The Collected Works of Charles Dickens: The Complete Works

by Charles Dickens

This comprehensive eBook presents the complete works or all the significant works - the Œuvre - of this famous and brilliant writer in one ebook - 35200 pages easy-to-read and easy-to-navigate: • A Christmas Carol in Prose; Being a Ghost Story of Christmas
• A Tale of Two Cities
• Great Expectations
• Oliver Twist
• David Copperfield
• A Christmas Carol
• Hard Times
• Bleak House
• The Pickwick Papers
• Little Dorrit
• A Christmas Carol
• Our Mutual Friend
• Nicholas Nickleby
• The Mystery of Edwin Drood
• Hunted Down: The Detective Stories of Charles Dickens
• A Christmas Carol
• The Old Curiosity Shop
• The Chimes
• Some Christmas Stories
• Three Ghost Stories
• Dombey and Son
• The Great English Short-Story Writers
• The Cricket on the Hearth: A Fairy Tale of Home
• A Child's History of England
• Martin Chuzzlewit
• Sketches by Boz, Illustrative of Every-Day Life and Every-Day People
• American Notes
• Oliver Twist
• Famous Affinities of History: The Romance of Devotion.Lyndon Orr
• The Haunted Man and the Ghost's Bargain
• Barnaby Rudge: A Tale of the Riots of 'Eighty
• The Letters of
• The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club
• The Magic Fishbone
• The Battle of Life
• Pictures from Italy
• The Uncommercial Traveller
• A House to Let, Wilkie Collins, Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell, and Adelaide Anne Procter
• Tales from Dickens and Hallie Erminie Rives
• Oliver Twist
• The Lamplighter
•.etc.

Genres: Classics, Fiction, Literature, Ebooks, Novels, Historical Fiction, Classic Literature

23357 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1868

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

[midnightfaerie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dickens will always be my favorite classical author. There is no other writer of classics that does such a superb job of character creation and plot twists. The soap operas of its time, his works keep me captivated and engaged. I am slowly making my way through them all and get a little excited every time I pick up a new one. Here I will list the reviews as I read them.

Dickens


Nicholas Nickleby

A Tale of Two Cities

Prince Bull

Bleak House

Great Expectations

David Copperfield

Hard Times

The Haunted House

Christmas Stories

Hunted Down

Our Mutual Friend

Little Dorrit

Oliver Twist

The Letters of Charles Dickens Vol. 1, 1833-1856

[Peter · Rating 3 out of 5]

Of all authors writing in English, Dickens has a very special place in my memory. I first read his books in German translations as a teenager. In my twenties I read him voraciously in the English original and his extraordinary virtuosity in the use of language helped form my love of the English language and of British culture. However, when I reread Dickens now, several decades later, some of the magic has gone. E.g. the one-dimensionality of his female characters is notable. Also the very lengthy descriptions of situations, although beautifully executed, now seem extravagant and (dare I say it?) somewhat boring. This just goes to show that one’s literary preferences can change dramatically with age. I would still recommend Dickens to young readers, though, as he remains one of the pillars of English literature, especially as far as his unrivalled use of language is concerned.

[CadyCan]

Started 3 Jan 2012 with American Notes for General Circulation (listed this separately by mistake) finished on 9 Feb 2012 see separate listing for review.
Started Barnaby Rudge 9 Feb 2012 Finished 22 March 2012 see separate listing for review
Started Battle of Life 22 March 2012 Finished 26 March 2012 see separate listing for review
Bleak House is the next book in the Complete Works, I have read it before but started it again 27 March 2012 Finished 6 June 2012
Started A Budget of Christmas Tales first with A Christmas Carol 8 June 2012 but got bored with the theme seeing as its no where near Christmas so will revisit in December
Skipped Contributions to "All the Year Round" as well as is a number of short stories I couldn't get into.
Started The Cricket on the Hearth in July and finished it a couple of weeks later before the end of the month see separate listing for review
Started David Copperfield 1 August 2012 Finished some time in August
Read Doctor Marigold shortly after
Read Dombey and Son, a seemingly never ending story during Sept, Oct & finally finishing on 6 Nov 2012
Started George Silverman's explanation 13 December 2012 Finished 14 Dec 2012 (short story)
Started Going into Society 16 Dec 2012 Finished 20 Dec 2012 (short story)
Started Great Expectations 26 Dec 2012 Finished 20 Jan 2013. This is the second time I've read this. The first time was at school. See separate listing for review
Started Hard Times 3 February 2013 Finished 16 February 2013. See separate listing for review
Started The Haunted Man and the Ghost's Bargain 16 February 2013 Finished a month or so later & then reread December 2013 in a couple of days while away cos couldn't remember story to do review. See separate listing for review
Started Holiday Romance 21 December 2013 Finished 23 December 2013. See separate listing for review
Started The Holly-Tree 23 December 2013. See separate listing for review
Started Hunted Down-17 February 2014 Finished 19 February 2014. See separate listing for review
Started The Lamplighter - 20 February 2014 Finished 21 February 2014. See separate listing for review
Started Lazy Tour of Two Idle Apprentices - started 22 February Finished 25 February. See separate listing for review
Paused at location 110057 of 294502 at the start of Letters of Charles Dickens, Vol 1: 1833-1856 and skipped ahead to:
The Old Curiosity Shop (cos Jean's reading it at mo) - 21 Aug 2015 Finished on ?
Went back to first book after Letters of Charles Dickens which is
Started Life and Adventures of Martin Chuzzlewit: Started 23 Oct 2017 Finished on tbc

