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On Duty with Inspector Field
On Duty with Inspector Field is a short story by Charles Dickens. Charles John Huffam Dickens (7 February 1812 - 9 June 1870) was an English writer and social critic. He created some of the world's most memorable fictional characters and is generally regarded as the greatest novelist of the Victorian period. During his life, his works enjoyed unprecedented fame, and by the twentieth century his literary genius was broadly acknowledged by critics and scholars. His novels and short stories continue to be widely popular. Born in Portsmouth, England, Dickens was forced to leave school to work in a factory when his father was thrown into debtors' prison. Although he had little formal education, his early impoverishment drove him to succeed. Over his career he edited a weekly journal for 20 years, wrote 15 novels, five novellas and 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 sprang to fame with the 1836 serial publication of The Pickwick Papers. Within a few years he had become an international literary celebrity, famous for his humour, satire, and keen observation of character and society. His novels, most published in monthly or weekly installments, pioneered the serial publication of narrative fiction, which became the dominant Victorian mode for novel publication. The installment format allowed Dickens to evaluate his audience's reaction, and he often modified his plot and character development based on such feedback. For example, when his wife's chiropodist expressed distress at the way Miss Mowcher in David Copperfield seemed to reflect her disabilities, Dickens went on to improve the character with positive features. Fagin in Oliver Twist apparently mirrors the famous fence Ikey Solomon; His caricature of Leigh Hunt in the figure of Mr Skimpole in Bleak House was likewise toned down on advice from some of his friends, as they read episodes. In the same novel, both Lawrence Boythorne and Mooney the beadle are drawn from real life-Boythorne from Walter Savage Landor and Mooney from 'Looney', a beadle at Salisbury Square. His plots were carefully constructed, and Dickens often wove in elements from topical events into his narratives. Masses of the illiterate poor chipped in ha'pennies to have each new monthly episode read to them, opening up and inspiring a new class of readers.
- GenresShort StoriesClassics
30 pages, Paperback
First published February 6, 2014
About the author
Charles Dickens
13.9k books32.5k 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 - 8 of 8 reviews
June 25, 2020
In 1851, Charles Dickens wrote a short story in his periodical "Household Works" describing the night he accompanied Inspector Charles Field of Scotland Yard, walking the beat with him. "The only officials whom Dickens handles with any kind of friendliness are ...policeman". Inspector Field was sagacious and vigilant. "...every thief...cowers before him...all watch him, all answer when addressed, all laugh at his jokes...O what a jolly game it is, when Mr. Field comes down-and don't want nobody!"
"In all, Inspector Field is received with warmth...pickpockets defer to him...one beldame in rusty black has such admiration for him, that she runs a whole streets length to shake him by the hand; tumbling into a heap of mud by the way...". "The Old Mint", late at night, full of low lodging houses...beds for travelers...crowds of sleepers...Come! Let us see you!...Be scrutinized!
Dickens would write about the squalid conditions of those in the underbelly of society. "Tumbling houses,...vile contents, animate and inanimate...How many, would believe that they breathe THIS air?" While singing the praises of Inspector Field, Dickens discusses dark closed cellars full of dirty and ragged young men and a dilapidated dark outhouse with "ten, twenty, thirty...men, women, and children heaped upon the floor like maggots in a cheese!"
"In all, Inspector Field is received with warmth...pickpockets defer to him...one beldame in rusty black has such admiration for him, that she runs a whole streets length to shake him by the hand; tumbling into a heap of mud by the way...". "The Old Mint", late at night, full of low lodging houses...beds for travelers...crowds of sleepers...Come! Let us see you!...Be scrutinized!
Dickens would write about the squalid conditions of those in the underbelly of society. "Tumbling houses,...vile contents, animate and inanimate...How many, would believe that they breathe THIS air?" While singing the praises of Inspector Field, Dickens discusses dark closed cellars full of dirty and ragged young men and a dilapidated dark outhouse with "ten, twenty, thirty...men, women, and children heaped upon the floor like maggots in a cheese!"
July 20, 2022
“HOW goes the night? Saint Giles's clock is striking nine.”
