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The Usborne Complete Dickens All the Novels Retold
The Usborne Complete Dickens
From innocent orphan Oliver and the cheeky Artful Dodger, to creepy bride Miss Havisham and old miser Scrooge- Dickens’s characters are famous throughout the world. These brilliant adaptations of all his novels, with illustrations introducing the characters, make the perfect introduction to Dickens.
From innocent orphan Oliver and the cheeky Artful Dodger, to creepy bride Miss Havisham and old miser Scrooge- Dickens’s characters are famous throughout the world. These brilliant adaptations of all his novels, with illustrations introducing the characters, make the perfect introduction to Dickens.
- GenresClassics
516 pages, Paperback
First published December 14, 2018
17 people are currently reading
113 people want to read
About the author
Anna Milbourne
221 books49 followersGrowing up in North West England and in Germany, Anna wrote plays about talking animals, and stories about naughty children, and drew on every available surface. After school, she did an Art Foundation course, then a degree in German Literature & Philosophy at Oxford University. In 1998 she found her perfect job at Usborne in London, writing about everything from curious penguins to trips to the Moon. Usborne.com
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
May 14, 2021
Along with Complete Shakespeare and Complete Jane Austen, the Complete Dickens is sure to spark young imaginations with time-tested stories. Dickens can be a lot to tackle, especially in high school, and this gives readers a chance to familiarize themselves with the stories before tackling his wonderfully corpulent stories.
Maria Surducan, who illustrated the Shakespeare volume, is back with more excellent work. Each novel has one illustration in addition to the spread introducing the story and characters.
The (textless) spread for Little Dorrit
The illustration for Little Dorrit
Some of the adaptation styles confused me. Bleak House is largely told in the present tense, which reads awkwardly. Sections of Esther's diary are a little too long--they are all in italics, meaning pages and pages of italic text, which is a bit of a strain on the eyes. The girthiness of Dickens's novels does not lend them to brief adaptations, so some parts are left out. Little Dorrit lacks Rigaud, the Casby/Finching family, the Meagles and Tattycoram, Daniel Doyce, Cavaletto, and the Plornishes (to name just a few--of course, all these side characters' side characters are also absent). While this decision is entirely understandable, compared to the Shakespeare and Austen volumes, it looks like poor editing. Of course, Shakespeare's plays are significantly shorter than most novels, and Austen has an admirable simplicity in her stories. Dickens is on another level, story-wise, so of course his works must be adapted differently. But there is always something lost in adaptation, especially when such significant parts of the story are cut out.
I still really enjoyed this book and hope to own a copy someday. It just wasn't quite up to the level of Milbourne's adaptations of Shakespeare and Austen. Yet, it was thoroughly enjoyable, and is a splendid entrée into one of the world's great novelists for young readers.
Maria Surducan, who illustrated the Shakespeare volume, is back with more excellent work. Each novel has one illustration in addition to the spread introducing the story and characters.
The (textless) spread for Little DorritThe illustration for Little Dorrit
Some of the adaptation styles confused me. Bleak House is largely told in the present tense, which reads awkwardly. Sections of Esther's diary are a little too long--they are all in italics, meaning pages and pages of italic text, which is a bit of a strain on the eyes. The girthiness of Dickens's novels does not lend them to brief adaptations, so some parts are left out. Little Dorrit lacks Rigaud, the Casby/Finching family, the Meagles and Tattycoram, Daniel Doyce, Cavaletto, and the Plornishes (to name just a few--of course, all these side characters' side characters are also absent). While this decision is entirely understandable, compared to the Shakespeare and Austen volumes, it looks like poor editing. Of course, Shakespeare's plays are significantly shorter than most novels, and Austen has an admirable simplicity in her stories. Dickens is on another level, story-wise, so of course his works must be adapted differently. But there is always something lost in adaptation, especially when such significant parts of the story are cut out.
I still really enjoyed this book and hope to own a copy someday. It just wasn't quite up to the level of Milbourne's adaptations of Shakespeare and Austen. Yet, it was thoroughly enjoyable, and is a splendid entrée into one of the world's great novelists for young readers.
March 14, 2021
Fantastic adaptations. What a wonderful way to get introduced or reread Dickens stories. So glad to own this beautiful book.
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September 5, 2022***Who sucked me in***
BookCravings in YouTube in their The Usborne Complete Dickens and Complete Shakespeare Illustrated by Maria Surducan | BookCravings video published on maandag 5 september 2022
The illustrations look gorgeous! Plus I think having read a simpeler version of the stories will help me when I want to tackle the real stuff.
BookCravings in YouTube in their The Usborne Complete Dickens and Complete Shakespeare Illustrated by Maria Surducan | BookCravings video published on maandag 5 september 2022
The illustrations look gorgeous! Plus I think having read a simpeler version of the stories will help me when I want to tackle the real stuff.
March 6, 2023
I haven't been much interested in reading classics before I purchased the three Usborne Complete books, Charles Dickens, Jane Austen, and Shakespeare. After reading this retelling of all of Dickens's novels, I had to consider how much I've missed. Obviously, I imagine all sorts of characters and scenes are not in these short retellings, but I highly enjoyed them. So, this book has really inspired me to delve deeper into more of what we call classics. <3
April 25, 2024
Dickens is known for being wordy, so abridgement seemed good to me. I read Oliver Twist, Great Expectations, and Little Dorrit. They were all just okay. Dickens seems fond of convenient coincidences and I had to suspend my disbelief too much. My favorite part was reading about the history of his work at the back of the book—the effect his serials had on society, etc.
December 2, 2024
Oh Wow!!!! to fall in love with this old favorite again... I adore it.. I am a ELA teacher and plan on using it this year to teach with. I will read this many times... The new format is fantastic and yet it keeps that old charm...
March 31, 2021
“Pls sir, may I have some more?” I loved reading through all the stories. I’m glad that there is a easier book for younger readers, so that they can enjoy Dickens work as well.
March 24, 2024
The stories are good introductions to Dickens but very difficult to keep one's attention despite being shortened. Closed the book before completing the final three chapters because I got bored of it.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews