Bibliograph

Becoming Dickens, the invention of a novelist, Robert Douglas-Fairhurst

Type

Label

Becoming Dickens, the invention of a novelist, Robert Douglas-Fairhurst

Language

eng

Bibliography note

Includes bibliographical references (pages 339-370) and index

resource.biographical

individual biography

Illustrations

illustrationsplates

Index

index present

Literary Form

non fiction

Main title

Becoming Dickens

Nature of contents

bibliography

Oclc number

700735598

Responsibility statement

Robert Douglas-Fairhurst

Sub title

the invention of a novelist

Summary

Becoming Dickens tells the story of how an ambitious young Londoner became England's greatest novelist. In following the twists and turns of Charles Dickens's early career, Robert Douglas-Fairhurst examines a remarkable double transformation: in reinventing himself Dickens reinvented the form of the novel. It was a high-stakes gamble, and Dickens never forgot how differently things could have turned out. From his traumatized childhood to the suicide of his first collaborator and the sudden death of the woman who had a good claim to being the love of his life, Dickens faced powerful obstacles. Douglas-Fairhurst's provocative new biography, focused on the 1830s, portrays a restless and uncertain Dickens who could not decide on the career path he should take and would never feel secure in his considerable achievements. -- from Publisher Description

Table Of Contents

Prologue : Somebody and nobody -- Lost and found -- The clerk's tale -- Up in the gallery -- Mr. Dickin -- "Here we are!" -- Becoming Boz -- The moving age -- "Pickwick, triumphant" -- [Novelist] Writer -- Dickens at home -- Is she his wife? -- Being Dickens -- Postscript : Signing off

Classification