[Jeanne · Rating 5 out of 5]

reading it again on my Kindle this time - loving it

[Albertine67 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Okay - I have NOT read the complete works of Dickens. Having said that, I have over the years read a lot of his stuff. I bought this Kindle edition because, just before Christmas, I was talking to a friend about Dickens and mentioned my own favourite of his novels, Dombey and Son. My friend hadn't read or heard of it and it made me remember how long it had been since my last rereading. So at Christmas I bought one of these cheap huge editions and went back to it.

Dombey and Son is every bit as wonderful as I remembered and little Paul Dombey, the old fashioned boy, remains one of my favourite characters ever. The chapter which relates his death is one of the most moving and beautifully written things I've ever read. There is no trace of sentimentality or mawkishness; just the spare and elegant prose of a most humane writer. For all his faults, I forgive him everything for that chapter alone.

[Derek Davis · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a sort of Dickens potpourri, covering three of his novels that I've read in chronological succession, so for those who don't like Dickens (and I know who you are!), just shoo. I do like Dickens, but less for his actual tales, which I admit languish along the way more often than not, than for his humor, detail, and caring for humanity.
I won't bother dropping in examples of his humor, for it niggles and wanders, dissecting the overbearing with snipes at their foibles, cuddling the worthwhile under coverlets of love. I've read long paragraphs of his describing a simple scene and been left near suffocating with laughter You get the idea.
Those paragraphs – and others packed with seriousness – live on detail, the bits and pieces of what makes us human, for good or bad, and how those pieces not only define but direct us in our actions. That may sound simple or everyday, but Dickens wanders down into the deepest levels of the immediate to find the caste-off scraps that are, so often, more important than the looming furniture.
Dickens was a reporter – in the general and in the specific sense of being a writer (and righter) of human wrongs. The characters he extols are the downtrodden, the victims of the inequities that come form being alive in a complicated, confused, ill-balanced and often uncaring world. His villains are damn-your-soul sons of bitches that you wait to see devoured by their own evil (which you do get to see!).
All that sounds a bit heavy-handed, doesn't it? 'Tis, but life for so many of us (as the current global situation underscores) is just that – heavy-handed, unsympathetic and bereft of worth.
So those are the pillars upon which I balance my respect for Dickens. But I'm not trying to knight him simply for carrying a lance. There are many times when he seems to be wearing his armor backwards or at least askew
Nicholas Nickleby *****
Not perfect by any means, but strong, stout, direct and unsparing. Nicholas, his mother and his sister Kate are left adrift following the death of his father (you'd be hard-pressed to find a family in 19th-century British novels with both parents alive and functioning). They are overseen, to their disservice, by venal Uncle Ralph, who holds the reins to the family fortune, what's left of it. Nicholas takes an instructor's position in a Yorkshire school which is the epitome of malevolent education. He leaves after beating the crap out of the vicious schoolmaster (Wackford Squeers – another of Dickens' marvelously named villains), then moving the family to London to become a private secretary, constantly undercut by Ralph, who is busy trying, with his equally vile associates, to gain control of a young heiress's fortune.
The action unfolds at the pace it should, when it should. Both Nicholas and Kate seemed destined to have their romantic choices denied them, but of course they win their loves, and Uncle Ralph receives vengeance at his own hand. The broad plot, then, is a standard thing, but not so the handling of feelings and character. Dickens retains some pity even for the uncle who, after all, isn't responsible for his birth as a terrible human being – though Dickens holds nothing back in his verbal evisceration of Sir Mulberry Hawk, a dissolute playboy without the least smidgeon of decency.
The Old Curiosity Shop ***
The outlook here I find too glaringly black and white. It's also confusing that Nell, the central character, is described in her actions as though she's 9 or 10, but is said to be roughly 14. And her determination to lead her failing grandfather on an interminable walk from London into the countryside is downright absurd. But again, Dickens brings such humanity throughout that I can forgive much of this, especially in chapters such as Nell in a churchyard, talking to the sexton – a brilliant study of the joys of life and transience; of the continuation of good and decency no matter what.
No need to badger the plot here, which is stark and unrelenting, but in a sense barely matters. But I found Nell's death near the end an unmotivated tear-jerking cheat that adds nothing; Dickens' apologia for death rings hollow.
Barnaby Rudge ***
What an oddly disjointed and bumbling mess. There's indication that Dickens intended this to be his first novel, but it was published only when, much later, he had established his own weekly, "Master Humphrey's Clock," as a depository for this and similar pieces--including The Old Curiosity Shop (the magazine lasted a year). To me, it reads like two short novels slapped together with verbal Gorilla Glue. The parts don't line up, the plots misalign or disappear, then reappear when you've forgotten what came earlier.
The first half concentrates on the life flowing into, out of and around the Maypole Tavern; the animosity between the Chester and Haredale families; and a murder 20 years back. It's remarkably, amazingly, stunningly tedious. If you're waiting for something (anything) to happen, you will be sorely disappointed. Barnaby – the retarded son of a man who disappeared after the murder and who lives with his mother, is a minor character at best.
The second half deals mainly with a massive anti-Catholic uprising in London in 1780, into which Barnaby, in his dull innocence, is dragged by a reprehensible lout from the Maypole who has an innate ability to lead others to destruction. Once the riots get under way, the action not only picks up but explodes in one of the best descriptions of mob rule ever put together. Dickens zeroes in on both personal motives and the intoxication of mob behavior, when normal inhibitions become absorbed by exhilarating mayhem. He brings remarkable insight to the current situation in America, including the acceleration of the riots by the soldiery's murderous attempts to put them down.
I'm not quite finished reading Barnaby and I will go on. My main problem at this point is not so much wondering how it will all become reconciled, but understanding just what there is to reconcile. Good luck, Barnaby, whatever that may be and wherever it takes you.

[Classic reverie · Rating 5 out of 5]

No errors noted so far. I thought the extra commentary was interesting. I will continue to read here and make notes but my reviews of selected novels will be at that the title page. Great navigation for this Delphi. Edition.

[Michelle]

I'm sure this will be on my currently-reading shelf for a long time. Started with Pickwick Papers on 12/11/12.

[dj hargin · Rating 1 out of 5]

Impossible to navigate

Impossible to navigate - links do not work, can't locate/jump to book you want to read. Book is too long to just scroll hoping to find

[Jane]

This review is going to be different from others I have left, in that it isn't actually a review. That is because this book isn’t one which I am going to read in its entirety in one go. Charles Dickens was prolific. He wrote 15 novels, 5 novellas, and hundreds of short stories and essays, all of which appear in this collection, and I have set myself the rather daunting challenge of completing this collection this year. I will add the caveat that I am concentrating on the 15 novels and 5 novellas listed below. I am aiming to complete those 20 books this year (2025), but I am not including all the short stories and essays to consider this self-imposed challenge complete. I have previously read three Dickens works – the novels, Bleak House and Great Expectations but it was so long ago I only have very vague recollections of the stories and I have also read the novella A Christmas Carol, which I know inside out. However, I am familiar with most of his stories as TV/film adaptations, so it will be interesting to see how the actual novels differ from the adaptations.

I have listed them so that I can add individual star ratings to each book as I read them. I am not going to review all the stories individually here as it would end up being the longest review in the world, so the star ratings next to each title will suffice, and will be updated each time I complete a story. If you wish to read my individual book reviews you will find them on other versions of the book, and I will state below which version of the book it can be found on, should I choose to write a review.

THE NOVELS:

The Pickwick Papers (1837)

✔️Oliver Twist (1839)⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ review on Penguin Classics version

Nicholas Nickleby (1839)

The Old Curiosity Shop (1841)

Barnaby Rudge (1841)

Martin Chuzzlewit (1841)

Dombey and Son (1848)

David Copperfield (1850)

✔️Bleak House (1853) ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ review on Penguins Classics version

✔️Hard Times (1854)⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ review on Penguin Classics version

✔️Little Dorrit (1857)⭐️⭐️⭐️ review on Penguin Classics version

A Tale of Two Cities (1859)

✔️Great Expectations (1861)⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ review on Penguin Classics version

Our Mutual Friend (1865)

Edwin Drood (unfinished) (1870)


THE NOVELLAS:

A Christmas Carol (1843)

✔️The Chimes (1844) ⭐️⭐️ review on edition published by Waking Lion Press

✔️The Cricket on the Hearth (1845)⭐️⭐️⭐️review on edition published by Wildside Press

✔️The Battle of Life: A Love Story (1846)⭐️⭐️⭐️ review on the Kindle Classics Edition

✔️The Haunted Man and the Ghost’s Bargain (1848)⭐️⭐️⭐️review on the Kindle Classics Edition

[Victor Castro · Rating 5 out of 5]

Having recently read 'A Christmas Carol' (which I felt was apropos for the season at hand) I found it especially interesting in comparison with all the film and television adaptations I have watched over the years (my favorite being the 1951 version starring the excellent, Alastair Sim)–with more to come in the future, no doubt. I have confirmed ( to myself), why this tale is, and shall forever remain, a classic Christmas story for as long as Christmasses are remembered, in this world, anyway.
I look forward to further reading from Dicken's impressive oeuvre.

