I magnifici 7 capolavori della letteratura inglese

by Charles Dickens, Robert Louis Stevenson, Joseph Conrad

Sono qui raccolte sette opere della letteratura inglese che, oltre a essere veri capolavori, sono ormai così famose, anche per essere divenute film di successo, da essere conosciute da un pubblico vasto ed eterogeneo. In Tempi difficili, sullo sfondo ideologico dell'epoca (utilitarismo, pragmatismo, liberalismo), Dickens svolge il conflitto tra il cinismo e la rigidità degli aristocratici e dei nuovi industriali e l'umanità vitale ed emarginata della libera gente del circo. Al variegato e vivace mondo di Dickens fa da contrappunto la densa e minacciosa atmosfera noir de Lo strano caso del Dr. Jekyll e Mr. Hyde, che, oltre a essere una esplicita metafora della eterna lotta tra il bene e il male, è soprattutto un attacco che Stevenson ha voluto sferrare contro la repressiva e puritana letteratura inglese del periodo vittoriano. Dalle tenebrose nebbie londinesi si passa poi all'esplorazione delle oscurità dell'animo umano, descritte metaforicamente da Conrad in Cuore di tenebra attraverso un viaggio nel cuore più profondo dell'Africa. Di tutt'altro genere il viaggio che Jerome fa compiere, con maestria e varietà di invenzioni umoristiche, ai suoi Tre uomini in barca. Sherlock Holmes, qui alle prese con un incubo dal sapore gotico nel Mastino dei Baskerville. Kim il racconto dello strenuo tentativo di riconciliare due culture quanto mai opposte. L'amante di Lady Chatterley, che fu messo al bando in Inghilterra per il grande scandalo suscitato.

Genres: Classics

1136 pages, Hardcover

First published May 30, 2013

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

[Rita · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Tempi difficili": https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
"Lo strano caso del Dr. Jekyll e Mr. Hyde": https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
"Cuore di tenebra": https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
"Tre uomini in barca": https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
"Sherlock Holmes. Il mastino dei Baskerville": https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
"Kim": https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
"L'amante di Lady Chatterley": https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Nene Haine]

Tempi difficili : ★★
Il curioso caso del Dr. Jekyll e Mr. Hyde : ★★★
Cuore di tenebra: ★★★
Tre uomini in barca: ★★★★★
Kim: ★★★
L'amante di Lady Chatterley ★★★★