George Orwell, Charles Dickens

Nigel Williams

Ed. by Peter Childs, Newman University
The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.2.1.08: English Writing and Culture of the early Twentieth Century , 1900-1945.
Vol. editors: Chris Baldick (Goldsmiths College, University of London), Peter Childs (Newman University), Louise McDonald (Newman University)

Dates

First circulation or publication Mar 1940

Places

United Kingdom (Country of Origin)

Genres and Modes

Non-Fiction
- Commentary / Criticism (literary)
- Essay / Lecture (literary)

Resources

In 1939 Orwell wrote his detailed analytical essay “Charles Dickens”, in which he sedulously alternates arguments for and against Dickens’s writing, his personality and his prejudices. The essay sub-divides into six sections, with each section containing approval and opprobrium of Dickens and his fiction, in varying degrees. Unlike contemporary literary criticism, Orwell also draws substantially on Dickens’s background and his interpretation of Dickens’s canon is heavily reliant on biographical detail and personal history. For Orwell, Dickens had long been an iconic author who, together with Kipling and Somerset Maugham, provided a formative and deeply influential triumvirate, central to defining Orwell’s literary style and h…

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2437 words

Citation: Williams, Nigel. "Charles Dickens". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 03 January 2014 [https://staging.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=35012, accessed 22 November 2024.]

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