[Shelley Bridgman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Would take a week to review all of his work so I cheated and featured his complete works which I do own.

Next to Oscar Wilde Dickens is my favourite author. He magically paints pictures with words and creates unforgettable characters. Even if many of his works are very long everyone should read some of the classic titles. From The Old Curiosity Shop and A Tale of Two cities to David Copperfield and Great Expectations. Masterpieces all

[Renee · Rating 5 out of 5]

You must read Dicken's for sheer entertainment, and insights on the human condition. He is a master of description, character and plot. Yes, he uses many words and waxes poetic over much, but the wax makes a candle to see into dark places. I read Christmas Carol every December! My other favorites are Great Expectations, Nicholas Nickleby, David Copperfield and Oliver Twist. You will laugh and cry over these stories and they will live in your heart forever.

[Tristan]

This vast collection contains:

* A Dinner at Poplar Walk - the author’s first published short story, a humorous slice of life. 3/5

* The Pickwick Papers - the author’s first serialised novel, an over-the-top pastiche of the times.

[Jane · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am reading A Christmas Carol from this collection.. Loved it!!

[Melodee A Reigel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Many will attempt to dissuade the reader that the great British novelist is Austen, or Thackeray, or the Brontes, or ? Many will be wrong. The clearly greatest novelist of English literature is Charles John Huffam Dickens, and this is truly is not a close consideration. Extremely prolix, he redefined the approach to novel, by engaging the reader in understanding when his cumbersome prose was meant, in good-humored jest, to be perceived as such. Read in this fashion, Dickens opens up a new world of enjoyment in reading the printed word. He can evoke emotions in a paragraph that a mere mortal author could not unleash in a career. Word selection, in a world before Roget, is precise, and delightful. The reader's vocabulary will expand enormously; be advised to have a good dictionary at the ready. Of all his novels, including the best-known, I would have to advance that "Barnaby Rudge" is, of the unfamiliar especially, his greatest effort (granted that I am indeed historically prejudiced to the time setting of this work). But, other than some of the monologues of his travels, there is nothing dreary in the lot; the novels themselves are sparkling and any would stand alone, by a lesser author. This is a deep dive into Dickens, but one that you can enjoy for a lifetime. Cherish the experience! You shall have earned it.

[RICHARD STENTON · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an exceptional book with all the writings of Charles Dickens. Great Expectations was better than I had imagined and Oliver Twist and Tale of Two Cities are classics. The characters come to life under the prose of Dickens and their names conger up the feeling of their personality. You are immediately swept up in the story and can't wait to follow the development of the characters and the social implications he tries to convey. I am looking forward to more of the same after I relax and try some lighter material.

[Leslie · Rating 5 out of 5]

All of Dickens under one roof!

Convenient to have all Dickens books under one roof. There were many lesser titles that I was not familiar with. However, don't lose your place because all the pages (THOUSANDS) are counted as one book! Turns out Delphi has also published individual books now, but I didn't know that when I DLed the Complete. Either way, I enjoyed all the extra notes and background not to mention the original engraved illustrations!

[Karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

still working on.

[Aeterna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful and lovely as always. :)

[Leslie · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favorite writers! His work should be a must read for any that enjoy period piece work.

[David Simmons · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's Dickens, isn't it?! The whole shebang.
Have read through all novels and novellas once, and am revisiting the main books again.
Endless fun.

[Richard M Loader · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant!

All of Dickens great novels here. A fantastic read. Really enjoying Barnaby Rudge. I recommend it. There is a lot of stuff besides the novels, as well.

[Rowena Eddy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I only read A Christmas Carol. A very enjoyable short read.

[Emma · Rating 5 out of 5]

There is nothing I can say about Charles Dickens that could possibly be worthy. All I can say is that he is held in great reverence by me. I have been a huge fan of his works since I was a young teenager.

[Randy · Rating 5 out of 5]

You always have a great story!

[Shiv Shanker]

oljhjjhjhhj

[R.W. Erskine · Rating 5 out of 5]

what can one say, its Dickens

[keereads · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read

[Jaana Nystrom · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love Dickens. Re-read these.