The Lamplighter

by Charles Dickens

Charles Dickens (1812-1870) has produced some of the most memorable writings in the English language, including such well known works as "A Christmas Carol, Sketches by Boz, A Tale of Two Cities, Oliver Twist, Daivid Copperfield, Great Expectations, and The Pickwick Papers.

Dickens is famous for the characters he created and his descriptions. A man of tremendous energy, he spent hours a day walking the London streets from which his characters and scenes came.

Most of Dickens' work was in magazine serial form. Quiet Vision publishes not only Dickens' well known works but also many of his lesser known but still well crafted works.

Genres: Classics, Fiction, Short Stories, Humor, Literature, Audiobook, British Literature

32 pages, ebook

First published August 8, 2000

About the author

Charles 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)

Reviews

[Maria E (de Enigma, Espada, Esfinge…)]

♥️ A Feminist Heart ♥️


Basically, The Lamplighter is a (crazy, lovely) short story about a lamplighter whose life had a sudden twist the moment he met an eccentric old man ( “if he could have conceived the possibility of the whole Royal Society being boiled down into one man, he should have said the old gentleman's body was that Body” ) who shook him off his ladder 🪜

Although I truly enjoyed the hole tale, there was a short paragraph that particularly grabbed my attention :

“Let women have their rights, Sir, and the females of Tom's family would have been every one of 'em in office. But that emancipation hasn't come yet, and hadn't then, and consequently they confined themselves to the bosoms of their families, cooked the dinners, mended the clothes, minded the children, comforted their husbands, and attended to the house-keeping generally”

In a time where the fight for women’s rights was still a blank page in the Big History Book, Mr. Dickens was writing about what women could conceivably do if they weren’t restrained by social prejudices. What a Feminist Heart he had 💝

[Chris]

Another round of Dickens with the Dicksonians! group. So we read this 1841 short story at a snail's pace to glean every last bit out of this farcical and enchanting story of Tom Grieg, a lamplighter who gets caught up in an old gentlemen's occult preoccupations. It is a comedy of errors to be sure. Was it real, was it a dream? What will you the reader decide.

[Sara]

The Lamplighter’s Story is a perfect example of Dickens in his best humorous mode. I laughed aloud repeatedly at this witty, sarcastic tale of pseudoscientific blundering. I don’t think Dickens has ever brought Oscar Wilde to mind before, but this story made me think of The Importance of Being Earnest in terms of witty humor and slapstick confusion.

Originally written as a play that never saw production, Dickens transformed this into a marvelous short story. I believe we owe one to the fates, because had this seen production, I suspect it would have been very well received and we would have gained a playwright and lost one of our greatest novelists to his first love, the theater.

[Connie G]

"The Lamplighter" is a farce, first written for the theater, and then modified for publication in The Pic Nic Papers by Various Hands in 1941. The main character is a lamplighter who lit the street lights in the time before gas lighting. Astrology, astronomy, and mad scientists are involved in the plot. The lighthearted work has plenty of comic one-liners. I enjoyed reading this tall tale with the Dickensian group, and learning about the occupation of lamplighting along the way.

[Goblin Reaper]

“...for whoever heard of a traitorous lamplighter?” 
.
             lamplighter. noun. (historically) a person employed to light street lamps by hand. 

             The Lamplighter is a short story by Charles Dickens that is lighter than most of his other works. It's mostly on the funnier side– the bizarre scenes might leave us thinking 'what just happened' a few times. 
In a lamplighter's meeting (yes, there was such a thing it seems), one member (the unspoken leader) narrates the legendary tale of Tom Grig, a lamplighter who was fated by the stars to make a great marriage to a beautiful, wealthy heiress. Sounds romantic, right? Wrong! The exaggerated narration would make you think twice about that statement, especially after it takes the story into strange tidings. 
When I was halfway through, the one thing going through my mind was that, if this was published now, it would've been considered a crackfic. The ending honestly left me drowned in confusion. I was like, ‘is that it? What happened with the old man, his daughters, the waiting-maid, the Gifted, and the Salamander?!’ That was one time I desperately wished I could meet the author if only to ask– no, demand, for answers. 

         Dickens’ writing is a gem, I tell you. He was truly clever at making little jabs at the faults of society. Even the ones as subtle as some of them in this story would feel like a slap to the face. His humor is something I always look forward to in his books and I am inordinately pleased to tell you that I laughed out loud many times while reading this. The quick dialogues and exaggerated accounts appealed to me very much. Though the Salamander's name had me wondering if Dickens was suggestively trying to make another barb there or if I was looking into it too much? Knowing me, probably the latter… 
        
  ‘Twas a light and fascinating read. If thou love Dickens’ humor, this short story will give thee a break from his heavier works:-D

[Kathleen]

Dickens can put you into just about anyone’s shoes. Here he spins a tall tale about a lamplighter who, due to run in with astrology and the philosopher’s stone, wonders if his fate will be forever changed.

Besides which, he made up his mind, gentlemen, to have a country-house and a park; and to plant a bit of it with a double row of gas-lamps a mile long, and go out every night with a French-polished mahogany ladder, and two servants in livery behind him, to light ’em for his own pleasure.”

A smart, fun and unusual little story!

[Max]

Tom Grig has a rough day.. or was it all in his head? What seemed to be a nice gathering, with the possibility of a marriage and riches, turned out to be a bit of an occult gathering. Funny short story by Dickens, one of the funnier ones I read. I just wish it was a little longer, it took me 40% of the story to kind of understand what was happening.

[Beth N]

The Lamplighter has the air of a modern fairy tale. Young, ordinary lamplighter Tom is on his rounds one day when an unkempt old man sticks his head out of a window and announces that Tom's coming has been foreordained in the stars, and he is fated to marry the old man's beautiful niece and become a rich man. But stories such as this would be no fun if the course of love ran smooth, and unfortunate caveats arise which turn Tom's destined glory into something a little more complicated.

If someone had told me that Dickens' writing could be this funny I would have become acquainted with his works years ago. Tom is a sweet, innocent layman, whose misunderstanding of scientific definitions leads to some entertaining confusion. Dickens' gentle satire is on point without feeling overly critical of any one figure or institution. The set-up has the savour of some of the more comedic tales from the Thousand and One Nights with a relatability that comes from the English setting.

I also tip my hat to Dickens for pointing out, well before the rise of Suffragism, that women would be quite capable of any work were societal pressure not so determined to keep them at home with the house and family. "It’s a hard thing upon the women, gentlemen, that they are limited to such a sphere of action as this; very hard."

In a handful of pages there is obviously little room for complexity or character development, but an extraordinary range of emotions is experienced by Tom (and some of the other characters) in such a short time. The ending, as with many short stories, comes abruptly but is not dissatisfying.

For those already familiar with Dickens' writing, this story will provide an entertaining half hour. For those yet to experience his genius, this is an ideal starting point.

[William]

Entertaining listening 🎶🔰

Another will written British 🏰 relationship family adventure thriller short story by Charles Dickens about a family of lamplighters and their relationships. I would recommend this novella to readers looking for a quick read. Enjoy the adventure of reading 👓 or listening 🎶 to Alexa as I do because of eye damage and health issues from shingles. Stay safe. 2022 👑🏰

[Sladjana]

Charles Dickens-The Lamplighter
🖋"Gentlemen, he was one of the strangest and most mysterious-looking files that ever Tom clapped his eyes on. He was dressed all slovenly and untidy, in a great gown of a kind of bed-furniture pattern, with a cap of the same on his head; and a long old flapped waistcoat; with no braces, no strings, very few buttons - in short, with hardly any of those artificial contrivances that hold society together. Tom knew by these signs, and by his not being shaved, and by his not being over-clean, and by a sort of wisdom not quite awake, in his face, that he was a scientific old gentleman. He often told me that if he could have conceived the possibility of the whole Royal Society being boiled down into one man, he should have said the old gentleman's body was that Body."
🖋"Tom waited so long, gentlemen, that he began to think it must be getting on for midnight at least, and felt more dismal and lonely than ever he had done in all his life. He tried every means of whiling away the time, but it never had seemed to move so slow. First, he took a nearer view of the child with three heads, and thought what a comfort it must have been to his parents. Then he looked up a long telescope which was pointed out of the window, but saw nothing particular, in consequence of the stopper being on at the other end. Then he came to a skeleton in a glass case, labelled, "Skeleton of a Gentleman - prepared by Mr. Mooney," - which made him hope that Mr. Mooney might not be in the habit of preparing gentlemen that way without their own consent."
🇷🇸
✨Još jedna priča iz edicije "Slađa otkriva manje poznata dela poznatih pisaca"😁
✨Kratka ali vrlo sadržajna
✨Urnebesno smešna
✨Malo nauke,malo radničke klase,malo ljubavi,dikensovski humor i socijalna kritika sve umotano u svetlucavi kosmički papir
✨Slatkoooo 😊
🇺🇸
✨Less famous work of a famous writer
✨Short
✨Hilarious
✨A little bit of science,a little bit of working class, a little love,dickensian humor and critique of social systhem all wraped in sparkling cosmical packadge
✨So cute 😊
#7sensesofabook #knjige #bookstagram #literature #classicliterature #readingaddict #charlesdickens

[CadyCan]

Started 20 Feb 2014 finished 21 Feb 2014

Read as part of my self imposed Dickens challenge to read all his works.

Another short story so giving me the false impression of making progress once more on this challenge!
This one, as the title says, is about a lamplighter. Its one of Dickens' more fantastical tales.
I say this because of the reference to a philosopher's stone which is in the process of being boiled up by a mad scientist, who reads futures in the stars, in order to make gold. There's some weird attempt on his part to marry a lamplighter to his niece while his daughter is promised to a Mr Mooney, another mad scientist, all because it is written in/ordained by astronomy. Daft story and the only moral I can put to it is relating to the obsessive pursuit of wealth or greed although I'm not certain of this either.

One thing I don't much enjoy in any of his stories is the reality of how woman were treated in his time, not even having the right to choose their own husbands, amongst a myriad of other rights we simply take for granted today.

[Bridget]

Very fun short story. Full of the humor and wit Dickens is famous for.

[Shirley (stampartiste)]

Dickens originally wrote The Lamplighter as a play for his friend, the famous actor William Charles Macready. However, Macready turned it down, and Dickens rewrote the play into a short story. The Lamplighter was written as a farce, and at times reminded me of Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest.

The story takes place at a time when superstition (alchemy, the philosopher’s stone) and pseudoscience (phrenology, mesmerism) still co-existed with emerging scientific discoveries. Dickens melded these diverse scientific thoughts in this comical story of a handsome young lamplighter, Tom Grig, who is waylaid by an old gentleman with a telescope (presumably a true scientist). The old gentleman informs Tom that the alignment of the stars indicates that he has been chosen to marry his beautiful niece. When Tom balks, the old gentleman assures him that he will be rich once the old gentleman’s friend, Mooney, discovers the philosopher’s stone.

The eclectic mix of characters, a Young Frankenstein-ish laboratory, and comic situations made this unusual Dickens short story a light-hearted, fun read. And it was made so much more enjoyable by participating in a group read with the Dickensians! and gleaning so much back information from the discussion host, Sara, and other members of the group. This additional discussion brought out so many informative and fun details!

[Tom]

A short comic play (written in 1838, first printed in 1879) built around the misadventures of Tom Grig, a lamplighter who becomes entangled with an eccentric family of amateur astronomers and astrologers. Tom arrives to light the lamps outside Mr. Stargazer’s house and is drawn into the family’s eccentric world. Mr. Stargazer and his colleague Mooney believe they can read destinies in the stars and are convinced that Tom is fated for some grand cosmic purpose. Their “scientific” discussions are deliberately nonsensical, parodying Victorian obsessions with astrology and pseudo‑astronomy. Tom becomes the unwitting object of attention from the daughter Emma Stargazer and the servant Betsy Martin, leading to a series of misunderstandings, flirtations, and comic reversals typical of farce. The astrologers attempt to “predict” Tom’s romantic future, but their prophecies only create chaos. Mr. Stargazer and Mooney attempt to prove their theories through increasingly ridiculous experiments and pronouncements. Their predictions fail spectacularly, exposing their pretensions and pseudo‑science. Tom, meanwhile, remains grounded, practical, and good‑humored, his commonsense contrasting with the absurdity around him.

