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Barnaby Rudge: Week 8: Chapters 57-64
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I like that Gabriel was not giving in to the rioters, but Miggs certainly showed her true colours.Poor Emma and Dolly! And even more-poor Barnaby!
Mod
I'm uneasy about Emma and Dolly being captives of those thugs! But Barnaby is in a worse predicament. I also feel very sorry for him, Rosemarie.
'I am your father.' - Star Wars meets Dickens ;) It's kind of a funny coincidence that both father and son Rudge are at this moment both inmates in the same prison. Btw, the name 'Barnaby' means 'son of consolation' and I believe that's why Mrs Rudge picked it. He is not likely named after his father after what we have read in this week's section. I hope some miracle will happen and he'll (and Grip!) get out of this mess unharmed. It was painful to watch how he did not understand the predicament he is in until the very end.By contrast, Dolly and Emma are very well aware of the dangerous situation they are in. What Hugh has in mind for Dolly is easy to guess, but what Gashford would do to Emma scares me almost more.
I just noticed that Stagg is the same blind man that owned the cellar in which the Apprentices used to meet. That's where he met Mr Rudge five years ago. I hadn't made the connection between that man and the blind man that found Mrs Rudge and Barnaby five years later.
That makes me conclude that there is probably also only one one-armed man, who is showing up everywhere. First at the prison, than among the rioters and now he rescued (?) Gabriel. At least I believe that he rescued him and has smuggled him out of the crowd while everybody was busy forcing a way into Newgate Prison. I am impressed by Gabriel's steadfastness, and shocked by Miggs betrayal. She's disgusting!
Mod
That's very interesting. Thanks for sharing, Lindenblatt!
Mod
I'm also worried more about, Emma. Out of Hugh and Gashford, the latter is the most dangerous in my opinion.
My conclusion is also that there is only one one-armed man. And he is a soldier!
The violence and mayhem continue in this section, but now we're seeing how the turmoil affects the innocent victims such as Barnaby, Emma, Dolly, and Mr. Haredale, as well as the innocent homeowners and small business owners. I wish Miggs would end up with her beloved Simon - they deserve each other! Gabriel Varden continues to show himself as a man of great courage, and it's fun to contrast his resolve with the cowardly behavior of the Lord Mayor. I just purchased King Mob: The London Riots Of 1780 by Christopher Hibbert so that I can read the real story. It's under 200 pages, so it should be a quick read. I'll let everyone know what I find out, if anything new.
Mod
Mod
Good idea, Nancy. Would love to hear what really happened. Thanks btw.
I am a little bit perplexed. Maybe it is all the violence grinding me down. I don’t usually enjoy novels bulging with violence, hatred and deceit. This one is making me somewhat uneasy, especially with the range of violence that’s being played out, from the vile and cowardly abduction of Dolly and Emma to the indiscriminate destruction and desecration of what others regard as sacred. Stagg’s abominable plan to help Rudge only added a grotesque cherry to the top of the most unpalatable cake of disgusting deeds that I have had to digest for a long time.
By the way, if the one armed man is who we think he is, why did he inform Hugh and Dennis of Barnaby’s whereabouts, thereby being the catalyst which resulted in the burning of the prison and probably the loss of many lives, not to mention many being badly injured? This same one armed man, then ‘rescued’ Gabriel ( with a ‘friend’ who we might also know?) and took him to a place of relative safety (we think.) If he is acting as an ‘undercover agent’ he seems to have done as much harm as good.
At least there were two incidents which raised my spirits and both came from the better two thirds of the valiant Vardens.
Firstly, Dolly’s scragging of the captain the moment he came near her made me cheer. I gripped my book more tightly as she was grasping chunks of his hair, attempting to pull them out of his scalp. Only Hugh had the strength to pull her off him but even that didn’t stop her struggling.
And secondly, Gabriel’s defiance in the face of the angry mob might have been foolhardy, but his bravery was heartwarming and gave a glimpse of how the good characters in this novel might eventually triumph over the legions of disreputables which infest its pages.
Mod
Well those were some pretty exciting chapters! Poor Barnaby! I feel so badly for him! All he wanted was to make his mother proud and her life easier. But he is in a terrible mess now. And to make things worse, stuck in the prison with his treacherous father!
And Dolly Varden and Emma! Hugh is such an animal!
I was very impressed with Gabriel Varden tho! He is prepared to die if need be! But now he has been escorted away from the prison. To me, that seemed too convenient. Why would Hugh just let him he taken by strangers? But it’s a small nit in this epic tale, so I am not too worried about it.
I guess now we are going to see prisoners freed. This ought to get interesting!
I didn’t think the riots would have continued for this long, it feels like I’ve been reading about it for weeks now haha its never ending, personally it’s getting a bit exhausting to read about the violence. Though I did enjoy the description of the fire in chapter 64, the language was beautiful. I was able to visualised everything Dickens was describing!! Felt like a movie as the flames grew more fiercely.
I also wanted to mention how this is my first book from Dickens and I am very pleased to see how he is starting to address/connecting every plot and tying the characters together. I respect authors who does this and I’ve seen comments elsewhere where people have said this is common for him? If so, I need to explore his other novels. :)
This is the last of the Dickens novels for me. I've read all the others, some twice. Other than his unfinished novel, Edwin Drood, the books have satisfying endings. And generally a lot less violence, excepting A Tale of Two Cities, his book about the French Revolution.
Mod
Barnaby Rudge is my 10th Dickens novel, and as Rosemarie has correctly said, the ending of his novels are quite satisfactory since he neatly ties all the threads and loose ends at the end.
I agree with you, Piyangie-Barnaby Rudge is darker. And there are too many villains!
I would also agree with Piyangie and Rosemarie. If I remember correctly, The Tale of Two Cities is narrated largely from the perspectives of the good guys, not so much the villains. So the violence and meanness is experienced and condemned, not enjoyed and celebrated.
Mod
Piyangie wrote: "I think we have a general idea who the rescuers of Varden are - the one armed man and the other. I'm glad that they got discreetly mixed with the crowd to save Varden. Trev has mentioned the two men directing Hugh and the gang towards Barnaby. I missed that part. (I still couldn't find it in my casual perusal) I believe their intention was somehow to get a Barnaby out of prison for the moment."When Hugh was warned by scouts not to go back to the Boot Inn, he went with Dennis and Tappertit to the Fleet Market instead where he knew many of his followers were congregating. Then this happened……….
‘ We left a man on guard there (The Boot) to-day,’ said Hugh, looking round him, ‘who is not here. You know who it is–Barnaby, who brought the soldier down, at Westminster. Has any man seen or heard of him?’
They shook their heads, and murmured an answer in the negative, as each man looked round and appealed to his fellow; when a noise was heard without, and a man was heard to say that he wanted Hugh–that he must see Hugh.
‘He is but one man,’ cried Hugh to those who kept the door; ‘let him come in.’
‘Ay, ay!’ muttered the others. ‘Let him come in. Let him come in.’
The door was accordingly unlocked and opened. A one-armed man, with his head and face tied up with a bloody cloth, as though he had been severely beaten, his clothes torn, and his remaining hand grasping a thick stick, rushed in among them, and panting for breath, demanded which was Hugh.
‘Here he is,’ replied the person he inquired for. ‘I am Hugh. What do you want with me?’
‘I have a message for you,’ said the man. ‘You know one Barnaby.’
‘What of him? Did he send the message?’
‘Yes. He’s taken. He’s in one of the strong cells in Newgate. He defended himself as well as he could, but was overpowered by numbers. That’s his message.’
‘When did you see him?’ asked Hugh, hastily.
‘On his way to prison, where he was taken by a party of soldiers. They took a by-road, and not the one we expected. I was one of the few who tried to rescue him, and he called to me, and told me to tell Hugh where he was. We made a good struggle, though it failed. Look here!’
He pointed to his dress and to his bandaged head, and still panting for breath, glanced round the room; then faced towards Hugh again.
‘I know you by sight,’ he said, ‘for I was in the crowd on Friday, and on Saturday, and yesterday, but I didn’t know your name. You’re a bold fellow, I know. So is he. He fought like a lion tonight, but it was of no use. I did my best, considering that I want this limb.’
The one-armed man’s message was the catalyst for the storming of Newgate.
Mod
Trev wrote: "A one-armed man, with his head and face tied up with a bloody cloth, as though he had been severely beaten, his clothes torn, and his remaining hand grasping a thick stick, rushed in among them,..."Thanks for posting this, Trev! I was wondering how the one-armed man could be "who we think he is" without both Hugh and Simon recognizing him directly. The bloody cloth would explain that, of course. Had missed that part.
Mod
However, this is disturbing. I know he (assuming he is who we think he is) wants Barnaby saved at all costs. But to direct an angry drunk mob towards a prison is thoughtlessly done.
I guess I am not minding the ‘darkness’ of this novel. I have not read A Tale of Two Cities, but I’ve studied the French Revolution, and I can tell you that it was much bloodier. I just think that in this novel, especially in this section, we have been focused on the bad guys a lot in recent chapters. But hey, at least there is action with the bad guys. Excitement.
I personally quite like this book. As of this point, it’s cruising along in the 4.0 to 4.5 stars range IMO.
But then, I was expecting it to be violent. When I read Gordon Riots, I just assumed that the action sequences in this book would involve mobs and violence.
Brief Summary
Barnaby, who was left to guard The Boot, was arrested by the soldiers. Interestingly, Grip's actions revealed to the soldiers, the hiding place of the looted property.
We learn what happened to Emma and Dolly. They've been taken captive as we assumed.
The rioters learn of Barnaby's imprisonment, and incited by Hugh, decides to attack the Newgate prison in which he is kept.
Mr. Haredale manages to get Rudge imprisoned. We learn that it was Rudge who had murdered Reuben Haredale. Stagg, the blind man visits him in the priosn and plots a plan to free Rudge. Barnaby meets Rudge in the prison and is informed by Rudge that he is the father of Barnaby.
The rioters proceed to attack the Newgate prison. On their way, Hugh, Dennis and Tappertit lead the men towards Locksmiths's house, for its revealed that his assistance is needed to break the prison door lock. Mr. Varden flatly refuses to corporate and threatens to shoot with anyone coming to force him with a gun. But it was revealed that Miggs had tempered the gun and it will not fire. The rioters forcefully take Mr. Varden with them but not before he defend himself as best as he could single handedly. At the prison, he still refuses corporation. No amount of threats could move him. The angered mob attacks him and but miraculously, he is saved by two mysterious men.