ON DUTY WITH INSPECTOR FIELD is Dickens’ non-fiction short story telling of a night on which he accompanied Inspector Charles Field of Scotland Yard on his rounds in one of the gungier, nastier areas on the wrong side of the tracks in London. What the specific intention of walking the beat with him that night was we can never know. Perhaps it was an investigation of current police methods that would find its way into his literary ground-breaking characterization of Inspector Bucket in BLEAK HOUSE. Perhaps it was simply a means of investigating the squalid, demeaning conditions in which the poor, the unemployed, and the immigrants were forced to live in Victorian London. Perhaps it was a searching for fodder to fuel Dickens’ near endless satirical diatribes against the inequalities imposed by the strata of Victorian class structure in England. Whether there was a specific purpose behind the night’s work is irrelevant because ON DUTY WITH INSPECTOR FIELDS makes it clear that Dickens ended the night with material that would serve any and all of those questions.
That said, I personally found ON DUTY WITH INSPECTOR FIELD to be interesting, certainly eyebrow-raising, perhaps even shocking, but I never felt myself in the grip of a compelling story as I do with virtually all of Dickens’ fiction. For me, ON DUTY WITH INSPECTOR FIELD was a case of reading it just because Charles Dickens wrote it, been there, done that and glad I did it. But I’ll take BLEAK HOUSE and Inspector Bucket or sweeper Jo over the non-fiction every day of the week.
Paul Weiss
ON DUTY WITH INSPECTOR FIELD is Dickens’ non-fiction short story telling of a night on which he accompanied Inspector Charles Field of Scotland Yard on his rounds in one of the gungier, nastier areas on the wrong side of the tracks in London. What the specific intention of walking the beat with him that night was we can never know. Perhaps it was an investigation of current police methods that would find its way into his literary ground-breaking characterization of Inspector Bucket in BLEAK HOUSE. Perhaps it was simply a means of investigating the squalid, demeaning conditions in which the poor, the unemployed, and the immigrants were forced to live in Victorian London. Perhaps it was a searching for fodder to fuel Dickens’ near endless satirical diatribes against the inequalities imposed by the strata of Victorian class structure in England. Whether there was a specific purpose behind the night’s work is irrelevant because ON DUTY WITH INSPECTOR FIELDS makes it clear that Dickens ended the night with material that would serve any and all of those questions.
That said, I personally found ON DUTY WITH INSPECTOR FIELD to be interesting, certainly eyebrow-raising, perhaps even shocking, but I never felt myself in the grip of a compelling story as I do with virtually all of Dickens’ fiction. For me, ON DUTY WITH INSPECTOR FIELD was a case of reading it just because Charles Dickens wrote it, been there, done that and glad I did it. But I’ll take BLEAK HOUSE and Inspector Bucket or sweeper Jo over the non-fiction every day of the week.
Paul Weiss
July 22, 2022
Charles Dickens was fascinated with the development of the police force and he occasionally would accompany his friend and detective, Inspector Charles Field of Scotland Yard on his nightly rounds through the streets of London’s crime-infested lodging houses and poverty-stricken rookeries. In 1851, Dickens spent one such night allowing him to get an up close look at the way the detectives worked and what type of techniques they employed in their jobs. The Detective Branch was formed in 1842 with an emphasis on crime detection and Dickens wanted to alleviate the suspicion the public had for policing in general by writing several essays particularly focusing on the work they did, shedding a positive light on how they kept the public safe.
On Duty with Inspector Field was written in 1851 for Dickens own magazine, Household Words. He highlights his friend, Inspector Field as a larger than life authority in the crime-ridden streets and also uses this opportunity to demonstrate for the public who knew nothing of or just ignored the poverty that lay just below their noses. In his true Dickensian style, he writes with such poetry and poignancy about the state of life of the poor and downtrodden who live in squalor crammed into the darkest cellars and slums in the most ragged and decrepit conditions.
Ten, twenty, thirty — who can count them! Men, women, children, for the most part naked, heaped upon the floor like maggots in a cheese!
On Duty with Inspector Field was written in 1851 for Dickens own magazine, Household Words. He highlights his friend, Inspector Field as a larger than life authority in the crime-ridden streets and also uses this opportunity to demonstrate for the public who knew nothing of or just ignored the poverty that lay just below their noses. In his true Dickensian style, he writes with such poetry and poignancy about the state of life of the poor and downtrodden who live in squalor crammed into the darkest cellars and slums in the most ragged and decrepit conditions.
Ten, twenty, thirty — who can count them! Men, women, children, for the most part naked, heaped upon the floor like maggots in a cheese!
July 22, 2022
Inspector Charles Field of Scotland Yard arranged for Charles Dickens to walk through some of the poorest neighborhoods of London with a group of detectives. They set out at night with the church bells of St Giles marking the hours as they checked the lodging houses. There were pickpockets and other thieves in the neighborhoods. But there were also families, whose only crime was poverty, who desperately sold matches on the street. These hungry, poor inhabitants were packed into rooms to sleep, living in filth, and breathing foul air due to lack of good sanitary facilities. Even Inspector Field was touched by the plight of the poorest families. While Dickens did show the power of the detectives, the story seemed dedicated even more to showing his "Household Words" readers the terrible poverty that existed and the need for change. 3.5 stars
July 22, 2022
Inspector Field was, in fact, a real Victorian police officer, one of the first of the Scotland Yard detectives. He formed a friendship with Charles Dickens, who was invited to go on nightly tours of the town while Field was on duty. It would be much like a ride-along given to a journalist these days. Dickens uses his consummate skills as a storyteller to bring us along for the adventure into what would be the seedier side of London and to give us a feeling of what it was like to do police work at the time.
My reading was much enhanced by having my friend, Lori, lead a group reading and giving us a huge amount of interesting information that helped place this experience in the time and place it occurred.
My reading was much enhanced by having my friend, Lori, lead a group reading and giving us a huge amount of interesting information that helped place this experience in the time and place it occurred.
July 23, 2022
Another from Dickens short fiction, from his time spent accompanying Inspector Fields of Scotland Yard on his late night London rounds. Here we see the underside of the city, where Dickens shows us the often forgotten people forced to live piled up together in places like “Rat’s Castle.”
“How many, who amidst this compound of sickening smells, these heaps of filth, these tumbling houses, with all their vile contents, animate, and inanimate, slimily overflowing into the black road, would believe that they breathe this air?”
Dickens doesn’t leave us wallowing in tragedy though. There’s some laugh-out-loud humor to balance it out, making this a satisfying Dickensian journey.
“How many, who amidst this compound of sickening smells, these heaps of filth, these tumbling houses, with all their vile contents, animate, and inanimate, slimily overflowing into the black road, would believe that they breathe this air?”
Dickens doesn’t leave us wallowing in tragedy though. There’s some laugh-out-loud humor to balance it out, making this a satisfying Dickensian journey.
July 23, 2022
3.5⭐
July 26, 2022
I read this short story with the wonderful Dickensians! group here on GR. I highly recommend this short story, and the group discussion (which I'm sure will be archived on the Dickensian! page for a long time) for anyone who is a fan of Charles Dickens, or of Detective stories.
Inspector Field was a real person, one of the first detectives with Scotland Yard, and a friend of Dickens. For anyone who has read Bleak House, you will recognize Inspector Bucket in this earlier description of Insector Field. In fact, Field used to let Dickens accompany him on his nightly rounds, and this story grew out of that experience. There is so much more detail on the Dickensians! page. It was a wonderful experience to read this story slowly along with leaders who supplied incredible background research (thank you Sara and Lori!).
Inspector Field was a real person, one of the first detectives with Scotland Yard, and a friend of Dickens. For anyone who has read Bleak House, you will recognize Inspector Bucket in this earlier description of Insector Field. In fact, Field used to let Dickens accompany him on his nightly rounds, and this story grew out of that experience. There is so much more detail on the Dickensians! page. It was a wonderful experience to read this story slowly along with leaders who supplied incredible background research (thank you Sara and Lori!).
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews