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The Haunting of Charles Dickens
Meg Pickel’s older brother, Orion, has disappeared. One night, she steals out to look for him, and makes two surprising discoveries: She stumbles upon a séance that she suspects involves Orion, and she meets the author Charles Dickens, also unable to sleep, and roaming the London streets. He is a customer of Meg’s father, who owns a print shop, and a family friend. Mr. Dickens fears that the children of London aren’t safe, and is trying to solve the mystery of so many disappearances. If he can, then perhaps he’ll be able to write once again.
With stunning black-and-white illustrations by Greg Ruth, here is a literary mystery that celebrates the power of books, and brings to life one of the world’s best-loved authors.
368 pages, Hardcover
First published September 1, 2009
17 people are currently reading
440 people want to read
About the author
Lewis Buzbee
10 books216 followersMy new novel, Diver, will be in bookstores in March of 2025.
Lewis Buzbee is a fourth generation California native who began writing at the age of 15, after reading the first chapter of John Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath. Since then he’s been a dishwasher, a bookseller, a publisher, a caterer, a bartender, and a teacher of writing. He and his wife, the poet Julie Bruck, live with their daughter Maddy in San Francisco, just half a block from Golden Gate Park. His books for adults include The Yellow Lighted Bookshop, Blackboard, Fliegelman’s Desire, After the Gold Rush, and First to Leave Before the Sun.
His first novel for middle grade readers, Steinbeck’s Ghost, was published in 2008 by Feiwel and Friends and was selected for these honors: a Smithsonian Notable Book, a Northern California Book Award Nominee, the Northern California Independent Booksellers’ Association Children’s Book of the Year, and the California Library Association’s John and Patricia Beatty Award.
A second middle-grade novel, The Haunting of Charles Dickens, was published in 2011 and won the Northern California Book Award, was nominated for an Edgar, and was selected as a Judy Lopez Memorial Honor Book.
A third middle-grade novel, Bridge of Time, was published in May 2012--time travel, San Francisco, Mark Twain.
Lewis Buzbee is a fourth generation California native who began writing at the age of 15, after reading the first chapter of John Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath. Since then he’s been a dishwasher, a bookseller, a publisher, a caterer, a bartender, and a teacher of writing. He and his wife, the poet Julie Bruck, live with their daughter Maddy in San Francisco, just half a block from Golden Gate Park. His books for adults include The Yellow Lighted Bookshop, Blackboard, Fliegelman’s Desire, After the Gold Rush, and First to Leave Before the Sun.
His first novel for middle grade readers, Steinbeck’s Ghost, was published in 2008 by Feiwel and Friends and was selected for these honors: a Smithsonian Notable Book, a Northern California Book Award Nominee, the Northern California Independent Booksellers’ Association Children’s Book of the Year, and the California Library Association’s John and Patricia Beatty Award.
A second middle-grade novel, The Haunting of Charles Dickens, was published in 2011 and won the Northern California Book Award, was nominated for an Edgar, and was selected as a Judy Lopez Memorial Honor Book.
A third middle-grade novel, Bridge of Time, was published in May 2012--time travel, San Francisco, Mark Twain.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 83 reviews
January 13, 2011
Meg Pickel's older brother Orion mysteriously disappeared months ago, much to the dismay of Meg's family, who run a print shop. When Meg sneaks out one night to look for Orion, she discovers a séance which might hold a clue, and there she encounters an old friend of the family, Charles Dickens. Dickens is concerned about the many disappearances of children from the streets of London, and he and Meg join together to find Orion and solve the mystery.
I wanted to love this, I really did. I adored Buzbee's memoir about bookstores, The Yellow-Lighted Bookshop, and was looking forward to his foray into young adult fiction. And in many ways, I did like it. Meg's an appealing character, brave and clever, and Buzbee's portrayal of Dickens is convincing. He has a good feel for the atmosphere of Victorian London and for Dickens' concern for social issues.
However, one thing just kept bouncing me out of the narrative: the constant references to Dickens' works and other cultural references. Since the story is set while Dickens was working on Our Mutual Friend, I could maybe accept the use of some of those characters' name: possibly Dickens could have met someone named Jenny Wren, for instance, and decided to reuse the name. But major characters named Mr. Micawber and Bill Sikes? Names unremarked by Meg or by Dickens himself? And worse than that, Meg and Dickens visit a street called Penny Lane, inhabited by a pretty nurse selling poppies and four young men cleaning a fire engine? It's all just too twee and clever for me.
I would probably try another YA by Buzbee, but I hope he'll tone down the self-consciously clever bits.
I wanted to love this, I really did. I adored Buzbee's memoir about bookstores, The Yellow-Lighted Bookshop, and was looking forward to his foray into young adult fiction. And in many ways, I did like it. Meg's an appealing character, brave and clever, and Buzbee's portrayal of Dickens is convincing. He has a good feel for the atmosphere of Victorian London and for Dickens' concern for social issues.
However, one thing just kept bouncing me out of the narrative: the constant references to Dickens' works and other cultural references. Since the story is set while Dickens was working on Our Mutual Friend, I could maybe accept the use of some of those characters' name: possibly Dickens could have met someone named Jenny Wren, for instance, and decided to reuse the name. But major characters named Mr. Micawber and Bill Sikes? Names unremarked by Meg or by Dickens himself? And worse than that, Meg and Dickens visit a street called Penny Lane, inhabited by a pretty nurse selling poppies and four young men cleaning a fire engine? It's all just too twee and clever for me.
I would probably try another YA by Buzbee, but I hope he'll tone down the self-consciously clever bits.
June 28, 2010
Sometimes there are stories that are in my mind that I want to read, but know not within what pages they lie. As soon as I began this book, I knew it was one of those stories I'd been searching for a long time.
This book is so wonderful on so many levels that it's hard to know where to begin praising it. But I'll start with what is always the make or break for me and that is character. The main character, twelve year old Meg, is one of those characters you don't want to leave off and keeps you reading. She's smart, courageous, and altogether real. I love when the child characters are real heros in middle grade novels.
The story moves at great pace, always leaving the reader wanting to push ahead. The central mystery is full of adventure that unravels perfectly. And the book never talks down to the reader.
I also think the themes of this book are incredibly relevant to our world. In many ways, I think our world has reverted to the industrial and corporate greed of Dickens time. Child labor is as much a problem today as it was in Victorian times. It's important for children today to be reminded of the cruelty that comes with this practice, especially when the very same practice is partially responsible for most of us to have cheap electronics and clothing.
There isn't anybody I wouldn't recommend this book to.
This book is so wonderful on so many levels that it's hard to know where to begin praising it. But I'll start with what is always the make or break for me and that is character. The main character, twelve year old Meg, is one of those characters you don't want to leave off and keeps you reading. She's smart, courageous, and altogether real. I love when the child characters are real heros in middle grade novels.
The story moves at great pace, always leaving the reader wanting to push ahead. The central mystery is full of adventure that unravels perfectly. And the book never talks down to the reader.
I also think the themes of this book are incredibly relevant to our world. In many ways, I think our world has reverted to the industrial and corporate greed of Dickens time. Child labor is as much a problem today as it was in Victorian times. It's important for children today to be reminded of the cruelty that comes with this practice, especially when the very same practice is partially responsible for most of us to have cheap electronics and clothing.
There isn't anybody I wouldn't recommend this book to.
December 6, 2025
Buzbee’s ‘The Haunting of Charles Dickens’ feels like someone slipped a secret door into Victorian London and invited young readers to step through. It’s got fog, gas lamps, mystery, friendship, and—of course—Dickens himself wandering around like a slightly distracted, big-hearted detective who just happens to be one of literature’s greatest chroniclers of human suffering.
The book blends history and imagination in a way that feels effortless, almost like the story was always hiding there between the pages of ‘Oliver Twist’ and ‘Bleak House.’
At the centre of it all is Meg Pickel, whose younger brother has vanished. Meg isn’t the kind of child protagonist who sits around waiting for grown-ups to solve her problems—she leaps into the city’s shadows armed with pure courage and a little righteous fury. When she bumps into Charles Dickens, the story becomes a buddy-mystery with a literary twist.
Buzbee pulls off something tricky here: Dickens feels authentic without turning into a dusty Famous Author cameo. He’s lively, compassionate, nosy, and appropriately dramatic.
What really gives the book its charm is its atmosphere. Buzbee’s London is smoky, noisy, and cramped, but also warm and human. The novel gently introduces young readers to the kinds of social injustices Dickens wrote about, without turning the story into a history lesson.
It’s adventure first, empathy second, and education third—the perfect ratio for children’s fiction that actually sticks.
By the end, the mystery, the friendship, and the little sparks of literary magic make the whole thing feel like a tribute to storytelling itself. It’s cozy, clever, and just spooky enough to make young readers feel brave.
Recommended.
The book blends history and imagination in a way that feels effortless, almost like the story was always hiding there between the pages of ‘Oliver Twist’ and ‘Bleak House.’
At the centre of it all is Meg Pickel, whose younger brother has vanished. Meg isn’t the kind of child protagonist who sits around waiting for grown-ups to solve her problems—she leaps into the city’s shadows armed with pure courage and a little righteous fury. When she bumps into Charles Dickens, the story becomes a buddy-mystery with a literary twist.
Buzbee pulls off something tricky here: Dickens feels authentic without turning into a dusty Famous Author cameo. He’s lively, compassionate, nosy, and appropriately dramatic.
What really gives the book its charm is its atmosphere. Buzbee’s London is smoky, noisy, and cramped, but also warm and human. The novel gently introduces young readers to the kinds of social injustices Dickens wrote about, without turning the story into a history lesson.
It’s adventure first, empathy second, and education third—the perfect ratio for children’s fiction that actually sticks.
By the end, the mystery, the friendship, and the little sparks of literary magic make the whole thing feel like a tribute to storytelling itself. It’s cozy, clever, and just spooky enough to make young readers feel brave.
Recommended.
June 15, 2020
This book is more for teenagers, but even so it felt a tad too earnest at times (that darn Mulberry is one clever pup). Loved the setting, but wish the mystery was a bit deeper. And what's with a ghost showing up once then never spoken much of again?
March 5, 2012
I love the idea of this book. Dickens (big right now - good advance picking, Buzbee) is famed for his midnight walks round London - solitary walking was an immense part of his creative practice.
Buzbee takes these lost hours, and inserts into them a solid mystery story. Twelve-year-old Meg Pickel's older brother Orion has been missing for six months. She slips into the London streets one midnight, and happens upon Dickens, also out searching - searching for his next story.
Dickens happens to be a friend of the Pickel family; he buys his paper from their printing shop. And as he waits for inspiration to strike him, he joins with Meg in the hunt for Orion.
The book is a pastiche, and a reasonably successful one: it brims with Dickensian language and outrage at the unfair treatment of London's poor and lost children. Buzbee sprinkles the book heavily with references to Dickens' books; the fossilised wedding cake and scuttling spiders of 'Great Expectations', an Old Curiosity Shop, the appearance of characters named Mr Micawber, Jenny Wren and Miss Podsnap, and probably many more than I don't catch, not being very familiar with the books myself.
The evocation of Victorian London is rather fantastic, and I imagine will appeal a lot to younger readers' imaginations:
The book has some sizable flaws though. The unneeded reference at the start of the paragraph above is a wee example - they start off being amusing as a 'knowing' reader, but become tiresome: a young reader is likely to not derive anything from them (I can see they're all about the joy of reading, but others have done this much better: see Rebecca Stead here). There's an odd, unexplained supernatural appearance at the start of the story which goes unused; there's a rather pointless set-piece in which Meg and Mr Dickens, exploring Penny Lane, happen upon four young men cleaning a fireman who break into song. And there's a couple of overt grrl-power moments dropped clunkety-clunk-clunk into the narrative:
All this I will forgive though for a transcendentally appealing passage about operating a printing press, redolent with archaic jargon, thumping sounds, sticky ink, deft movements, and the joy of mastery. 'The Haunting of Charles Dickens' is a love letter to reading and the making of books - if at times the emotion is a little cringingly expressed, then, well - who can blame the guy?
Buzbee takes these lost hours, and inserts into them a solid mystery story. Twelve-year-old Meg Pickel's older brother Orion has been missing for six months. She slips into the London streets one midnight, and happens upon Dickens, also out searching - searching for his next story.
Dickens happens to be a friend of the Pickel family; he buys his paper from their printing shop. And as he waits for inspiration to strike him, he joins with Meg in the hunt for Orion.
The book is a pastiche, and a reasonably successful one: it brims with Dickensian language and outrage at the unfair treatment of London's poor and lost children. Buzbee sprinkles the book heavily with references to Dickens' books; the fossilised wedding cake and scuttling spiders of 'Great Expectations', an Old Curiosity Shop, the appearance of characters named Mr Micawber, Jenny Wren and Miss Podsnap, and probably many more than I don't catch, not being very familiar with the books myself.
The evocation of Victorian London is rather fantastic, and I imagine will appeal a lot to younger readers' imaginations:
It is a truth universally acknowledged that within the hub-bub of any grand city, a pair of friends might find a quiet bubble within which to cocoon themselves from all the commotion. It is not that the walkers create, by force of concentration, such a bubble of silence to inhabit; the commotion itself creates such bubbles. Stand by a rushing brook or near the crashing ocean, and you will see bubbles. It was in one such bubble of silence that Meg and Mr Dickens found themselves. Al the way from Cheapside down Queen's Street, until they reached the docks and the Thames, Meg and Mr Dickens were able to speak, as if in private, while the river of London flowed noisily around them.
The book has some sizable flaws though. The unneeded reference at the start of the paragraph above is a wee example - they start off being amusing as a 'knowing' reader, but become tiresome: a young reader is likely to not derive anything from them (I can see they're all about the joy of reading, but others have done this much better: see Rebecca Stead here). There's an odd, unexplained supernatural appearance at the start of the story which goes unused; there's a rather pointless set-piece in which Meg and Mr Dickens, exploring Penny Lane, happen upon four young men cleaning a fireman who break into song. And there's a couple of overt grrl-power moments dropped clunkety-clunk-clunk into the narrative:
It is generally accepted of reality that there are fields of endeavour suited to the male sex and fields of endeavour suited to the female sex. It is also assumed, generally, that what men will do women ought not to do. ...
Perhaps there will come a time - can we strain our minds to imagine a future one hundred, even two hundred years hence - in which women and men will compete for the same positions of skill and adventure. But that time is not now. Now, today, 1862, in the year of our good Queen's Silver Jubilee, we assume that women will tend to the home, while men will shoulder other duties.
All this I will forgive though for a transcendentally appealing passage about operating a printing press, redolent with archaic jargon, thumping sounds, sticky ink, deft movements, and the joy of mastery. 'The Haunting of Charles Dickens' is a love letter to reading and the making of books - if at times the emotion is a little cringingly expressed, then, well - who can blame the guy?
November 6, 2012
Reviewed by Kira M for TeensReadToo.com
19th-century London is not a safe place for children, especially a girl like Meg Pickel. Boys and girls are going missing all over. Meg's family has been torn apart by the disappearance of her own brother, Orion, six months ago.
Now that her brother is gone, Meg is plagued with insomnia. While wandering the streets late one night, she runs into the family's friend, Charles Dickens, who is also suffering from lack of sleep. When an insomnia-ridden conversation leads them to a place where a group is having a séance, the two begin to believe that Orion was there, in the flesh.
Unable to let the strange circumstances go, the two try and solve the mystery of Orion's disappearance. Meg's father, however, isn't too thrilled with her being on the case, and danger is lurking around every corner. Can Meg solve the mystery of her missing brother, or will she wind up disappearing, as well?
A great historical mystery filled with adventure. The book seems to accurately portray the time period. The characters seem well-developed, and the plot is intriguing and does a good job of holding the reader's interest. Those who like mysteries, adventure, and a bit of paranormal activity will enjoy reading THE HAUNTING OF CHARLES DICKENS.
19th-century London is not a safe place for children, especially a girl like Meg Pickel. Boys and girls are going missing all over. Meg's family has been torn apart by the disappearance of her own brother, Orion, six months ago.
Now that her brother is gone, Meg is plagued with insomnia. While wandering the streets late one night, she runs into the family's friend, Charles Dickens, who is also suffering from lack of sleep. When an insomnia-ridden conversation leads them to a place where a group is having a séance, the two begin to believe that Orion was there, in the flesh.
Unable to let the strange circumstances go, the two try and solve the mystery of Orion's disappearance. Meg's father, however, isn't too thrilled with her being on the case, and danger is lurking around every corner. Can Meg solve the mystery of her missing brother, or will she wind up disappearing, as well?
A great historical mystery filled with adventure. The book seems to accurately portray the time period. The characters seem well-developed, and the plot is intriguing and does a good job of holding the reader's interest. Those who like mysteries, adventure, and a bit of paranormal activity will enjoy reading THE HAUNTING OF CHARLES DICKENS.
September 10, 2019
Charles Dickens as a character is sometimes more entertaining than Dickens as an author and while this will most assuredly cause some to demand I relinquish my readers card and my right to comment on fiction, I present to you that books such as The Humbug Murders by L.J. Oliver and this fine read gives us a Dickens that seems less stodgy and more human than his legend has allowed him to be in some time. The Great Man is oft seen as unapproachable in historical literary analysis, but in this work, Buzbee readily delivers us a Dickens that is likable, flawed, and in search of something - sure, he is solving a crime, but he is also in the middle of figuring out where his legend meets the real him and what his legacy will be.
The book is a mystery, but it delightfully pulls in everything from obscure Dickens references - though not one line referring to Wilkie or the The Wreck of the Golden Mary that I caught, alas - to a few fine references to a certain band who sang about Penny Lane, where, among several other locales, Dickens and our young female protagonist must go to solve a crime.
The book brushes off the dust on Dickens and gives us a look at the man, fictional, but also steeped in who he was to an extent. His long walks at night, his issues with family, and his live performances. While those hoping the "haunting" might be something supernatural, you will find only a few specters and spirits in the book - though there is one of note - but the real haunting is, of course, of Dickens himself - as he uses a missing boy to find out who he is and for what he will stand as he tries to be the Great Man and the man he is.
Blending the real life work of children, a taste of the spirits, and the ennui of a man figuring out where he is and what is next, Buzbee delivers a book that feels not wholly mystery nor wholly character study, but decidedly and solidly human and readable - and thus it is worth our consideration.
The book is a mystery, but it delightfully pulls in everything from obscure Dickens references - though not one line referring to Wilkie or the The Wreck of the Golden Mary that I caught, alas - to a few fine references to a certain band who sang about Penny Lane, where, among several other locales, Dickens and our young female protagonist must go to solve a crime.
The book brushes off the dust on Dickens and gives us a look at the man, fictional, but also steeped in who he was to an extent. His long walks at night, his issues with family, and his live performances. While those hoping the "haunting" might be something supernatural, you will find only a few specters and spirits in the book - though there is one of note - but the real haunting is, of course, of Dickens himself - as he uses a missing boy to find out who he is and for what he will stand as he tries to be the Great Man and the man he is.
Blending the real life work of children, a taste of the spirits, and the ennui of a man figuring out where he is and what is next, Buzbee delivers a book that feels not wholly mystery nor wholly character study, but decidedly and solidly human and readable - and thus it is worth our consideration.
August 1, 2017
The plot in this story is about a sister trying to find her kidnapped brother and how she goes through many adventures and as will discover and uncovers many things.
The grade that this book is best for is 10th grade and the reason why is because of its high vocabulary it consists of. As well because of the way they phrase their sentences the reader can easily get confused.
This book is from a sociological point of view because it points out many social concerns. The author was trying to point out many concerns that were and still are a concern to this day. The theme of this story was to be cautious with the people your surround yourself with. The way I know this is the theme of the book is because it points out how he started to talking to certain people and that made him poke around and that is how Orion got in all that mess. For one that is why he was kidnapped because he knew to much and that is why Meg had to go out in all those adventures to find her brother but in the process she discovered things that she simply couldn't walk away from and that's how she going out about all the kidnapping and where they went and what they were focus to put up with.
The part I enjoyed most was when they helped free the rest of the children and not just Orion because of the kin of people they are they could not just leave those kids just to suffer. The part I really dislike was when the cops were willing to walk away from the mess so they don't have to deal with when it was so obvious what was happening and also that they were about to walk away when nothing of what the criminals were saying made sense.
The grade that this book is best for is 10th grade and the reason why is because of its high vocabulary it consists of. As well because of the way they phrase their sentences the reader can easily get confused.
This book is from a sociological point of view because it points out many social concerns. The author was trying to point out many concerns that were and still are a concern to this day. The theme of this story was to be cautious with the people your surround yourself with. The way I know this is the theme of the book is because it points out how he started to talking to certain people and that made him poke around and that is how Orion got in all that mess. For one that is why he was kidnapped because he knew to much and that is why Meg had to go out in all those adventures to find her brother but in the process she discovered things that she simply couldn't walk away from and that's how she going out about all the kidnapping and where they went and what they were focus to put up with.
The part I enjoyed most was when they helped free the rest of the children and not just Orion because of the kin of people they are they could not just leave those kids just to suffer. The part I really dislike was when the cops were willing to walk away from the mess so they don't have to deal with when it was so obvious what was happening and also that they were about to walk away when nothing of what the criminals were saying made sense.
July 31, 2017
Meg’s brother Orion suddenly goes missing. After six months of not being able to sleep due to her unanswered questions about Orion, she finally sets out to find answers when Mr.Charles Dickens secretly visits her father's print shop. This book would be best suitable for audiences between the ages of 11-15 or students that are in sixth to tenth grade. I recommend “The haunting of Charles Dickens” to this age group of students because it does not include mature language and it is easy to follow and understand what the characters talk about. The main characters in the book also seem like they are between eleven and fifteen years old as well. This book may be valuable from an educational standpoint because Meg and Mr. Dickens connect details to figure out what to do and what pieces to put together in order to understand Orion’s disappearance as well as what led up to it. An example, of putting pieces together was when Meg was able to conclude that a woman was using two identities to hide the fact that she is involved at the Satis House. Meg was sure she had seen Orion and that woman after he went missing there. Through this I think the author was trying to accomplish a sense of developing plans and or solutions on your own through clues. I think the theme is persistence.The thing I enjoyed most about the book was the mystery and suspense aspect. This was what really made me like the book because I wanted to keep reading to follow Meg and Mr.Dickens getting to Orion especially since the possible clues they found along the way were just so surprising. My favorite clue happened to be Charlie. There was not anything that I disliked about this book.
July 22, 2018
Excellent! The characterization of Dickens was deeply engaging. My only reservation is that I didn't care at all for the "clever" references and inside jokes, from a Mr. Micawber based on WC Fields's performance to the Beatles putting in an appearance. At least the Micawber character worked in the sense that this Dickens had met him before writing A Christmas Carol, so he could have been inspired by him. Other characters whom he meets for the first time in this novel are named after characters he had already written about in real life, so it makes no sense at all. I find these kind of "wink, wink" jokes distracting. They throw me out of the story, so I wish they weren't there. Noticed the same impulse, a bit less egregious, in some other historical kids' lit I've been reading. Other than that, I appreciated this book for its strong plot, its themes of child welfare and the creative experience, and its details about London at the time.
July 22, 2017
Meg's older brother, Orion, has been missing for the past six months. There's been no sign he's still alive but Meg keeps hoping. One night she sees a strange light from an abandoned house not far away. She decides to investigate and stumbles upon a faked seance and Charles Dickens, also spying. Then Meg thinks one of the boys in the room could be Orion. Thus begins Meg and Mr. Dickens' search for the missing Orion. They stumble upon clues, get chased, dress in disguise, and use Mr. Dickens' pull to get out of legal trouble. And what they find will change how England treats children.
A somewhat engrossing tale. There are hints to Dickens work throughout, and although Meg's family is part of the search for the missing brother, Meg takes center stage. Child labor is the biggest social issue here as it was to Dickens.
A somewhat engrossing tale. There are hints to Dickens work throughout, and although Meg's family is part of the search for the missing brother, Meg takes center stage. Child labor is the biggest social issue here as it was to Dickens.
March 19, 2022
Meg’s family owns a printing business in London and are friends with Charles Dickens. When Meg’s older brother, Orion, goes missing, she decides to search for him. On her search, she meets up with Mr. Dickens and they observe a strange seance. Mr. Dickens offers to help in the search as he is suffering from writer’s block and hopes that he will find inspiration as well as Orion. As they begin to comb for clues, they find some disturbing facts that hint at a larger crime. There is evidence that young boys are being kidnapped and put to grueling work, something that hits a nerve for Dickens. As the plot is uncovered, there is hope that Orion will be able to be found and return home.
July 4, 2019
I enjoyed this trip into 18th century London with Meg Pickel as the main character who is the hero of the story supported by Charles Dickens. As in the other Lewis Buzbee books I've read, I felt enlightened and entertained by this historical fiction.
did-not-finish
September 16, 2021DNF at 19%. I just couldn’t get into it, despite the fact that I love the time period, and I love Charles Dickens. It was too juvenile for me, with little character development. Bummer. This one was on my Read Or Die 2021 list, and unfortunately it’s going to have to die.
February 21, 2021
2.5 stars. Not a bad book, and there’s a lot of potential there, but I found it hard to pay attention to, and kind of boring at times. :/
February 28, 2021
2.75 stars
July 23, 2011
This was - confusing. Also rather confused, I think. There was a lot going on - as, of course, is the case with the typical Dickens novel - but sometimes one element seemed to interfere with another, and by the end, I wasn't sure quite what kind of story Buzbee had set out to write. One thing is pretty certain though, and that's that people who can't stand Dickens will be very unlikely to enjoy this book. A compliment in a way, because as a straight Dickens pastiche, it's quite successful.
Meg Pickel is the 12-year-old daughter of a London printer, with a younger brother and an older one who disappeared six months ago. Her father, understandably distraught by the loss of his wife some years ago, and now the loss of his oldest child, has rather given up on anything except keeping the remaining children safe. But Meg has never given up on finding Orion, and out investigating a strange light from an abandoned house nearby one night, encounters Charles Dickens, a (fake) séance, a real spirit and - only glimpsed from the rooftop - her brother. Dickens has finished Great Expectations and has lost inspiration for his next book. He's also in hiding from the world, pretending to be in France. He and Meg set out to find and save Orion, despite Meg's father's worries.
Problem number one is that Great Expectations is absolutely finished, already in print (as a novel, even), and yet Meg and Dickens talk about the strangeness of the abandoned house's name - 'Satis House'. On returning to it and going in, they see the ruins of the wedding cake, complete with spiders and all. But Great Expectations is written. How can Buzbee have missed the obvious fact that it makes no sense for Dickens to see the scene that gives him inspiration for his writing about his NEXT novel and his PREVIOUS novel at the same time? I've been worrying this one over ever since encoutering the Satis House name, and am no closer to understanding what went wrong here than when I first heard it. (Audiobook, so it was quite a while ago!)
I've no problem with Dickens getting the idea that sparks Our Mutual Friend when he and Meg are going around London looking for Orion, as that is the novel after Great Expectations, and of course Dickens did get inspiration from things he saw and read about. But there are names from many of the books he'd already written by the time of Buzbee's book, including Oliver Twist and The Old Curiosity Shop and scenes heavily reminiscent of other books. Doesn't make any sense.
The low point though, for me, was when Meg asked Dickens not to read from Little Dorrit at one of his readings, and he asked her what she really thought of the book. She said that Dorrit isn't her favourite character, because she isn't her own hero. (Words to that effect, anyway, as it's hard to quote from audiobook.) He thinks about it and then says she's right, and if he had known her before writing Little Dorrit it would have been a better book. This may be unintentionally so, but it's ridiculously arrogant to claim that one's own character would have taught Dickens to be a better writer! Also - I'm sorry, but Meg wasn't a favourite of mine. Definitely brave and determined to rescue her brother, which was admirable, but also a bit of a spoiled madam, and seriously manipulative at times.
Aside from that, it seemed to me that the fact that both Meg and Dickens had actually seen a real spirit/ghost and talked to him, even, should have made a bit more of a difference to them and the story! It did encourage them both to keep trying even harder to save the real children being abused and exploited in London - the living dead, as Meg comes to call them - but nothing else.
Finally, in the pettiest of quibbles, I seriously doubted that a 12 year old girl in London in the 1860s would have been guzzling quite so much strong coffee. There were quite a few other little details that seemed wrong, but overall the feel of Dickensian London was really good.
Meg Pickel is the 12-year-old daughter of a London printer, with a younger brother and an older one who disappeared six months ago. Her father, understandably distraught by the loss of his wife some years ago, and now the loss of his oldest child, has rather given up on anything except keeping the remaining children safe. But Meg has never given up on finding Orion, and out investigating a strange light from an abandoned house nearby one night, encounters Charles Dickens, a (fake) séance, a real spirit and - only glimpsed from the rooftop - her brother. Dickens has finished Great Expectations and has lost inspiration for his next book. He's also in hiding from the world, pretending to be in France. He and Meg set out to find and save Orion, despite Meg's father's worries.
Problem number one is that Great Expectations is absolutely finished, already in print (as a novel, even), and yet Meg and Dickens talk about the strangeness of the abandoned house's name - 'Satis House'. On returning to it and going in, they see the ruins of the wedding cake, complete with spiders and all. But Great Expectations is written. How can Buzbee have missed the obvious fact that it makes no sense for Dickens to see the scene that gives him inspiration for his writing about his NEXT novel and his PREVIOUS novel at the same time? I've been worrying this one over ever since encoutering the Satis House name, and am no closer to understanding what went wrong here than when I first heard it. (Audiobook, so it was quite a while ago!)
I've no problem with Dickens getting the idea that sparks Our Mutual Friend when he and Meg are going around London looking for Orion, as that is the novel after Great Expectations, and of course Dickens did get inspiration from things he saw and read about. But there are names from many of the books he'd already written by the time of Buzbee's book, including Oliver Twist and The Old Curiosity Shop and scenes heavily reminiscent of other books. Doesn't make any sense.
The low point though, for me, was when Meg asked Dickens not to read from Little Dorrit at one of his readings, and he asked her what she really thought of the book. She said that Dorrit isn't her favourite character, because she isn't her own hero. (Words to that effect, anyway, as it's hard to quote from audiobook.) He thinks about it and then says she's right, and if he had known her before writing Little Dorrit it would have been a better book. This may be unintentionally so, but it's ridiculously arrogant to claim that one's own character would have taught Dickens to be a better writer! Also - I'm sorry, but Meg wasn't a favourite of mine. Definitely brave and determined to rescue her brother, which was admirable, but also a bit of a spoiled madam, and seriously manipulative at times.
Aside from that, it seemed to me that the fact that both Meg and Dickens had actually seen a real spirit/ghost and talked to him, even, should have made a bit more of a difference to them and the story! It did encourage them both to keep trying even harder to save the real children being abused and exploited in London - the living dead, as Meg comes to call them - but nothing else.
Finally, in the pettiest of quibbles, I seriously doubted that a 12 year old girl in London in the 1860s would have been guzzling quite so much strong coffee. There were quite a few other little details that seemed wrong, but overall the feel of Dickensian London was really good.
May 19, 2013
Thoughts on the Overall Book: This was one of those books that when I started it, I wasn't sure if I was going to like it or not. It's starts out slow, and I was worried that the mystery of Meg's brother's disappearance would turn out not to be all that interesting. However, about a third of the way in, the book takes a really interesting turn, that immediately made me sit up and speed through the rest. It was one that I really didn't know what the book was going to be about when I started it, but ended up being really good.
Cover--Yea or Nay: I really like the cover. I was excited to see the book was illustrated by Greg Ruth (I loved his work in the "Secret Journey's of Jack London" series) and he's probably one of my favorite illustrators at the moment. There's just something about his style I really like.
Characters: Like the story, I wasn't exactly sure what I felt about Meg at first. I liked how she was worried about her brother disappearing, and that she was willing to do whatever she had to do to get him back, even if the rest of her family had given up hope, but she almost came across as a little bit naive, and almost borderline bratty on occasion. However, as the story progressed, she just became a strong and very smart heroine, and I have to take it into account that she's only about 12 or so too, so she is still young. I really liked Orion right off though, even though most of what the reader knows about him is just from Meg's memories and flashbacks. I also loved the inclusion of Charles Dickens. I always love it when famous authors are incorporated into novels, and I have read several novels featuring Dickens. Sadly, I have yet to actually read his books, but Charles as himself has already endeared me to him.
The Romance: None!
Writing Style: I liked the writing style, it was classic and fit the time period, and I do believe was a bit reminiscent of Dickens's. The only thing that bothered me about it was that there was an "unknown narrator" who spoke in various places and those were in present tense whereas the rest of the story was in past. It wasn't totally jarring, but it stopped me for a few seconds when I came to one of those places. I really liked how the author portrayed the darker side of London at this time period too, and how children were treated, which was horrible at the best of times. Since this is a kids' book, there was nothing mentioned in any detail, but you still got an insight of the horror of the workhouses and how cruel they treated the poor orphans there and how they press-ganged any children they could find. You get the idea of the horror and to me, it's almost worse than having it put all in front of you.
Problems/What bothered me: The only thing that really bothered me was the fact that I really saw no reason for the inclusion of the ghost boy "Dick Wittington". You see him once in the first few chapters, but he never re-appears, nor did I see any ah-ha correlation to him in any other aspect of the story. I kind of got how he represented "eternal childhood" but I still didn't really see how that all tied in. I think the story would have been just as good without his inclusion.
Conclusion: 4 stars. I ended up really enjoying this book, and it ended on a good note with a happy ending, but also had a tad of bittersweetness as well. I liked seeing Meg grow up in the story from how we originally see her--a dreamer who thinks of the world like a novel--to who she becomes by the end of the story--a bit more world weary, and finally able to realize that not everything can be fixed, at least not right away, and that there really is no conclusion to life like in a novel.
Recommended Audience: Fans of Charles Dickens would enjoy this as a quick read. It's also a kind of easy read for Victorian mystery lovers. Girl or boy read, ages 12 and up.
Cover--Yea or Nay: I really like the cover. I was excited to see the book was illustrated by Greg Ruth (I loved his work in the "Secret Journey's of Jack London" series) and he's probably one of my favorite illustrators at the moment. There's just something about his style I really like.
Characters: Like the story, I wasn't exactly sure what I felt about Meg at first. I liked how she was worried about her brother disappearing, and that she was willing to do whatever she had to do to get him back, even if the rest of her family had given up hope, but she almost came across as a little bit naive, and almost borderline bratty on occasion. However, as the story progressed, she just became a strong and very smart heroine, and I have to take it into account that she's only about 12 or so too, so she is still young. I really liked Orion right off though, even though most of what the reader knows about him is just from Meg's memories and flashbacks. I also loved the inclusion of Charles Dickens. I always love it when famous authors are incorporated into novels, and I have read several novels featuring Dickens. Sadly, I have yet to actually read his books, but Charles as himself has already endeared me to him.
The Romance: None!
Writing Style: I liked the writing style, it was classic and fit the time period, and I do believe was a bit reminiscent of Dickens's. The only thing that bothered me about it was that there was an "unknown narrator" who spoke in various places and those were in present tense whereas the rest of the story was in past. It wasn't totally jarring, but it stopped me for a few seconds when I came to one of those places. I really liked how the author portrayed the darker side of London at this time period too, and how children were treated, which was horrible at the best of times. Since this is a kids' book, there was nothing mentioned in any detail, but you still got an insight of the horror of the workhouses and how cruel they treated the poor orphans there and how they press-ganged any children they could find. You get the idea of the horror and to me, it's almost worse than having it put all in front of you.
Problems/What bothered me: The only thing that really bothered me was the fact that I really saw no reason for the inclusion of the ghost boy "Dick Wittington". You see him once in the first few chapters, but he never re-appears, nor did I see any ah-ha correlation to him in any other aspect of the story. I kind of got how he represented "eternal childhood" but I still didn't really see how that all tied in. I think the story would have been just as good without his inclusion.
Conclusion: 4 stars. I ended up really enjoying this book, and it ended on a good note with a happy ending, but also had a tad of bittersweetness as well. I liked seeing Meg grow up in the story from how we originally see her--a dreamer who thinks of the world like a novel--to who she becomes by the end of the story--a bit more world weary, and finally able to realize that not everything can be fixed, at least not right away, and that there really is no conclusion to life like in a novel.
Recommended Audience: Fans of Charles Dickens would enjoy this as a quick read. It's also a kind of easy read for Victorian mystery lovers. Girl or boy read, ages 12 and up.
January 15, 2012
Take an unexplained disappearance. Bring in a ghost who points the way. Add Charles Dickens, who knows London’s troubled neighborhoods only too well. Stir in a plucky, thirteen-year-old girl who will let nothing stop her from tailing a dangerous kidnapping gang, and you have the grand, new middle-grade mystery by Lewis Buzbee, The Haunting of Charles Dickens.
Meg Pickel’s older brother, Orion, disappeared six months ago. Her family is still numb with shock. Each night, when everyone is asleep, Meg goes up to the roof-garden to brood. One night, a green glow from the skylight of the Satis House catches her attention and launches Meg on her own personal search for Orion. Part mystery, part ghost story, this intriguing tale leads a reader through twists and turns that parallel the dark streets and hidden alleys of Dickens’s London.
The Great Man, Dickens, is a regular customer at the Pickel family’s printing shop as well as being a close family friend. Orion’s disappearance affects him deeply. He and Meg team up as sleuths, accompanied by the family dog, Mulberry. They find clues on walls and dusty floors. Colorful characters offer them leads. Soon it is clear that Orion has been “press-ganged”, kidnapped into slave labor. Now it is up to Meg and Dickens to save Orion. But not just Orion: A ghost Meg and Dickens met earlier in the Satis House becomes the metaphor for all the ghosts of London’s forgotten children.
This is a fine adventure story with engaging characters, a complex plot, and writing that is rich and vivid. An added pleasure for Dickens lovers is the way Buzbee at times dips into the style of times and addresses the reader directly. And, in the same vein, names of characters give clues to their natures: Micawber; Mr. Hardlywaite; Jenny Wren; Mrs. Podsnap (married now to Mr. Bogle.) Scenes unfold that could be from a Dickens novel. Consider:
“….Out of the dark recess of a far corner, a shadow seemed to be swirling, and swirling, seemed to coalesce into a figure, the figure of a man dressed in the colors of a shadow. He was as thin as a lamp-post, with a long beard as thin as a smaller lamp-post. And he was staring right at Meg. Un-remarked by all, the man moved towards her, as if floating rather than walking. He did not take his eyes off her, nor did his lips stop moving….”
The Haunting of Charles Dickens will be in bookstores in October, 2010 (next month) – a must read for anyone who enjoys a good mystery, enjoys the writings of Charles Dickens, or enjoys any novel set in Victorian London. A triple treat for those who enjoy all three. The atmospheric black and white illustrations by Greg Ruth are a perfect choice for this ethereal tale.
October 22, 2012
Meg's brother Orion is missing. On a midnight rooftop escapade she runs into Charles Dickens, a family friend and fellow insomniac. They witness a fake seance, which leads them to believe that Orion may be prisoner somewhere and it is up to them to find and free him. With the help of the rest of Meg's family and a sundry cast of worthy Victorian characatures, they set out on a quest to bring him home.
Quite a good book for what it is. I sense that it's well-suited to the upper-middle-grade/youngish-young-adult set (thought having always been super ahead of my age in reading level I don't necessarily have the best perspective of what that actually is). But it's well written, has a strong female protagonist, and a great family dynamic that I really enjoyed. It's true to the period without being graphic or inappropriate, and it conjures up the world and style of Dickens himself nicely for kids/teens who may not be quite ready to bite off the Great Man himself.
My quibble with the book comes from the way it conjures up Dickens; I constantly felt like it was trying so hard to be clever that it undercut the very things that it was doing so well. My two main issues were:
Those two mini-rants aside, I did enjoy the book, and I would gladly recommend it as a gateway to Dickens/Victorian literature for younger readers.
Quite a good book for what it is. I sense that it's well-suited to the upper-middle-grade/youngish-young-adult set (thought having always been super ahead of my age in reading level I don't necessarily have the best perspective of what that actually is). But it's well written, has a strong female protagonist, and a great family dynamic that I really enjoyed. It's true to the period without being graphic or inappropriate, and it conjures up the world and style of Dickens himself nicely for kids/teens who may not be quite ready to bite off the Great Man himself.
My quibble with the book comes from the way it conjures up Dickens; I constantly felt like it was trying so hard to be clever that it undercut the very things that it was doing so well. My two main issues were:
Those two mini-rants aside, I did enjoy the book, and I would gladly recommend it as a gateway to Dickens/Victorian literature for younger readers.
July 26, 2011
During most of this book, my biggest dilemma wasn't whether Charles Dickens would get over being haunted, or the missing boy found, but who this novel was written for.
I couldn't imagine kids really liking it. The main character, Meg Pickel, seems completely unreal, the sort of heroine who would be constructed by a middle-aged man. Charles Dickens comes across as a badly done parody of, well, Charles Dickens. The action is slow, with everybody constantly stopping to consume these elaborate meals in different parts of London, probably because the author wanted a chance to show off his research. And the author is constantly pulling back from an exciting bit of action in order to pompously editorialize about the customs of the time.
So was Louis Buzbee thinking that parents would love it as they read it to their children? He drops in many references that can only be familiar to adults. A number of the characters are named after Dickens's characters (which personally pulled me waaaaay out of the moment), and he throws in many more adult-centric details, such as the lost boys of Peter Pan (a book that hadn't been written in Dickens's time) and an encounter with four young singers on Abbey Lane based on the Beatles! But the prose and the characterization are so wooden and the reading level is so young I can't imagine adults getting into it either.
What I finally concluded is that what Buzbee and his editors had in mind was some sort of Dickens homage on a junior level, complete with authorial asides, humorous characters, sketches of London life, and a social message. But while Dickens has the mighty genius to pull this off, Buzbee really doesn't. My CDs malfunctioned at the very end, and it says something that I may or may not take the book out of the library to read the conclusion.
I couldn't imagine kids really liking it. The main character, Meg Pickel, seems completely unreal, the sort of heroine who would be constructed by a middle-aged man. Charles Dickens comes across as a badly done parody of, well, Charles Dickens. The action is slow, with everybody constantly stopping to consume these elaborate meals in different parts of London, probably because the author wanted a chance to show off his research. And the author is constantly pulling back from an exciting bit of action in order to pompously editorialize about the customs of the time.
So was Louis Buzbee thinking that parents would love it as they read it to their children? He drops in many references that can only be familiar to adults. A number of the characters are named after Dickens's characters (which personally pulled me waaaaay out of the moment), and he throws in many more adult-centric details, such as the lost boys of Peter Pan (a book that hadn't been written in Dickens's time) and an encounter with four young singers on Abbey Lane based on the Beatles! But the prose and the characterization are so wooden and the reading level is so young I can't imagine adults getting into it either.
What I finally concluded is that what Buzbee and his editors had in mind was some sort of Dickens homage on a junior level, complete with authorial asides, humorous characters, sketches of London life, and a social message. But while Dickens has the mighty genius to pull this off, Buzbee really doesn't. My CDs malfunctioned at the very end, and it says something that I may or may not take the book out of the library to read the conclusion.
September 24, 2025
I've had the hardback edition of The Haunting of Charles Dickens by Lewis Buzbee in my 'to be read' pile for 9 years this month!! I'm so happy that I finally read this children's novel this year.
By the way, I first read and reviewed Lewis Buzbee's children's novel, Steinbeck's Ghost, back in March 2014. I really enjoyed listening to the unabridged audio version of Steinbeck's Ghost and highly recommend it. I thought (or at least hoped) that I would enjoy The Haunting of Charles Dickens by Lewis Buzbee just as much.
The Haunting of Charles Dickens by Lewis Buzbee contains many aspects I love in a novel. I love historical fiction and this novel fits the bill in spades as it is set in Victorian London. Additionally, I love mysteries and this novel provides a mystery to be solved. I also enjoyed that the leading character is a smart, adventurous girl - go girl power!! Plus, I enjoyed seeing a well known and beloved author like Charles Dickens brought to life in a work of fiction. I like that this novel makes a case for social justice for children as this may (hopefully) start young readers thinking about how they can help make the world a better place for all.
However, as much as I enjoyed the many different aspects of The Haunting of Charles Dickens that I mentioned above, I felt it was too long and that the storyline was not as captivating as I was hoping it would be.
The Haunting of Charles Dickens by Lewis Buzbee is also filled with lovely black and white illustrations by Greg Ruth that readers may enjoy.
By the way, I first read and reviewed Lewis Buzbee's children's novel, Steinbeck's Ghost, back in March 2014. I really enjoyed listening to the unabridged audio version of Steinbeck's Ghost and highly recommend it. I thought (or at least hoped) that I would enjoy The Haunting of Charles Dickens by Lewis Buzbee just as much.
The Haunting of Charles Dickens by Lewis Buzbee contains many aspects I love in a novel. I love historical fiction and this novel fits the bill in spades as it is set in Victorian London. Additionally, I love mysteries and this novel provides a mystery to be solved. I also enjoyed that the leading character is a smart, adventurous girl - go girl power!! Plus, I enjoyed seeing a well known and beloved author like Charles Dickens brought to life in a work of fiction. I like that this novel makes a case for social justice for children as this may (hopefully) start young readers thinking about how they can help make the world a better place for all.
However, as much as I enjoyed the many different aspects of The Haunting of Charles Dickens that I mentioned above, I felt it was too long and that the storyline was not as captivating as I was hoping it would be.
The Haunting of Charles Dickens by Lewis Buzbee is also filled with lovely black and white illustrations by Greg Ruth that readers may enjoy.
February 28, 2011
ATOS Book Level: 6.0
Interest Level: Middle Grades Plus (MG+ 6 and up)
AR Points: 13.0
Word Count: 79887
I've only finished the first chapter but I'm hesitant to read much more. The prose doesn't flow well for me, I know it's just for background info and to set up their connection to Dickens, but the style of the writing comes across as flat.
Almost half way through and I find myself stopping to read reviews about the book to see if I should continue on. I did finally get caught up in the story when Dickens and Meg are running around Cheapside, but when they end up back at the print shop, talking to the family and deciding what to do...
The reviews talk about the historical accuracy of the book and Dickens looking for inspiration for his next book, but how many middle schooler readers are going to get caught up in this book? readers of Charles Dickens perhaps but if they're good enough readers to enjoy Dickens then they're good enough readers to realize that this book does not stand up to Dickens own prose and story telling.
I still plan on plowing through the book but it may take awhile, hopefully it will change my mind.
This book does have it's moments but they are few and far between. Much like a Dickens novel it has a strong theme against poverty, greed and child enslavement. As well as a the theme of the power of words to both conceal or enlighten.
Interest Level: Middle Grades Plus (MG+ 6 and up)
AR Points: 13.0
Word Count: 79887
I've only finished the first chapter but I'm hesitant to read much more. The prose doesn't flow well for me, I know it's just for background info and to set up their connection to Dickens, but the style of the writing comes across as flat.
Almost half way through and I find myself stopping to read reviews about the book to see if I should continue on. I did finally get caught up in the story when Dickens and Meg are running around Cheapside, but when they end up back at the print shop, talking to the family and deciding what to do...
The reviews talk about the historical accuracy of the book and Dickens looking for inspiration for his next book, but how many middle schooler readers are going to get caught up in this book? readers of Charles Dickens perhaps but if they're good enough readers to enjoy Dickens then they're good enough readers to realize that this book does not stand up to Dickens own prose and story telling.
I still plan on plowing through the book but it may take awhile, hopefully it will change my mind.
This book does have it's moments but they are few and far between. Much like a Dickens novel it has a strong theme against poverty, greed and child enslavement. As well as a the theme of the power of words to both conceal or enlighten.
January 12, 2015
Overall I liked this historical mystery set in 19th-century London. As the plot follows Meg while she searches for her missing older brother, things moved along at a decent pace. I think many of my 6th grade students might get bogged down in the narrative of this story--especially in how the descriptions at times go on and on while detailing the same thing for paragraphs, or how Dickens speaks in a roundabout way before the story continues on.
I'm not sure what the deal was with the supernatural aspect of this book because it seemed very unnecessary to the plot as it only appeared toward the beginning and was barely referenced later. The haunting in the title of the book is misleading and does not have to do with a ghost but instead with Dickens being "haunted" by a problem.
I was also bothered about how character names from Dickens' books came up in the story as people that Meg and Dickens interacted with, but these didn't seem to trouble either of them even though the names had already been written in his books. I don't think my students would pick up on this, nor would they notice the other references, like the Lennon and McCartney factory.
These things aside, I did enjoy Meg's tour of London in her quest to return her missing brother to their family. I think the accent of the narrator on the audio book helped bring me into the story further.
I'm not sure what the deal was with the supernatural aspect of this book because it seemed very unnecessary to the plot as it only appeared toward the beginning and was barely referenced later. The haunting in the title of the book is misleading and does not have to do with a ghost but instead with Dickens being "haunted" by a problem.
I was also bothered about how character names from Dickens' books came up in the story as people that Meg and Dickens interacted with, but these didn't seem to trouble either of them even though the names had already been written in his books. I don't think my students would pick up on this, nor would they notice the other references, like the Lennon and McCartney factory.
These things aside, I did enjoy Meg's tour of London in her quest to return her missing brother to their family. I think the accent of the narrator on the audio book helped bring me into the story further.
August 4, 2013
I am such a visual person that the cover of a book is the first thing which gets me to either pick up it up or pass it by. The cover of this one was so intriguing that I just had to see what it is all about. Once I read the back, I was hooked, thinking that "this has got to be good." In the beginning I struggled to "stay with it" as it seemed to be moving too slowly, almost to the point of dragging. Once I "pushed on through" that part and got into it, I just could not put it down. I was so caught up in Meg's near obsession to find her brother Orion and to bring him home. I also found the friendship which exists between Charles Dickens and Meg's family to quite enjoyable. Dickens has a way about him that is actually helpful to Meg because he can say things to Campion (Meg's father) that nobody else can. Lewis Buzbee has developed his story in such an interesting and descriptive way that we can easily see the plight of children that existed in Dickensian London. All this being said, although I will put this in my classroom library, I'm not sure that many of my fifth graders will pick it up. Those that do, may find that it's just too slow and/or too long for them to persevere. I hope that this will not be the case but, at the same time, won't be surprised by if it is.
October 21, 2015
In The Haunting of Charles Dickens, the, author does a great job at potraying how family is essential in everyone's life. However, at times I feel as though the protagonist Meg is a little too modest and insecure. The reason why I say this is because through out the book Meg constantly expresses how she enjoys expressing her feelings into her diary about her brotheres sudden dissaperance, instead of sharing her emotions with her family. When first reading the book I immediantly related to Meg, although I agree that it's easier to bottle up your feelings than express them to your family members. At the same time, Meg should have faith in her family and trust that they will understand in the pain that she is going through in loosing her brother. The author made the choice of making Meg have a quiet yet determined personality which captured my attention when reading but as I continued on, the fact that Meg would try and avoid any contact with her family whatsoever was tiering and frustrating. Although, in the end I was grateful for the fact that towards the end of the book Meg was able to reunite herself with her father and at the sametime become one with her family again. The author should expressed the change in Meg's character earlier on in the book.
August 3, 2012
The Pickel family owns a print shop and has customers/friends with the likes of Charles Dickens. The daughter of the house, Meg, is adventurous and daring. She is strong willed and tries to find her missing older brother. While traveling at night through London she unexpectedly meets Charles Dickens. They make a pact that they will save Meg’s brother.
I felt different enjoyment from this book then Buzbee’s Steinbeck Ghost. Instead of flowing into each book Steinbeck wrote this one was a whole new mystery featuring Dickens and mentions of his stories. Meg and Dickens are interesting partners. Dickens comes across very fun loving which if you have seen real photos of Dickens you would not think that of him because I have not seen one where he smiles.
This book tells about the dark side of the times for children who worked in labor houses like Dickens did once as a child. So book has a little grittiness to it that makes some it hard to enjoy even though it may be based on facts. Dickens does make it laughable at times by dress in odd suits and meeting odd souls. Good read for Dickens lovers.
I felt different enjoyment from this book then Buzbee’s Steinbeck Ghost. Instead of flowing into each book Steinbeck wrote this one was a whole new mystery featuring Dickens and mentions of his stories. Meg and Dickens are interesting partners. Dickens comes across very fun loving which if you have seen real photos of Dickens you would not think that of him because I have not seen one where he smiles.
This book tells about the dark side of the times for children who worked in labor houses like Dickens did once as a child. So book has a little grittiness to it that makes some it hard to enjoy even though it may be based on facts. Dickens does make it laughable at times by dress in odd suits and meeting odd souls. Good read for Dickens lovers.
May 25, 2012
Meg Pickel's older brother, Orion, has gone missing. She is determined to find him and the Dicken's novel that he took with him. As she spies a seance from a neighbor's roof, she meets author Charles Dickens. With the help of Mr. Dickens, Meg and Charles set out to find Orion in the city of London.
The haunting begins with the seance seen from the roof. The mysterious gathering is a cover for more dangerous activity with lost and stolen children. With a ghostly character named Peter, the ghostly haunting is done. The haunting refers to the sleepless nights of Dickens and Meg. Meg is searching for her missing brother and a way to help the lost children of London. Dickens seeks a muse for another book. They are haunted by circumstances.
I am not a fan of ghostly tales, so this take on hauntings was refreshing. Readers who enjoy historical fiction will enjoy this tale. A fictional look at an author is imaginative and fun. Buzbee's piece can open the readers to the world of Dickens, his stories and his London. This is an excellent jumping point for researching the life and times of Charles Dickens, historical London, or children workers.
Reviewed from a library copy.
The haunting begins with the seance seen from the roof. The mysterious gathering is a cover for more dangerous activity with lost and stolen children. With a ghostly character named Peter, the ghostly haunting is done. The haunting refers to the sleepless nights of Dickens and Meg. Meg is searching for her missing brother and a way to help the lost children of London. Dickens seeks a muse for another book. They are haunted by circumstances.
I am not a fan of ghostly tales, so this take on hauntings was refreshing. Readers who enjoy historical fiction will enjoy this tale. A fictional look at an author is imaginative and fun. Buzbee's piece can open the readers to the world of Dickens, his stories and his London. This is an excellent jumping point for researching the life and times of Charles Dickens, historical London, or children workers.
Reviewed from a library copy.
August 23, 2016
This novel is a biography cleverly disguised as a mystery of epic proportions. When young boys are being kidnapped off the streets, one worried young girl enlists the aid of the mischievous, theatrical Charles Dickens, the brilliant author, raconteur and gazette publisher who is suffering from a bit of writer’s block.
The novel is a tightly woven mesh of various threads that starts off with the unlikeliest of events—a séance. But it starts even before then, when a boy from good but poor origins goes missing. From there on, Meg attends Mr. Dickens as they follow one clue after another, all in an attempt to find her lost brother Orion. It is the intrepid Meg who is the true heroine of this story as she has refused to forget her brother or stop her search for him. But it is the character of Charles Dickens who looms large over events, pulling on strings from behind the scenes and getting in touch with the oddest of people, many of whom are recognizable to readers of his books.
If you’ve ever been interested in reading Dickens or in the London that brought his writings to the larger world, this novel is a grand bit of fiction.
The novel is a tightly woven mesh of various threads that starts off with the unlikeliest of events—a séance. But it starts even before then, when a boy from good but poor origins goes missing. From there on, Meg attends Mr. Dickens as they follow one clue after another, all in an attempt to find her lost brother Orion. It is the intrepid Meg who is the true heroine of this story as she has refused to forget her brother or stop her search for him. But it is the character of Charles Dickens who looms large over events, pulling on strings from behind the scenes and getting in touch with the oddest of people, many of whom are recognizable to readers of his books.
If you’ve ever been interested in reading Dickens or in the London that brought his writings to the larger world, this novel is a grand bit of fiction.
September 17, 2013
The Haunting of Charles Dickens works pretty well as a mystery, but falls flat as historical fiction. Meg Pickles is trying to find her brother, Orion, who left the house one afternoon and was never seen again. She enlists the help of family friend, and seedy side of London expert, Charles Dickens. Before long they have viable suspects, but no way to track them down without entering the world of the crooks, gangsters and desperately poor. Meg is a spunky protagonist, and the characters she encounters as she hunts down Orion's kidnappers ring true as Dickens-type colorful and quirky characters. Author Lewis Buzbee succeeds in creating an accurate picture of the grimy, smelly and violent London of the 1800's but is needlessly wordy in his attempts to create a Dickensian tone and atmosphere. It slows down the pace of the story and may turn off some middle grade readers. It almost reads as if Buzbee wrote it to be an audio book, or maybe he wants it to be a read aloud. It would be a good one.
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