Charles Dickens

September 21, 2009
There is no shortage of doorstop biographies of Charles Dickens (1812–1870). This latest one by Slater, a Dickens scholar and professor emeritus at the University of London, bears an easy, fluid familiarity with the subject at hand. Scholars will appreciate the ingenuity with which the art was chosen. Above all, as the subtitle indicates, this work showcases the contours of Dickens's crammed life with the focus on his writings. And for these reasons, this biography will have primarily an academic appeal. But Slater superbly showcases Dickens's fascination with London life as it developed during his early teenage years; how the stage beckoned a man who was temperamentally a great parodist; why social issues and a refusal to kowtow to authority came to dominate the author's aesthetic families. But it was his startling affair with young actress Ellen (Nelly) Lawless Ternan, a story concealed until the 1930s, which defined Dickens's later life as much as his punishing reading tours did. Overall, this best known of English authors after Shakespeare gains a scholarly, levelheaded and even affecting new illumination of his writing life. 16 pages of color illus., 60 b&w illus.

October 15, 2009
Twenty years after the last significant biography of Charles Dickens, prominent scholar Slater (Victorian literature, emeritus, Birbeck Coll., Univ. of London) offers a fascinating portrait of the man and his work. What makes this work distinctive is Slater's examination of Dickens, the professional writer. It turns out the novels we know and love are but a part of Dickens's extensive oeuvre. Plays, essays, articles, speeches, travel writing, letters, and stories for children were just some of the outlets for his abundant creativity and passion. Through Slater's highly readable prose the reader becomes acquainted with Dickens the working man as he morphs into the man who created the world of Oliver Twist. VERDICT Not since Fred Kaplan's "Dickens: A Biography" (1988) have we seen such a detailed examination of Dickens's life. This is not only a scholarly portrait of a beloved author but an affectionate look at a much-loved human being. An enjoyable read for academics and enthusiasts alike.Carol Gladstein, McMinnville P.L., OR

Copyright 2009 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from November 15, 2009
I see you understand me! exclaims Charles Dickens to a sympathetic American visitor in 1867. And that is more precious to the author than fame or gold. With this masterful life study, Slater opens a breadth of understanding exceeding that of even Dickens most cherished visitor. What Slater helps readers to understand is how an impoverished blacking-factory drudge transforms himself into the comic genius of Pickwick Papers. Readers then follow the maturation of this genius into the profound artistic seriousness of David Copperfield, Bleak House, Hard Times, and Our Mutual Friend. But intense interest in the great novels does not blind Slater to the authors astonishing productivity in other genresshort stories, plays, essays, reportage, lecture scripts, lettersall rich with imaginative insight. Detailing the exceptional energy and organizational discipline behind Dickens prodigious output, Slater emphasizes the authors determination to use his pen on behalf of Britains hard-pressed working class. Yet Slater recognizes that that same pen could also advance intensely personal interests, as when Dickens indulges in veiled autobiography to resolve the psychological traumas of his own childhood and then, more dubiously, to justify his decision to abandon his wife for a clandestine relationship with a much younger woman. A landmark of literary scholarship.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2009, American Library Association.)