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The Selected Letters of Charles Dickens
Charles Dickens's letters provide vivid close-up snapshots of a life lived at maximum intensity. This volume offers the first selection to be made from the magisterial twelve-volume British Academy Pilgrim Edition of his letters. From over fourteen thousand, editor Jenny Hartley has cherrypicked four hundred and fifty to give readers the essence of "the Sparkler of Albion." This eagerly awaited selection takes us straight to the heart of his life, to show us Dickens at first hand. Here he is writing out of the heat of the as a novelist, journalist, and magazine editor; as a social campaigner and traveler in Europe and America; and as friend, lover, husband, and father. These letters were an outlet for his high spirits, sparkling wit, and caustic commentary--striking glimpses of the world around him, as seen through his highly individual and acutely observing eye. Whether you dip in or read straight through, this selection of his letters captures anew the brilliance of
Dickens and the sheer pleasure of being in his company.
Dickens and the sheer pleasure of being in his company.
- GenresNonfictionBiography
458 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1985
8 people are currently reading
144 people want to read
About the author
Charles Dickens
12.3k books31.1k followersCharles John Huffam Dickens (1812-1870) was a writer and social critic who created some of the world's best-known fictional characters and is regarded as the greatest novelist of the Victorian era. His works enjoyed unprecedented popularity during his lifetime, and by the twentieth century critics and scholars had recognised him as a literary genius. His novels and short stories enjoy lasting popularity.
Dickens left school to work in a factory when his father was incarcerated in a debtors' prison. Despite his lack of formal education, he edited a weekly journal for 20 years, wrote 15 novels, five novellas, hundreds of short stories and non-fiction articles, lectured and performed extensively, was an indefatigable letter writer, and campaigned vigorously for children's rights, education, and other social reforms.
Dickens was regarded as the literary colossus of his age. His 1843 novella, A Christmas Carol, remains popular and continues to inspire adaptations in every artistic genre. Oliver Twist and Great Expectations are also frequently adapted, and, like many of his novels, evoke images of early Victorian London. His 1859 novel, A Tale of Two Cities, set in London and Paris, is his best-known work of historical fiction. Dickens's creative genius has been praised by fellow writers—from Leo Tolstoy to George Orwell and G. K. Chesterton—for its realism, comedy, prose style, unique characterisations, and social criticism. On the other hand, Oscar Wilde, Henry James, and Virginia Woolf complained of a lack of psychological depth, loose writing, and a vein of saccharine sentimentalism. The term Dickensian is used to describe something that is reminiscent of Dickens and his writings, such as poor social conditions or comically repulsive characters.
On 8 June 1870, Dickens suffered another stroke at his home after a full day's work on Edwin Drood. He never regained consciousness, and the next day he died at Gad's Hill Place. Contrary to his wish to be buried at Rochester Cathedral "in an inexpensive, unostentatious, and strictly private manner," he was laid to rest in the Poets' Corner of Westminster Abbey. A printed epitaph circulated at the time of the funeral reads: "To the Memory of Charles Dickens (England's most popular author) who died at his residence, Higham, near Rochester, Kent, 9 June 1870, aged 58 years. He was a sympathiser with the poor, the suffering, and the oppressed; and by his death, one of England's greatest writers is lost to the world." His last words were: "On the ground", in response to his sister-in-law Georgina's request that he lie down.
(from Wikipedia)
Dickens left school to work in a factory when his father was incarcerated in a debtors' prison. Despite his lack of formal education, he edited a weekly journal for 20 years, wrote 15 novels, five novellas, hundreds of short stories and non-fiction articles, lectured and performed extensively, was an indefatigable letter writer, and campaigned vigorously for children's rights, education, and other social reforms.
Dickens was regarded as the literary colossus of his age. His 1843 novella, A Christmas Carol, remains popular and continues to inspire adaptations in every artistic genre. Oliver Twist and Great Expectations are also frequently adapted, and, like many of his novels, evoke images of early Victorian London. His 1859 novel, A Tale of Two Cities, set in London and Paris, is his best-known work of historical fiction. Dickens's creative genius has been praised by fellow writers—from Leo Tolstoy to George Orwell and G. K. Chesterton—for its realism, comedy, prose style, unique characterisations, and social criticism. On the other hand, Oscar Wilde, Henry James, and Virginia Woolf complained of a lack of psychological depth, loose writing, and a vein of saccharine sentimentalism. The term Dickensian is used to describe something that is reminiscent of Dickens and his writings, such as poor social conditions or comically repulsive characters.
On 8 June 1870, Dickens suffered another stroke at his home after a full day's work on Edwin Drood. He never regained consciousness, and the next day he died at Gad's Hill Place. Contrary to his wish to be buried at Rochester Cathedral "in an inexpensive, unostentatious, and strictly private manner," he was laid to rest in the Poets' Corner of Westminster Abbey. A printed epitaph circulated at the time of the funeral reads: "To the Memory of Charles Dickens (England's most popular author) who died at his residence, Higham, near Rochester, Kent, 9 June 1870, aged 58 years. He was a sympathiser with the poor, the suffering, and the oppressed; and by his death, one of England's greatest writers is lost to the world." His last words were: "On the ground", in response to his sister-in-law Georgina's request that he lie down.
(from Wikipedia)
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
June 5, 2016
I felt a little guilty reading this book, knowing that Dickens wanted his correspondence destroyed, and did destroy so much of it himself. But I’ve been a Dickens fan as long as I can remember, so I couldn’t resist this massive book of his letters. As huge as this book is, its only a small portion chosen to represent what survived, and those are a small portion of what there would be if they still all existed. He wrote, its what he did. Always a major book in the works, along with stories, plays, articles for magazines he also edited, and many daily letters. Letters to friends, family, publishers, editors, illustrators, public officials, other writers, and strangers, among others. Besides all of this, he had a passion for charitable works: schools to be built, a home to help “street women” of London and provide a chance at rehabilitation. And still time for much socializing, and public readings, and travel. And his late night walks, alone or with a friend, sometimes invited along via one of these letters.
The book jacket states that Dickens was a man with ten times the energy of ordinary mortals, and that there seem to have been twice the number of hours in his day. It almost seems true. Its also almost impossible to imagine what his output might have been in these days of modern technology. He relied on pen and paper, and he cared what his letters looked like.
The letters themselves vary from being several pages long to, oddly, one that is composed entirely of the single word “Yes” (and oddly, while so many others have footnotes of explanation, this one’s meaning is left for the reader to imagine completely). They could be serious, tender, funny, even silly. They were about mundane daily things, big events, the sharing of recipes, what the dogs were up to: in other words, his life. My favorites are the ones he wrote about the schools and women’s home he was so involved in creating; how they should be run, ideas to improve them, comments on some of the students or women in them. And of course, the ones about his books. He would write to friends asking what they thought of a book title he’d thought up, or a plot element. His letters to his illustrators show how much thought he put into every piece of his works. The detail he gave them on which characters should be shown, and what the looks on their faces should portray, etc. seems typical of the detail in which he lived out his whole life.
Obviously this isn’t a book for the casual Dickens fan. There are a lot of letters that get very involved and since you don’t have the letters they were in reply to, or that replied back to them, its sometimes a little vague. I took my time reading this book, over a few months, in fact. Some of my sittings with it were less than spectacular, others were just delicious. If nothing else, I would recommend almost anyone read the introduction to the book, which alone can give you a taste of Dickens’ life, both his tenderness and intensity, in a nutshell.
I’m very happy to add this book to my Dickens collection.
The book jacket states that Dickens was a man with ten times the energy of ordinary mortals, and that there seem to have been twice the number of hours in his day. It almost seems true. Its also almost impossible to imagine what his output might have been in these days of modern technology. He relied on pen and paper, and he cared what his letters looked like.
The letters themselves vary from being several pages long to, oddly, one that is composed entirely of the single word “Yes” (and oddly, while so many others have footnotes of explanation, this one’s meaning is left for the reader to imagine completely). They could be serious, tender, funny, even silly. They were about mundane daily things, big events, the sharing of recipes, what the dogs were up to: in other words, his life. My favorites are the ones he wrote about the schools and women’s home he was so involved in creating; how they should be run, ideas to improve them, comments on some of the students or women in them. And of course, the ones about his books. He would write to friends asking what they thought of a book title he’d thought up, or a plot element. His letters to his illustrators show how much thought he put into every piece of his works. The detail he gave them on which characters should be shown, and what the looks on their faces should portray, etc. seems typical of the detail in which he lived out his whole life.
Obviously this isn’t a book for the casual Dickens fan. There are a lot of letters that get very involved and since you don’t have the letters they were in reply to, or that replied back to them, its sometimes a little vague. I took my time reading this book, over a few months, in fact. Some of my sittings with it were less than spectacular, others were just delicious. If nothing else, I would recommend almost anyone read the introduction to the book, which alone can give you a taste of Dickens’ life, both his tenderness and intensity, in a nutshell.
I’m very happy to add this book to my Dickens collection.
October 28, 2015
Review Title: The Sadness of The Inimitible
Jimmy Buffett wrote a song about finding "the heart of my story with the point of my pen." In this collection of 450 letters from the prolific pen of Dickens (the full multi-volume set of his letters collects over 14,000, after Dickens himself destroyed many) the heart of the story is for me ultimately the Sadness at the heart of the man who made so many laugh, weep, and feel good about living.
Many, even most, of these letters, excellently selected by editor Jenny Hartley to illustrate the types of letters (and their recipients) documented exhaustively in the complete set, are not on the surface sad. They tell funny stories about Dickens, his friends, his travels, and his surroundings, perfectly captured with his keen ear for voices and eye for oddities mingled with the everyday. They describe or prescribe business or charitable activities that Dickens was involved in. One of the most endearing sets of letters here are to Angela Burdett Coutts, the widowed heiress to the exclusive Coutts Bank and considered the wealthiest woman in England in her day. An open-handed philanthropist, she funded and Dickens actively organized and managed a home for "fallen women", and their frank, personal and yet businesslike correspondence spanned decades. Likewise, the letters to John Forster, his first biographer, spanned a lifetime and withstood very deep personal disagreements (unfortunately Forster followed his friend's wishes by destroying most of his letters, including the autobiographical ones used by Dickens in David Copperfield and Forster in the biography).
But there the Sadness creeps in. The most profound disagreement between Dickens and Forster was over Ellen Ternan, the young actress with whom Dickens (25 years married and father of 10 children, some older then "Nellie") had a long term affair, known to his closest friends and hinted at or suspected by many in a broader circle of acquaintances, but aggressively kept secret from his legion of adoring readers. And here, Dickens's keen sense of voice and surroundings abandoned him as he picked up his pen and jabbed it straight in the heart of his wife Catherine. Bad enough that he publicly humiliated her in a tone deaf letter announcing his separation from her and published on the front page of his magazine, but Hartley includes here letters written to Catherine privately and to other friends at the same time that are positively brutal. At one point, to the claim by Dickens that even their children could not stand to be near her and had no love for her as their mother, Hartley feels compelled to footnote that there appears to be no substantiation for this claim.
Dickens could also be hard and callously unfeeling towards his children in reality, unlike the false reality he constructed about Catherine's relationship with them. To his son Henry, a recent university graduate, as he is setting him up with an allowance, he complains about the relatives with begging hands outstretched that he has been forced to support over the years, then immediately follows with this soul crushing reminder to his son:
No need to, Mr. Dickens; soul already crushed.
Even as a younger man his less admirable traits are on display. Letters from the young Dickens to Catherine as they court are an exact image in word and tone to those of the young Scrooge to his once beloved Belle. How sad it is to realize that the character Scrooge was based in life on his beloved creator! Always quick with a grudge (woe betide the publisher who crossed even the young upstart author) with the bitterness of age, the restlessness of the man seeking love outside his own marriage, and the anxiety and guilt of keeping that adultery secret from his huge fan base, his fury took on frighteningly vindictive tones at times, and the life and letters are littered with a trail of severed relationships. And his self denial left him blind to the changes that were driving him, oh so sadly, to that much too early grave.
Yet through the Sadness,, the Inimitible shines through. The most heartening letters are when he describes his gift of writing and source of his storytelling ability. At 29, he wrote:
Ten years later, he confesses to Forster as he finishes his most personal book:
Inimitable. Sadness. This is as close to the heart of the story as we will ever get, directly from the pen of Dickens. These letters represent the autobiography that I now see Dickens could never have faced writing because of the Sadness within and that he saw at the end. Perhaps it was this Sadness that drove him to his suicide by the public reading tours that drained his strength in a final attempt to escape, or enter, the Shadowy World forever. Sadness.
Jimmy Buffett wrote a song about finding "the heart of my story with the point of my pen." In this collection of 450 letters from the prolific pen of Dickens (the full multi-volume set of his letters collects over 14,000, after Dickens himself destroyed many) the heart of the story is for me ultimately the Sadness at the heart of the man who made so many laugh, weep, and feel good about living.
Many, even most, of these letters, excellently selected by editor Jenny Hartley to illustrate the types of letters (and their recipients) documented exhaustively in the complete set, are not on the surface sad. They tell funny stories about Dickens, his friends, his travels, and his surroundings, perfectly captured with his keen ear for voices and eye for oddities mingled with the everyday. They describe or prescribe business or charitable activities that Dickens was involved in. One of the most endearing sets of letters here are to Angela Burdett Coutts, the widowed heiress to the exclusive Coutts Bank and considered the wealthiest woman in England in her day. An open-handed philanthropist, she funded and Dickens actively organized and managed a home for "fallen women", and their frank, personal and yet businesslike correspondence spanned decades. Likewise, the letters to John Forster, his first biographer, spanned a lifetime and withstood very deep personal disagreements (unfortunately Forster followed his friend's wishes by destroying most of his letters, including the autobiographical ones used by Dickens in David Copperfield and Forster in the biography).
But there the Sadness creeps in. The most profound disagreement between Dickens and Forster was over Ellen Ternan, the young actress with whom Dickens (25 years married and father of 10 children, some older then "Nellie") had a long term affair, known to his closest friends and hinted at or suspected by many in a broader circle of acquaintances, but aggressively kept secret from his legion of adoring readers. And here, Dickens's keen sense of voice and surroundings abandoned him as he picked up his pen and jabbed it straight in the heart of his wife Catherine. Bad enough that he publicly humiliated her in a tone deaf letter announcing his separation from her and published on the front page of his magazine, but Hartley includes here letters written to Catherine privately and to other friends at the same time that are positively brutal. At one point, to the claim by Dickens that even their children could not stand to be near her and had no love for her as their mother, Hartley feels compelled to footnote that there appears to be no substantiation for this claim.
Dickens could also be hard and callously unfeeling towards his children in reality, unlike the false reality he constructed about Catherine's relationship with them. To his son Henry, a recent university graduate, as he is setting him up with an allowance, he complains about the relatives with begging hands outstretched that he has been forced to support over the years, then immediately follows with this soul crushing reminder to his son:
You know that you are one of many heavy charges on me, and that I trust to your so exercising your abilities and improving the advantages of your past expensive education, as soon to diminish this charge. I say no more on that head.
No need to, Mr. Dickens; soul already crushed.
Even as a younger man his less admirable traits are on display. Letters from the young Dickens to Catherine as they court are an exact image in word and tone to those of the young Scrooge to his once beloved Belle. How sad it is to realize that the character Scrooge was based in life on his beloved creator! Always quick with a grudge (woe betide the publisher who crossed even the young upstart author) with the bitterness of age, the restlessness of the man seeking love outside his own marriage, and the anxiety and guilt of keeping that adultery secret from his huge fan base, his fury took on frighteningly vindictive tones at times, and the life and letters are littered with a trail of severed relationships. And his self denial left him blind to the changes that were driving him, oh so sadly, to that much too early grave.
Yet through the Sadness,, the Inimitible shines through. The most heartening letters are when he describes his gift of writing and source of his storytelling ability. At 29, he wrote:
I sit down to my book, some beneficent power shows it all to me, and tempts me to be interested, and I don't invent it--really, do not--but see it, and write it down. . . It is only when it all fades away and is gone, that I begin to suspect that its momentary relief has cost me something.
Ten years later, he confesses to Forster as he finishes his most personal book:
I am within three pages of the shore, and am strangely divided, as usual in such cases, between sorrow and joy. Oh, my dear Forster, if I were to say half of what Copperfield makes me feel to-night, how strangely, even to you, I should be turned inside out. I seem to be sending some part of myself into the Shadowy World.
Inimitable. Sadness. This is as close to the heart of the story as we will ever get, directly from the pen of Dickens. These letters represent the autobiography that I now see Dickens could never have faced writing because of the Sadness within and that he saw at the end. Perhaps it was this Sadness that drove him to his suicide by the public reading tours that drained his strength in a final attempt to escape, or enter, the Shadowy World forever. Sadness.
January 17, 2013
Always a joy to spend time with Dickens. In the letters you feel as if he's a friend, a bumptious, insecure, energetic, funny, force-of-nature friend. It's such a privilege to be able to spend time in his company.
June 30, 2021
While I love reading Dickens long form fiction, this book is mostly for Dickens nerds who want to know more personal details. He wrote letters as much as he wrote fiction, and though there are bits of fiction, etc, tossed about in letters, it was hard to slog through so many. I found the letters to Wilkie Collins, Harriet Beecher Stowe, his wife, Catherine, and his children interesting, but a book of letters isn't a well-crafted story, and not always easy to return to day after day. This book is best left for those who want to get in the weeds over Charles Dickens real life.
November 2, 2022
4.5 stars ⭐️
Fascinating read, really takes you into the mind of Charles Dickens and the time in which he lived. It’s a must read for Dickens fans.
Fascinating read, really takes you into the mind of Charles Dickens and the time in which he lived. It’s a must read for Dickens fans.
August 23, 2024
So boring. Couldn't get past 100 pgs. Bunch of complete drivel, and I've read almost all Dickens works. Very disappointed.
March 14, 2015
This book took me forever to read, even though most of the letters in it were fairly short. In my opinion much of the correspondence was boring, made more difficult by the fact that you only get one side of the conversation. Some of the letters were pointless – simply replying to an invitation without any hint about where the invitation was to or what it was for. While they did give some interesting information particularly about social reform at the time and his trip to the US and some of his novels, I felt that I learned very little about Dickens other than that he was a very contradictory man saying some things to one person and other things to other people. In the end I found myself rushing to finish the book so I could put it away.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews