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Thread: Essays about Dickens

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    Registered User kev67's Avatar
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    Essays about Dickens

    I recently read George Orwell's long essay on Charles Dickens, in which he referred to George Gissing's essay on the famous author, written in 1898. Gissing was a big Dickens fan too, at a time when Dickens' stock had fallen. When I searched for it, I noticed there was yet another essay about Dickens, written by G.K. Chesterton in 1906. Being a philistine and an ignoramus, I cannot remember having heard of G.K. Chesterton before, but he is esteemed enough to have his own forum on this site. Wouldn't it be a really great assignment to inflict on some English literature students to write an essay about essays on Dickens?
    According to Aldous Huxley, D.H. Lawrence once said that Balzac was 'a gigantic dwarf', and in a sense the same is true of Dickens.
    Charles Dickens, by George Orwell

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    We understand Dickens in Russia, I am convinced, almost as well as the English, and maybe even all the subtleties; maybe even we love him no less than his own countrymen; and yet how typical, distinctive, and national Dickens is. ~ Dostoevsky

    Tolstoy said that David Copperfield was a big influence in his life.

    What about Gogol?

    So many others. Dickens is one of the best English writers of history.

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    All are at the crossroads qimissung's Avatar
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    I think that would be an absolutely brilliant assignment!
    "The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its' own reason for existing." ~ Albert Einstein
    "Remember, no matter where you go, there you are." Buckaroo Bonzai
    "Some people say I done alright for a girl." Melanie Safka

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    Registered User mona amon's Avatar
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    Bernard Shaw was a big fan of Dickens and has written some essays on his work, which can be found in a book called Shaw on Dickens. I borrowed it from my library once.
    Exit, pursued by a bear.

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    Registered User kev67's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by mona amon View Post
    Bernard Shaw was a big fan of Dickens and has written some essays on his work, which can be found in a book called Shaw on Dickens. I borrowed it from my library once.
    Well, at least Shaw and Chesterton agreed on one thing. Apparently they were great pals, although they did not agree on much. I used to associate George Bernard Shaw with Oscar Wilde and Whistler, but I think that was more to do with the Monty Python sketch.
    According to Aldous Huxley, D.H. Lawrence once said that Balzac was 'a gigantic dwarf', and in a sense the same is true of Dickens.
    Charles Dickens, by George Orwell

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