The farce ends with the astrologers thoroughly discredited, the romantic confusion sorted out, and Tom Grig restored to his ordinary life as a lamplighter, still cheerful, and still unshaken by the nonsense he has witnessed.

[Nix]

3.5/5⭐

[Not]

Pretty disappointed with Dickens on this one. It is only a short story, and if you are an avid fan of Dickens and want to read everything he wrote, go ahead.
I had a few problems with this one.
1 ) I am not unbiased and the subject matter of this story leaned very heavily on occult characters and practices. It made me very, very uncomfortable, even while it was trying to be funny.
2 ) The writing really didn't seem up to snuff with Dickens usual caliber. There were many times I found myself self-editing in my head, and many times (could be lack of context on my part) I find myself getting really lost and confused.
3 ) The title is kind of misleading because the story could have happened to anyone from any profession and really made no difference to the story that the main character was a lamplighter.

All in all, it was kind of funny, while still being disturbing. It read more like a dream with its disjointed narrative and bizarre happenings (could have been on purpose). It passed an afternoon but really wasn't worth reading in my opinion. It comes off like a piece that was published posthumously. But according to my research it was originally a play written for an actor friend of Dickens. The actor declined playing however, and later it was adapted to a short story.

[Jim Dooley]

Usually, I would not have included THE LAMPLIGHTER in my listing because it was not a GoodRead. Indeed, I may be stretching things to give it two stars. However, as my 2020 goal is to complete the novels, novellas and plays of Charles Dickens, I’m listing it for my own reference.

I do not imagine that anyone not knowing the writer’s identity ahead of time would attribute it to Charles Dickens. There is so little evidence of originality in it. Instead, it follows what might be identified as a “farcical template.” Actions appear to happen because it is TIME for them to happen. The jokes are obvious and silly to the extreme. And, being farce, there is no attempt at characterization.

When I read plays (and this is a one-Act), I imagine the staging and consider the trends of the period in which they were produced. THE LAMPLIGHTER was so uninspired (even among one-Act farces of the time) that I didn’t even make the attempt at picturing what was occurring. While I do plan to research reviews and published reactions at a later date, this will be rough going for the modern Reader ... even one who is enamored of the theater.

[Janice]

This was too weird for me.

[Gr1972]

2.5 out of 5

[Gary Howes]

A great short read classic writing at its best a story sort enough you can read over again well recommended

[Kathy Nealen]

Odd, very short, fantasy story.

[Prakash Yadav]

Funnier than I was expecting.

[Elena K]

Quite unusual for Dickens!

[Lilly B]

Absolutely batshit

[Maureen]

A humorous farce about a lamplighter who becomes involved in a plot involving a mad scientist and his philosopher’s stone. The lamplighter hopes his future will be changed for the better. A fun read.

[Joan]

This is the first Dickens that I have not liked. The lamplighters sit around and talk about other lamplighters. Tom is a lamplighter. Lamplighters make marriage matches within their Lamplighter group. Tom is to be married, but because she is not wealthy, he doesn't want to without money. I think part of the problem with this book is I listened to the audio and the narrator has no accent and doesn't sound like anything English, nor does he have the voice for this book.

[Venise]

Tom Grig's story, told by his fellow Lamplighter's, illustrated Tom's experience with a scientific diviner. The scientist was so sure Tom needed to meet his relative who was meant to be his wife and that he knew all about event calculations by reading the sky. Tom's experience became more outlandish as he was introduced, by the scientist, to more people.

[Noelle]

An interesting short story depicting with satire the cultures of both the lamplighters and the scientifically minded nobleman.

[Melodee]

I found this tale about a young lamplighter to be amusing and delightful. I enjoyed the ending particularly.

[Anirudh]

Dickens is not exactly my favourite author but I enjoyed this little story none the less.