star of the Victorian era.
512 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1874
56 people are currently reading
458 people want to read
About the author
John Forster
522 books10 followersJohn Forster (1812-1876) was an English biographer, a critic and a friend of Charles Dickens. He contributed to The True Sun, The Morning Chronicle and The Examiner, of which he was literary and dramatic critic. His Lives of the Statesmen of the Commonwealth (1836-1839), published in 1840, obtained immediate recognition, making Forster a prominent figure in a distinguished circle of literary men, which included Leigh Hunt, Edward Bulwer-Lytton, Thomas Noon Talfourd, Albany Fonblanque, Walter Savage Landor, Robert Browning, Thomas Carlyle and Charles Dickens.
source:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_For...
source:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_For...
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Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews
April 25, 2017
A beautiful book, although overwhelming in size. I read about a fourth of the book before deciding to take a break. Will get it from the library again. Fascinating to read about Dickens from the viewpoint of his good friend John Forster. I look forward to reconnecting with it again later.
May 21, 2021
ENGLISH: Monumental biography of Charles Dickens, written by his close friend shortly after his death, using documentation that only he could have, such as personal letters, personal communications and similar sources.
Dickens declared himself a believer, and Forster confirms this on many occasions. However, he seems to have had strong anti-Catholic sentiments, in spite of his historical novel "Barnaby Rudge," where he criticises violence against Catholics. But he speaks frequently against Catholic religious orders, especially Jesuits. And in a letter to Forster from Switzerland, he says this: ...their horror of the introduction of Catholic priests... into their towns, seems to me the most rational feeling in the world... I would be as steady against the Catholic cantons and the propagation of Jesuitism as any radical among 'em: believing the dissemination of Catholicity to be the most horrible means of political and social degradation left in the world.
In one of his letters Dickens mentions a dream he had, where he saw "a spirit in a blue drapery, as the Madonna might in a picture by Raphael," but whom he later identifies as Mary Hogarth, her sister-in-law, dead at 17, whom he idealized and represented in the character of Agnes, in "David Copperfield." This dream brought some people to believe wrongly that he had seen the Virgin Mary in his dream, for he addresses the spirit of his sister-in-law as Mary, although later he mentions indirectly her family name.
A couple of sayings by Dickens in his personal letters:
All kind things must be done on their own account, and for their own sake, and without the least reference to any gratitude.
...one does a generous thing because it is right and pleasant, and not for any response it is to awaken in others.
ESPAÑOL: Monumental biografía de Dickens, escrita por un íntimo amigo suyo poco después de su muerte, utilizando documentación que sólo él podía tener, como cartas personales, comunicaciones personales y otras fuentes semejantes.
Dickens se declaró creyente, y Forster lo confirma en muchas ocasiones. Sin embargo, parece haber tenido fuertes sentimientos anticatólicos, a pesar de su novela histórica "Barnaby Rudge", en la que critica la violencia contra los católicos. Pero habla con frecuencia contra las órdenes religiosas católicas, especialmente los jesuitas. Y en una carta a Forster desde Suiza, dice esto: ...su horror a la introducción de sacerdotes católicos... en sus ciudades me parece el sentimiento más racional del mundo... Yo sería tan firme en contra de los cantones católicos y de la propagación del jesuitismo como cualquiera de sus radicales: pues pienso que la difusión de la catolicidad es el medio más horrible de degradación política y social que queda en el mundo.
En una de sus cartas, Dickens menciona un sueño en el que vio "a un espíritu vestido de azul, como la Virgen en un cuadro de Rafael", pero a quien más tarde identifica como Mary Hogarth, su cuñada muerta a los 17 años, a quien idealizó y representó en "David Copperfield" en el personaje de Agnes. Este sueño ha llevado a algunos a creer erróneamente que Dickens había visto en su sueño a la Virgen María, porque se dirige al espíritu de su cuñada llamándola Mary, aunque un poco más tarde menciona indirectamente su apellido. Véase, por ejemplo, este artículo publicado en enero de 2018: https://www.aciprensa.com/noticias/ch...
Un par de dichos de Dickens en sus cartas personales:
Todas las cosas amables deben hacerse por sí mismas, sin la menor referencia a la gratitud.
...uno hace algo generoso porque es correcto y agradable, no por la respuesta que deba provocar en los demás.
Dickens declared himself a believer, and Forster confirms this on many occasions. However, he seems to have had strong anti-Catholic sentiments, in spite of his historical novel "Barnaby Rudge," where he criticises violence against Catholics. But he speaks frequently against Catholic religious orders, especially Jesuits. And in a letter to Forster from Switzerland, he says this: ...their horror of the introduction of Catholic priests... into their towns, seems to me the most rational feeling in the world... I would be as steady against the Catholic cantons and the propagation of Jesuitism as any radical among 'em: believing the dissemination of Catholicity to be the most horrible means of political and social degradation left in the world.
In one of his letters Dickens mentions a dream he had, where he saw "a spirit in a blue drapery, as the Madonna might in a picture by Raphael," but whom he later identifies as Mary Hogarth, her sister-in-law, dead at 17, whom he idealized and represented in the character of Agnes, in "David Copperfield." This dream brought some people to believe wrongly that he had seen the Virgin Mary in his dream, for he addresses the spirit of his sister-in-law as Mary, although later he mentions indirectly her family name.
A couple of sayings by Dickens in his personal letters:
All kind things must be done on their own account, and for their own sake, and without the least reference to any gratitude.
...one does a generous thing because it is right and pleasant, and not for any response it is to awaken in others.
ESPAÑOL: Monumental biografía de Dickens, escrita por un íntimo amigo suyo poco después de su muerte, utilizando documentación que sólo él podía tener, como cartas personales, comunicaciones personales y otras fuentes semejantes.
Dickens se declaró creyente, y Forster lo confirma en muchas ocasiones. Sin embargo, parece haber tenido fuertes sentimientos anticatólicos, a pesar de su novela histórica "Barnaby Rudge", en la que critica la violencia contra los católicos. Pero habla con frecuencia contra las órdenes religiosas católicas, especialmente los jesuitas. Y en una carta a Forster desde Suiza, dice esto: ...su horror a la introducción de sacerdotes católicos... en sus ciudades me parece el sentimiento más racional del mundo... Yo sería tan firme en contra de los cantones católicos y de la propagación del jesuitismo como cualquiera de sus radicales: pues pienso que la difusión de la catolicidad es el medio más horrible de degradación política y social que queda en el mundo.
En una de sus cartas, Dickens menciona un sueño en el que vio "a un espíritu vestido de azul, como la Virgen en un cuadro de Rafael", pero a quien más tarde identifica como Mary Hogarth, su cuñada muerta a los 17 años, a quien idealizó y representó en "David Copperfield" en el personaje de Agnes. Este sueño ha llevado a algunos a creer erróneamente que Dickens había visto en su sueño a la Virgen María, porque se dirige al espíritu de su cuñada llamándola Mary, aunque un poco más tarde menciona indirectamente su apellido. Véase, por ejemplo, este artículo publicado en enero de 2018: https://www.aciprensa.com/noticias/ch...
Un par de dichos de Dickens en sus cartas personales:
Todas las cosas amables deben hacerse por sí mismas, sin la menor referencia a la gratitud.
...uno hace algo generoso porque es correcto y agradable, no por la respuesta que deba provocar en los demás.
July 16, 2024
I am slowly reading this. I find the words and thoughts of John Forster to show his love and admiration for his good friend, Charles Dickens. This is a warm reflection on a friendship and the life of a loved friend.
Volume 1:
3-stars. (read in 2020; review in Spoiler tags to save space)
Volume 2:
4-star (read in 2022; review in spoiler tags to save space)
Volume 3:
4-star (read in 2024; review in spoiler tags to save space)
Review of all three volumes:
Overall rating: 4-star (5-star for content; -1 star for dry writing at times)
This is a tremendous work. It's detailed, meticulous, humorous, real, true and respectful of Charles Dickens.
John Forster knew this man well and true. He saw both the best & the worst of Dickens and saw the real man under that and loved him as a friend for many years. Dickens leaned on Forster and Forster was there for him all the time. This biography is a beautiful tribute to a great friendship.
Forster was careful in protecting Charles Dickens' privacy and, I will admit, I'd love to hear the details that were omitted, but I respect this privacy and am grateful to have gotten to know Charles Dickens through his great friend, John Forster.
Volume 1:
3-stars. (read in 2020; review in Spoiler tags to save space)
Volume 2:
4-star (read in 2022; review in spoiler tags to save space)
Volume 3:
4-star (read in 2024; review in spoiler tags to save space)
Review of all three volumes:
Overall rating: 4-star (5-star for content; -1 star for dry writing at times)
This is a tremendous work. It's detailed, meticulous, humorous, real, true and respectful of Charles Dickens.
John Forster knew this man well and true. He saw both the best & the worst of Dickens and saw the real man under that and loved him as a friend for many years. Dickens leaned on Forster and Forster was there for him all the time. This biography is a beautiful tribute to a great friendship.
Forster was careful in protecting Charles Dickens' privacy and, I will admit, I'd love to hear the details that were omitted, but I respect this privacy and am grateful to have gotten to know Charles Dickens through his great friend, John Forster.
June 26, 2025
Life of Charles Dickens by John Forster is not just a biography—it’s the official backstage pass to one of the greatest literary rockstars of the 19th century, written by the man who actually lived in the dressing room. Forster was Dickens’s best friend, editor, critic, cheerleader, and occasional scolding conscience, which means this biography is filled not only with firsthand knowledge, but also a deep, almost obsessive emotional investment.
Originally published in three volumes between 1872–74, and later abridged into the version most readers get today, this book reads like a long, affectionate, slightly gossipy letter to the ages. Forster tracks Dickens’s rise from a debt-ridden childhood (complete with blacking factory trauma) to becoming the lion of English letters. Every novel, every controversy, every exhausting speaking tour, every family drama—it's all here.
What makes this biography so rich is its intimacy. Forster had access to private letters, manuscripts, dinner table talk, and Dickens's most vulnerable moments. Yes, it’s reverent (sometimes too much so), but it also pulls back the velvet curtain and shows us the man behind the pen: brilliant, restless, driven, flawed.
I read Life of Charles Dickens in 2019, after a marathon re-read of David Copperfield, and it felt like peeking into the engine room of Victorian storytelling. Forster didn’t just know Dickens—he loved him. And you feel that love in every paragraph. This isn’t just biography. It’s friendship turned into literature.
Originally published in three volumes between 1872–74, and later abridged into the version most readers get today, this book reads like a long, affectionate, slightly gossipy letter to the ages. Forster tracks Dickens’s rise from a debt-ridden childhood (complete with blacking factory trauma) to becoming the lion of English letters. Every novel, every controversy, every exhausting speaking tour, every family drama—it's all here.
What makes this biography so rich is its intimacy. Forster had access to private letters, manuscripts, dinner table talk, and Dickens's most vulnerable moments. Yes, it’s reverent (sometimes too much so), but it also pulls back the velvet curtain and shows us the man behind the pen: brilliant, restless, driven, flawed.
I read Life of Charles Dickens in 2019, after a marathon re-read of David Copperfield, and it felt like peeking into the engine room of Victorian storytelling. Forster didn’t just know Dickens—he loved him. And you feel that love in every paragraph. This isn’t just biography. It’s friendship turned into literature.
February 7, 2012
This is the largest coffee table book I have ever seen! Dickens is my favorite author and I have read quite a bit about him, but I found quite a bit of new material here. Additionally, the alvish photos and illustrations are lovely.This is a great read for English majors.
December 27, 2022
Lots of details about the life of Dickens that can be found nowhere else. It gives us the dirt on the kind of things I want to know about. On Saturday nights when young Charles got his 6s pay-packet from the blacking warehouse he would take Blackfriars Bridge (not his usual Southwark or London one) to go home to Camden Town. Why? Because there were lots of cheap, low-brow shops and entertainment on Blackfriars Road. I'm fascinated by the walks Dickens took around London and there's lots of details about that. What a nice surprise to find out that Forster was actually at the meeting in Paris between the Inimitable One and the Great Victor Hugo. I always wanted to know what was said and the kind of reception Dickens got. Foster even comments on the degree of fluency of his friend's French.
December 22, 2015
This book is guilty of being both a rush job and a historical marker as it gives little insights in Charles Dickens' mind from the point of view of a close friend, fellow author, pandering fan, and later executor of Dickens' will, John Forster. The biography also gives an additional insight into Dickens' work as a boy in the blacking factory, and his first trip to North America when he stopped in Halifax NS, and after a choppy sea crossing and having his ship run aground on the mud banks off NS, the young author was immediately greeted with fanfare by the local politicians in Halifax; he was offloaded with a pregnant and sick wife and taken to the Government Building where he was paraded as a celebrity, which he didn't care for so much.
October 14, 2017
It's a lovely coffee table book, full of quality illustrations and excerpts. I have John Forster's original biography. This new version is an edited version.
But John Forster's biography tends to be obscure to modern readers, as he assumes too much prior knowledge of things that we have forgotten all about 150 years later. And he hints at family troubles when we all now are well aware that Ellen Ternan was the dark secret. The modern editor could have addressed this with a few footnotes.
For me the definitive biography is still Peter Ackroyd's version.
But John Forster's biography tends to be obscure to modern readers, as he assumes too much prior knowledge of things that we have forgotten all about 150 years later. And he hints at family troubles when we all now are well aware that Ellen Ternan was the dark secret. The modern editor could have addressed this with a few footnotes.
For me the definitive biography is still Peter Ackroyd's version.
February 3, 2025
A different kind of biography. Very long and quite tedious, but with much of interest. Not really very well written, but I wanted to read a biography written by his friend because it focuses on the positive aspects of his life and character and doesn't make allusions and speculations that have no foundation as I found in some other biographies about him.
December 20, 2025
I'm finding this tedious and am about to give up after 100+ pages. John Forsters writing is hard work, and he spends a lot of time basking in the glow of his departed friend. The blocks of text which are copies of letters from Dickens are enlightening and enjoyable to read.
February 16, 2024
Every fan of Dickens and everyone who teaches Dickens needs a copy of this book. It's really a treasure.
May 16, 2025
A wealth of information.
June 1, 2015
Review title: Larger than life
But maybe not larger than this book. The title of my review is the tag line on the back cover of this one volume 500-page abridged edition on oversized pages printed on thick glossy paper, referring to its subject but also applicable to this book. It is large and have to hold to read, and you won't want to take it on your next plane trip.
Forster was a long time friend and the first biographer of Dickens, close enough to be named as recipient of his manuscripts, copyrights, and some personal effects in Dickens's will printed here as an appendix.
This quote from p. 211-212 is indicative of much of Forster's biography
"Ah," he said to me, "when I saw those places, how I thought that to leave one's hand upon the time, lastingly upon the time, with one tender touch for the mass of toiling people that nothing could obliterate, would be to lift oneself above the dust of all the Doges in their graves, and stand upon a giant's staircase that Sampson couldn't overthrow!"
It is adoring, never critical, and also commissioned by Dickens before his death, so what else is to be expected? He never mentions Dickens's long time mistress Ellen Ternan, dismisses out of hand and on his evidence alone rumours of an affair with his wife's sister, and passes over Dickens's rude and demeaning public separation from his wife with no comment beyond bare reporting of the event.
It is written passed very largely on Dickens's letters to Forster. This makes Forster nearly a primary source but it also makes it feel as if we are seeing Dickens through a very small pinhole.
Forster is almost always on the page or just off the margin. One contemporary review referred to the biography as "The autobiography of JohnForster with recollections of Charles Dickens."
These are both strengths and weaknesses, the weaknesses leaving especially this edition (with its quotes from contemporaries, quotes from Dickens's writings, pictures of people and scenes from his life, and sidebars on people, places, and literary criticism) to be read more as history than as biography.
While Dickens had surely started life as one of the "toiling people" he so pities here, he had since risen far above and was writing these words from a year long sojourn in Italy with stays in fabulous villas and terrace homes far from the dark streets and dank hovels of London he had known and would always write about. He would also remember that impoverished beginning, perhaps subconsciously, certainly to his detriment, for it was at least (but only) partially his fear of financial ruin that drove him to his physically exhausting reading tours that weakened his healthy and pointed him to an early death.
All these things make Dickens endlessly fascinating, and Forster a worthy addition, especially in this edition, to the Dickens fan's library. Quoting yet again from a letter from Dickens: "I think it is my infirmity to fancy or perceive relations in things which are not apparent generally."--which Forster defines as "one of those exquisite properties of humour by which are discovered . . . the level of a common humanity.". It is also a very neat paraphrase of the purpose of The catholic reader, the collection of my book reviews you are reading now.
But maybe not larger than this book. The title of my review is the tag line on the back cover of this one volume 500-page abridged edition on oversized pages printed on thick glossy paper, referring to its subject but also applicable to this book. It is large and have to hold to read, and you won't want to take it on your next plane trip.
Forster was a long time friend and the first biographer of Dickens, close enough to be named as recipient of his manuscripts, copyrights, and some personal effects in Dickens's will printed here as an appendix.
This quote from p. 211-212 is indicative of much of Forster's biography
"Ah," he said to me, "when I saw those places, how I thought that to leave one's hand upon the time, lastingly upon the time, with one tender touch for the mass of toiling people that nothing could obliterate, would be to lift oneself above the dust of all the Doges in their graves, and stand upon a giant's staircase that Sampson couldn't overthrow!"
It is adoring, never critical, and also commissioned by Dickens before his death, so what else is to be expected? He never mentions Dickens's long time mistress Ellen Ternan, dismisses out of hand and on his evidence alone rumours of an affair with his wife's sister, and passes over Dickens's rude and demeaning public separation from his wife with no comment beyond bare reporting of the event.
It is written passed very largely on Dickens's letters to Forster. This makes Forster nearly a primary source but it also makes it feel as if we are seeing Dickens through a very small pinhole.
Forster is almost always on the page or just off the margin. One contemporary review referred to the biography as "The autobiography of JohnForster with recollections of Charles Dickens."
These are both strengths and weaknesses, the weaknesses leaving especially this edition (with its quotes from contemporaries, quotes from Dickens's writings, pictures of people and scenes from his life, and sidebars on people, places, and literary criticism) to be read more as history than as biography.
While Dickens had surely started life as one of the "toiling people" he so pities here, he had since risen far above and was writing these words from a year long sojourn in Italy with stays in fabulous villas and terrace homes far from the dark streets and dank hovels of London he had known and would always write about. He would also remember that impoverished beginning, perhaps subconsciously, certainly to his detriment, for it was at least (but only) partially his fear of financial ruin that drove him to his physically exhausting reading tours that weakened his healthy and pointed him to an early death.
All these things make Dickens endlessly fascinating, and Forster a worthy addition, especially in this edition, to the Dickens fan's library. Quoting yet again from a letter from Dickens: "I think it is my infirmity to fancy or perceive relations in things which are not apparent generally."--which Forster defines as "one of those exquisite properties of humour by which are discovered . . . the level of a common humanity.". It is also a very neat paraphrase of the purpose of The catholic reader, the collection of my book reviews you are reading now.
Read
October 1, 20242022: Veeeerrrry casually reading, with little intention to finish.
February 2024 update. As they may over the course of two years, my intentions towards Forster have shifted a bit. As I read Dickens novels chronologically, Forster has been keeping me company and giving me biographical (some of it may even be true!) context.
I fell behind after Nickleby when I hit American travel, the Christmas books, and the Italian and Swiss travel. I'm slowly creeping back up to date. Current goal is to have my reading of Forster meet up with Dickens again with David Copperfield. And then keep going. Forever.
I'm still not sure - I might not just stop w Forster one day. It's a lot to keep up with and not particularly enjoyable. For now, though, the plan is to keep chipping away.
Not saying I'm gonna die before I finish this project, but the timeline keeps getting stretched out while my lifeline keeps getting shorter. I'd like to finish - but no doubt some book project will be left with a bookmark in the middle. Might as well be this one as any other.
----
Update: I died.
No, not really! I'm still here. Wait - come back, come back - it may have been in poor taste but it was a joke! Just a joke. Look. Feel my hands. I'm here. Breathe with me. Breathe in - I am not dead. Breathe out - I am still not dead. Yet. Just not funny.
I am, however, giving up on Forster. Once I fell behind, the weight of catching up became too much. If anything, it overshadowed the real project - reading all of Dickens' novels chronologically - even becoming detrimental to that goal.
So, goodbye John Forster. Constant companion to Dickens - my occasional companion on the Youth Desk. Maybe the greatest hype man of the 19th century - we think we know who Dickens was because of you. May I have as great a friend as you were to Mr. Dickens. May they write as laudatory a book about me when I die (Don't worry - still not dead) as you did about your subject.
February 2024 update. As they may over the course of two years, my intentions towards Forster have shifted a bit. As I read Dickens novels chronologically, Forster has been keeping me company and giving me biographical (some of it may even be true!) context.
I fell behind after Nickleby when I hit American travel, the Christmas books, and the Italian and Swiss travel. I'm slowly creeping back up to date. Current goal is to have my reading of Forster meet up with Dickens again with David Copperfield. And then keep going. Forever.
I'm still not sure - I might not just stop w Forster one day. It's a lot to keep up with and not particularly enjoyable. For now, though, the plan is to keep chipping away.
Not saying I'm gonna die before I finish this project, but the timeline keeps getting stretched out while my lifeline keeps getting shorter. I'd like to finish - but no doubt some book project will be left with a bookmark in the middle. Might as well be this one as any other.
----
Update: I died.
No, not really! I'm still here. Wait - come back, come back - it may have been in poor taste but it was a joke! Just a joke. Look. Feel my hands. I'm here. Breathe with me. Breathe in - I am not dead. Breathe out - I am still not dead. Yet. Just not funny.
I am, however, giving up on Forster. Once I fell behind, the weight of catching up became too much. If anything, it overshadowed the real project - reading all of Dickens' novels chronologically - even becoming detrimental to that goal.
So, goodbye John Forster. Constant companion to Dickens - my occasional companion on the Youth Desk. Maybe the greatest hype man of the 19th century - we think we know who Dickens was because of you. May I have as great a friend as you were to Mr. Dickens. May they write as laudatory a book about me when I die (Don't worry - still not dead) as you did about your subject.
May 28, 2014
I just finished reading the 2012 200 year anniversary version of this. The extras made the book, though Forster's sanitized version of Dickens' life made a stir when it first came out and is worth reading keeping in mind that much of it consists of excerpts of Dickens' letters to Forster and when it came out soon after Dickens' death, virtually nobody but Forster new of Dickens' upbringing or whom his characters were based on. DAVID COPPERFIELD especially took on a whole new reading after this authorized biography was published. To Forster's credit he is frequently appropriately critical of Dickens' writing, and again, these insights were helpful to me in understanding the man.
January 2, 2015
This book is not for everyone; since Forster was Dickens' friend and contemporary, this book is written in florid Victorian prose; I had to reread multiple paragraphs to grasp their meaning. And this is no modern tell-all, either. Forster manages to keep things very chaste by mostly using Dickens' personal correspondence as source material. He says little about the author's separation from his wife and practically nothing about the chippie young actress that Dickens [apparently] had an affair with. Nonetheless, if you're interested in a you-are-there feel (and lots of beautiful illustrations in this edition), The Life of Charles Dickens is well worth the read.
December 25, 2012
This is a great biography by Dickens's friend John Forster, in an abridged edition, with many added illustrations, excerpts from his works, and critical pieces by authors from the last 150 years or so. The book itself has used many of the letters Dickens sent to Forster as its basis, giving first hand information about his writing processes and the life he lived. A really enjoyable read, though some details(such as Dickens's relationship with Ellen Ternan) were left out as being too 'personal', not the kind of thing one would expect from a Victorian biography!
August 7, 2012
I enjoyed this book, which gave me a peek into the life of one of my all-time favorite authors. This particular biography was compiled by one of Dickens's closest friends from his personal correspondence, and it accurately illustrated the ways that he worked in composing his works. I also had no idea that he was such a traveller or (indeed) that so much of his work was composed while he was abroad. If you like Dickens, this book is worth a look.
March 28, 2014
This book in three volumes written by C Dickens' trusted friend is difficult to understand in part because of the complex sentence structure used by the author. In addition, the book concentrates almost entirely on Dickens' writing and methods of writing, the circumstances surrounding his writing, and reactions of others to his writing. I am left feeling as though I know little about Dickens at the end of the final volume. I am quite disappointed.
January 10, 2014
Illustrations were great but I gave up reading halfway through. Wasn't expecting it to be so dry (the author was a contemporary of Dickens and seemed to be mostly bent on chronicling all kinds of trivial details about his life without providing much insight about anything else) The best bits were actually excerpts of Dickens' own writing, especially his letters about his trip to America.
January 14, 2014
I enjoy all of John Forster's biographies, particularly the Life of Dickens and have previously read it unabriged. This is a beautiful edition. I would prefer it to be unabriged, but this edition is more for show than anything else and is a lovely piece for any Dickens lover.
January 20, 2018
Much as I love reading Dickens works, reading about him turned out to be less than satisfying. This work features mainly his efforts at writing and not much about his family life. There were a few glimpses into his personality.
August 15, 2013
I love Charles Dickens. Period.
Currently reading
May 5, 2012Three-volume biography by Dickens's friend and literary executor, John Forster, here abridged to one fully illustrated volume. A treat!
March 28, 2015
Good read. He was as interesting and beloved as his characters....but there was a dark side too
Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews