Copyright 1934, 182 pages. From the back cover:
Dickens, that most eminent of Victorian novelists, has too often been dismissed as a fanatic reformer-showman debasing his art to popular taste. In one of his most sparkling books, André Maurois present Dickens and his novels against the background of history, providing sympathetic insights into the life and work of this beloved teller of tales. Of particular interest are the parallels and contrasts so acutely drawn between Dickens and the other major novelists--English, French, and Russian--of his time.
Maurois here shows Dickens and his writings in complete perspective--as a sensitive artist fearful of losing his audience, as a man influenced by his era even while rebelling against its excesses, as a most "English" Englishman in a world of changing values. The result is a truly balanced portrait, indicating all the weaknesses and frailties of a man cruelly disappointed in his personal relations, without losing sight of Dickens's essential greatness.
Dickens, that most eminent of Victorian novelists, has too often been dismissed as a fanatic reformer-showman debasing his art to popular taste. In one of his most sparkling books, André Maurois present Dickens and his novels against the background of history, providing sympathetic insights into the life and work of this beloved teller of tales. Of particular interest are the parallels and contrasts so acutely drawn between Dickens and the other major novelists--English, French, and Russian--of his time.
Maurois here shows Dickens and his writings in complete perspective--as a sensitive artist fearful of losing his audience, as a man influenced by his era even while rebelling against its excesses, as a most "English" Englishman in a world of changing values. The result is a truly balanced portrait, indicating all the weaknesses and frailties of a man cruelly disappointed in his personal relations, without losing sight of Dickens's essential greatness.
