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London Crimes
Dickens, Charles
142 pages, Paperback
First published February 1, 1982
18 people want to read
About the author
Charles Dickens
12.6k books31.3k 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 - 2 of 2 reviews
January 30, 2024
This book could not keep my attention. Someone called Dickens the father of the detective story and I don’t get it. This book was hard to get through, the writing is so old that I had to try hard to understand what was happening and even then it didn’t seem that interesting. I was excited at first to try this, but was sorely disappointed. The plot just was not fun and had no mysterious parts. It just recalled some lame stories from London’s police force. The characters were unremarkable too. A strange book. I hope Dickens’s other books aren’t so tough to read cause I’ve heard such good things. It felt like I had to read this for an English class not for fun.
October 10, 2021
According to the preface of this book, Charles Dickens' son remarked that these stories are real ones, told by real detectives. Supposedly Dickens, "consorting with the constabulary, was the obliging recipient of their confidences and reminiscences, and with his inimitable genius, he transformed them into fiction for our lasting enjoyment".
The book is noted as written "by Charles Dickens and other hands". These are stories that were in Dickens' Household Words magazine, so most are written by him, some by him with another, and the last 2 or so are just by others. All are enjoyable, tho, and the characters in them would fit well into any Dickens novel and leave you wanting more. Descriptions of the activities of gangs of thieves, or ways pickpockets worked, and ways the police used to catch them, etc. are most interesting, while often being almost chilling in their cleverness, especially knowing they were real events.
The book is noted as written "by Charles Dickens and other hands". These are stories that were in Dickens' Household Words magazine, so most are written by him, some by him with another, and the last 2 or so are just by others. All are enjoyable, tho, and the characters in them would fit well into any Dickens novel and leave you wanting more. Descriptions of the activities of gangs of thieves, or ways pickpockets worked, and ways the police used to catch them, etc. are most interesting, while often being almost chilling in their cleverness, especially knowing they were real events.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews