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A Tale of Two Brothers: Charles Dickens's Sons in Australia
Mr Micawber solved his problems by emigrating to Australia, his example was followed in real life by two of Dickens's sons, perhaps with less resounding success. Alfred D'Orsay Tennyson Dickens sailed south in 1865 and his youngest brother Edward Bulwer Lytton ("Plorn") Dickens, three years later. They went on the land in the far western New South Wales, becoming managers and part-owner of stations, and also stock and station agents Alfred moved to Victoria, living at Hamilton and then Melbourne, and lecturing both in Australia and overseas. Edward's hometown was Wilcannia, which he represented in Parliament.
Neither of the brothers won fame or fortune, but their story is none the less absorbing, moving from a childhood enriched by their father's genius to young manhood in the isolation of outback Australia, and to maturity amid the developing social and political life of their new country. The family letters quoted are of particular interest, some being published for the first time.
So much has been written about Charles Dickens and all things Dickensian that it might have been thought there was no more to say. But this story, a fascinating postscript, has remained until now to be told - a task that Mary Lazarus has admirably performed.
Neither of the brothers won fame or fortune, but their story is none the less absorbing, moving from a childhood enriched by their father's genius to young manhood in the isolation of outback Australia, and to maturity amid the developing social and political life of their new country. The family letters quoted are of particular interest, some being published for the first time.
So much has been written about Charles Dickens and all things Dickensian that it might have been thought there was no more to say. But this story, a fascinating postscript, has remained until now to be told - a task that Mary Lazarus has admirably performed.
248 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1973
About the author
Mary Lazarus
2 booksMary Ellen Lazarus graduated from the University of Melbourne and she has always been a keen Dickensian.
It was on her retirement from teaching that she began her research on Alfred and Edward Dickens, the two sons of Charles Dickens who had settled in Australia.
Her curiosity was aroused when she found in the library of Trinity College, the University of Melbourne, several letters from Alfred and Edward to G.W. Rusden.
The originals of Charles Dickens' letters about his sons to Rusden, who became their first friend in Australia, are also in the Rusden Collection at Trinity College. In the course of her, Miss Lazarus came across two unpublished letters of Charles Dickens , several from members of his family in England to Rusden, as well as much other hitherto unknown material.
She did say at the time that she found her quest as exciting as any whodunnit! Her book 'A Tale of Two Brothers: Charles Dickens's Sons in Australia' was the result.
It was on her retirement from teaching that she began her research on Alfred and Edward Dickens, the two sons of Charles Dickens who had settled in Australia.
Her curiosity was aroused when she found in the library of Trinity College, the University of Melbourne, several letters from Alfred and Edward to G.W. Rusden.
The originals of Charles Dickens' letters about his sons to Rusden, who became their first friend in Australia, are also in the Rusden Collection at Trinity College. In the course of her, Miss Lazarus came across two unpublished letters of Charles Dickens , several from members of his family in England to Rusden, as well as much other hitherto unknown material.
She did say at the time that she found her quest as exciting as any whodunnit! Her book 'A Tale of Two Brothers: Charles Dickens's Sons in Australia' was the result.
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
October 23, 2020
It is a little difficult to review this book. It seems to be very well researched and balanced in the writing.
The problem is that Edward (Plorn) and Alfred Dickens were unremarkable sons of the writer, Charles Dickens. It is their relationship to him that makes them of any more interest than thousands of other people who lived in Australia in the latter half of the nineteenth century.
The book therefore offers some value through its vignettes of Dickens as perceived by the sons, and the curious Dickens enthusiast can perhaps draw some vicarious diversion from following their lives in Australia. Australian Dickensians can enjoy the intersection of the two subjects.
I read the book because I wanted some factual information after reading a recently published fictional account of Edward's and Alfred's time in Australia. I was suspicious that the recent fictional work played fast and loose with the truth in order to create a more sensational story out of lives which were essentially ordinary. Lazarus, apparently an academic in Melbourne, published her book in 1973, so it is possible that some later research has thrown up information to which she did not have access. However, given the fact that any documents relating to Charles Dickens, even at a remove or two, will have attracted someone's attention, it is unlikely anything would have remained hidden until after this publication.
I found Lazarus's work was convincing and it confirmed my view that the other book was a silly fantasy.
For a reader who has read much about Dickens but wants that little bit extra, this can be commended as a soundly written, balanced and well-researched biography. Don't bother with the pointless fictionalisation by another author.
The problem is that Edward (Plorn) and Alfred Dickens were unremarkable sons of the writer, Charles Dickens. It is their relationship to him that makes them of any more interest than thousands of other people who lived in Australia in the latter half of the nineteenth century.
The book therefore offers some value through its vignettes of Dickens as perceived by the sons, and the curious Dickens enthusiast can perhaps draw some vicarious diversion from following their lives in Australia. Australian Dickensians can enjoy the intersection of the two subjects.
I read the book because I wanted some factual information after reading a recently published fictional account of Edward's and Alfred's time in Australia. I was suspicious that the recent fictional work played fast and loose with the truth in order to create a more sensational story out of lives which were essentially ordinary. Lazarus, apparently an academic in Melbourne, published her book in 1973, so it is possible that some later research has thrown up information to which she did not have access. However, given the fact that any documents relating to Charles Dickens, even at a remove or two, will have attracted someone's attention, it is unlikely anything would have remained hidden until after this publication.
I found Lazarus's work was convincing and it confirmed my view that the other book was a silly fantasy.
For a reader who has read much about Dickens but wants that little bit extra, this can be commended as a soundly written, balanced and well-researched biography. Don't bother with the pointless fictionalisation by another author.
Displaying 1 of 1 review