1. 1850–3. David Copperfield and Bleak House; 2. 1853–5. Home incidents and Hard Times; 3. 1853. Switzerland and Italy revisited; 4. 1853, 1854, and 1856. Three summers at Boulogne; 5. 1855, 1856. Residence in Paris; 6. 1855–7. Little Dorrit, and a lazy tour; 7. 1857–8. What happened at this time; 8. 1856–70. Gadshill Place; 9. 1858–9. First paid readings; 10. 1859–61. All the Year Round and the Uncommercial Traveller; 11. 1861–3. Second series of readings; 12. 1855–65. Hints for books written and unwritten; 13. 1864–7. Third series of readings; 14. 1836–70. Dickens as a novelist; 15. 1867. America revisited. November and December, 1867; 16. 1868. America revisited. January to April, 1868; 17. 1868–70. Last readings; 18. 1869–70. Last book; 19. 1836–70. Personal characteristics; 20. 1869–70. The end; Appendix; Index.
A three-volume biography of Dickens, published in 1872–4 by one of his closest friends and advisors.
Adult/High School-Forster, a personal friend of Dickens, published the original three-volume biography of Dickens in 1872. Long out of print, it has been abridged, illustrated, and reissued in honor of the bicentennial. Full of excerpts from Dickens's books as well as contemporary literary criticism, this is a primary source of note for high school researchers. (c) Copyright 2012. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
This oversized book is a mixed breed. It's heavy to heft for regular reading, yet it's no mere coffee-table book. The main content-the first biography of Dickens, by his close friend and authorized biographer, Forster-is denser and more formal than many readers today may be used to. It has been invisibly abridged, so Dickens purists may be miffed. The book is designed with William Morris-Arts & Crafts elements throughout, a puzzling anachronism. As if understanding that Forster's text on its own may have little appeal, Furneaux has added text-box selections of other scholarship as well as extended excerpts from Dickens's writing. VERDICT Dickens newcomers and generalists who might prefer a more recent and accessible text should try Martin Fido's The World of Charles Dickens (reviewed above) or Lucinda Dickens Hawksley's Charles Dickens (below) or a regular-sized, recent biography. Still, this is an attractive volume with myriad well-reproduced and instructive images. (c) Copyright 2012. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
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