Sketches By Boz - (Charles Dickens 1833 - 36)

[Teresa Edgerton]

I've read all of them, and all I have time to say right now is that they were tremendously fun (and great information for world building if you are writing anything close to the Victorian period).

[Extollager]

I'm getting the sense, though, that the Book Club heading is the kiss of death for discussion!

[GOLLUM]

Fair call Extollager but as I'm now back on track with various things in that oft problematic place called 'the real world' I hope to push forward on the Dickens reading club again soon....apologies for the lull.

Several members here have indicated interest in both specific works and Dickens in general, so I remain eternally optimistic that a concerted effort to imbue the "kiss of life" upon the Dickens book club will in fact still prove to be a rewarding experience for all involved...

[Extollager]

I'm about finished with a few days' focus (as for as comments at Chrons) on stories by Harlan Ellison, so this would be a good time for me to resume posting on Sketches by Boz.

[GOLLUM]

..and for me to get my skates on by posting on both Sketches and Pickwick Papers (reading this weekend) before tackling the next Dickens I had on the list....

I've been out of it for quite a while now but finally in a position to properly focus on the Dickens reading thread AND start posting on my World Literature thread.

Better late than never I suppose.

Back to reading now.

[Extollager]

I recently read the Sketch on "Scotland Yard," which will interest readers who associate it solely with criminal investigation but are curious about what it was formerly like. Dickens was alert to London as a city of bridges (like my old stomping grounds of Portland, Oregon). It's interesting to see, in various Sketches, how Dickens notes changes that have involved some loss; in this he reminds me of his great admirer and, to a considerable degree, successor, Arthur Machen. (If you like Machen's horror stories, you should try his London essays, and if you like them, you should read Dickens!)

[GOLLUM]

An interesting comparison you make there Extollager. I hadn't actually made (or perhaps appreciated) as direct a link between Machen and Dickens..but I can see where you are coming from and certainly there's no doubt as to Machen's respect of Dickens.

I'm a great admirer of Machen but have never read his London Essays/wanderings...thank you for the heads up.

[Extollager]

Originally Posted by GOLLUM

An interesting comparison you make there Extollager. I hadn't actually made (or perhaps appreciated) as direct a link between Machen and Dickens..but I can see where you are coming from and certainly there's no doubt as to Machen's respect of Dickens.

I'm a great admirer of Machen but have never read his London Essays/wanderings...thank you for the heads up.

Well, let's keep the Dickens focus here and not get too distracted by Machen. Still -- Machen wrote an introduction to a book of selections (A Handy Dickens) and The Pickwick Papers was one of three books that he said he constantly reread (the others being Don Quixote and Gargantua and Pantagruel). I have a BBC audio CD set with a few precious minutes of Machen's voice, and therein he exhibits his love of Dickens. One of the great points of similarity between them is their fondness for roaming London streets... Machen seems to have been a good walker and Dickens was perhaps literature's greatest urban walker (compare George Borrow, the great countryside walker who lived at the same time, in Lavengro and The Romany Rye -- but he can write very well of London Bridge etc. too).

[GOLLUM]

Originally Posted by Extollager

Well, let's keep the Dickens focus here and not get too distracted by Machen. Still -- Machen wrote an introduction to a book of selections (A Handy Dickens) and The Pickwick Papers was one of three books that he said he constantly reread (the others being Don Quixote and Gargantua and Pantagruel).

Perish the thought Sir. I was merely responding to earlier coment regarding Machen and Dickens...

Having said that I've made a start on Pickwick Papers and am enjoying the premise so far. I'll start posting my thoughts soon in the appropriate thread.