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Odd that it seems fairly common for great writers to be less than pleasant individuals. Dickens is just one of many who, while somewhat pleasurable to read, probably wouldn't have been someone that you would want to associate with.
A bit of trivia: up until a year or two ago the only statue in the entire world of Charles Dickens is located in West Philadelphia's Clark Park. The impressive bronze sculpture depicts a life sized Dickens seated in an armchair on a high granite pedestal and his fictional character Little Nell wearing typical Victorian girl's dress at the base of the pedestal. On Dickens' birthday every year a small group of admirers place flowers on the base.
Recently a second statue was erected to Dickens in Australia.
Dickens codified in his will that he wanted no statues or monuments made of him. The 19th Century Philadelphia sculptor who created the Clark Park statue was unaware of Dickens' desire.
I loved Oscar Wilde's observation that anyone who reads the chapter on the death of Little Nell must have a heart of stone if they do not burst out in a fit of laughter!
Odd that it seems fairly common for great writers to be less than pleasant individuals. Dickens is just one of many who, while somewhat pleasurable to read, probably wouldn't have been someone that you would want to associate with.
Dickens' writing may be only somewhat pleasurable to you, or other modern readers, but in his day, their worldwide popularity was immense. Dickens' books were originally issued a chapter at a time, sold to weekly newspapers and magazines, and, in a time when mass entertainment was unknown, his works were read in all parts of the English speaking world.
Since the British Empire was it it's height then, that meant there were few places on the planet where he wasn't adored. Dickens tailored his writing to be very similar to modern TV cliffhanger series. His subject matter, often using the poor who advance upward from their lot somehow, appealed to a market that had never been served before as well. Working class readers could afford books, but they could afford a penny or two once a week to read the latest chapter. He also appealed to the higher classes, as they were often the rescuers of the poor heroes in his works.
His works were also translated. They were just as popular in the French. Italian and Spanish speaking nations as they were among the English speakers, because similar societal divisions prevailed everywhere.
Dickens also made an enormous amount of money as a speaker, just like Mark Twain, who did the same. His personal appearances were sold outs always, and he was in extremely high demand.
Writers are very often terrible family men. It's an occupation that demands a lot of solitude and much high concentration. Leading a life like his, Dickens undoubtedly must have seen his wife and children as mostly nagging distractions. He was also notoriously high strung, which probably didn't help his other personal relationships either.
By todays standards a lot of famous and important people would be condemned for their lives and extracurricular activities. Socrates, Plato and Aristotle would all be locked up as pedophiles. Hemingway was either bipolar or worse. What about van Gogh and Paul Guagin?
If old Charlie boy found his family a big distraction then why did he go looking for other distractions..he seemed to me a cold hearted moron who kept his children from their mother..
Dickens' writing may be only somewhat pleasurable to you, or other modern readers, but in his day, their worldwide popularity was immense. Dickens' books were originally issued a chapter at a time, sold to weekly newspapers and magazines, and, in a time when mass entertainment was unknown, his works were read in all parts of the English speaking world.
Since the British Empire was it it's height then, that meant there were few places on the planet where he wasn't adored. Dickens tailored his writing to be very similar to modern TV cliffhanger series. His subject matter, often using the poor who advance upward from their lot somehow, appealed to a market that had never been served before as well. Working class readers could afford books, but they could afford a penny or two once a week to read the latest chapter. He also appealed to the higher classes, as they were often the rescuers of the poor heroes in his works.
His works were also translated. They were just as popular in the French. Italian and Spanish speaking nations as they were among the English speakers, because similar societal divisions prevailed everywhere.
Dickens also made an enormous amount of money as a speaker, just like Mark Twain, who did the same. His personal appearances were sold outs always, and he was in extremely high demand.
Writers are very often terrible family men. It's an occupation that demands a lot of solitude and much high concentration. Leading a life like his, Dickens undoubtedly must have seen his wife and children as mostly nagging distractions. He was also notoriously high strung, which probably didn't help his other personal relationships either.
Very good point in that first sentence. Dickens was, in his time, an extremely popular writer. Quite honestly, while I enjoy the subject matter of his stories his prose makes my teeth itch. To be fair, there are many "great" classical writers who have the same effect on me. On the other hand, there are also a few whose writing style can make me forget where I am for the duration.
Very good point in that first sentence. Dickens was, in his time, an extremely popular writer. Quite honestly, while I enjoy the subject matter of his stories his prose makes my teeth itch. To be fair, there are many "great" classical writers who have the same effect on me. On the other hand, there are also a few whose writing style can make me forget where I am for the duration.
There was a great love for florid prose throughout the middle to late 19th century. England and America shared the love for it equally, and it was particularly popular on the frontiers wherever the frontiers were.
We have so much different entertainment available in so many different mediums now that it's impossible for us to conceive of a time when filling a person's idle hours was a real challenge. In Dickens' time, the most popular family entertainment was singing. Families looked forward to an evening of singing together with the enthusiasm families now have for going to a hit movie.
Speeches were a very popular form of public entertainment. There were many professional speakers who were famous for reciting classical speeches from Homer and other ancient classics, and politicians were gauged more on their speaking abilities than what they actually stood for. Many political speeches deliberately lasted for 2 hours or more, only because the audience found them highly entertaining.
Reading was an entertainment that was done slowly, savoring each word, especially the rarely used words, or references to ancient literature classics, or words from Latin or Greek. Anything that wasn't heard regularly was a treasure that could be displayed in daily conversation.
That's a lot of the stuff in Dickens that make my teeth itch, too. Mark Twain, the American Dickens, knew how to use big fancy words for the same effect. But unlike Dickens, Twain often said he used them because he knew his Americans loved them, even if they couldn't read.
The biggest difference between them was Dickens was very much a man of his time, and his writing, though much more popular than his competitors, was of it's time.
Twain, on the other hand, radically changed American fiction. James Fennimore Cooper, who was the father of uniquely American fiction, Twain's writing still reads much like modern fiction. Twain paved the way for the writers of the 20th century.
Cooper's writings are now antique in comparison, and are more like Dickens.
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