The Artful Dickens: The Tricks and Ploys of the Great Novelist

Product Description
'One for your Christmas list … A feast of Dickensian knowledge' The Times 'This is a marvellous, endlessly illuminating book ... It doesn't go on the shelf alongside other critics; it goes on the shelf alongside Dickens' Howard JacobsonDiscover the tricks of a literary master in this essential guide to the fictional world of Charles Dickens. From Pickwick to Scrooge, Copperfield to Twist, how did Dickens find the perfect names for his characters?What was Dickens's favourite way of killing his characters?When is a Dickens character most likely to see a ghost?Why is Dickens's trickery only fully realised when his novels are read aloud? In thirteen entertaining and wonderfully insightful essays, John Mullan explores the literary machinations of Dickens's eccentric genius, from his delight in clichés to his rendering of smells and his outrageous use of coincidences. A treat for all lovers of Dickens, this essential companion puts his audacity, originality and brilliance on full display.
Review
“Mullan is at his heart a critic of style, and the most rewarding parts of The Artful Dickens are those in which he turns his eye on the various maneuvers by which the novelist’s prose comes alive. Even so obvious a device as the as-if construction affords a key to the working of Dickens’s imagination, since he characteristically adopts the formula, Mullan shows, not to clarify a point but to fantasize.” - Ruth Bernard Yeazell, New York Review of Books“Excellent … The closer we look, the better the novels get. The Artful Dickens is both an exposure of the trickster’s methods and a celebration of close reading … Enlightening … If Mullan put into his hat a creator of gargoyles and spinner of melodrama, he pulled out an innovator who broke all the rules. The Artful Dickens made me feel that I had been in some form of trance during my earlier reading of these novels” - Frances Wilson, Guardian“[Mullan] has a gift for synthesizing information and presenting it in an enjoyable fashion, and he provides here a dazzlingly close examination of the Dickens oeuvre with an emphasis on style and literary technique... The Artful Dickens shows us a singular craftsman who was of his time and, simultaneously, timeless.” - The Washington Independent Review of Books“Literary scholar Mullan offers ample evidence of the 'technical boldness' and 'experimental verve' of Dickens’ prolific oeuvre . . . A brisk, authoritative look at a literary icon.” - Kirkus Reviews (starred review)“Incisive … astute observations abound … This superlative, fresh collection will please stalwart fans and bring new readers to the Dickens canon.” - Publishers Weekly“Splendid … Mullan’s book is too rich to capture in a review. Each chapter shoots off in a fresh direction and illuminates it … You must, and should, read Mullan’s book. Even if you know a lot about Dickens you will find revelations in it, and if you know nothing about Dickens and want to learn what makes him great it will be the perfect appetizer” - John Carey, Sunday Times“Gloriously entertaining and astute, this lush, intimate journey through Dickens's storytelling strategies is an absolute treat. I loved it.” - Sarah Waters“Mullan has taken the most popular Victorian novelist and, by holding different facets of his literary technique up to the light, found new angles from which to admire the work. By the end of this teacherly but readable analysis, Dickens’s novels are sparkling as if spring-cleaned … Surrendering to Mullan’s guided tour, we are swept into the world of Pip and Magwitch, Scrooge, the Boffins, Lady Dedlock, and a host of other familiar and much loved, loathed or pitiable characters from his extensive portrait gallery … The Artful Dickens is a fulsome tribute to a writer whose commonly perceived flaws are part of what makes him great” - Rosemary Goring, Herald“A spritely and surprising study of Dickens … Mullan wears his formidable learning lightly in revealing how a te