Order from a Major Online Bookstore
Ultimate Book Price Comparison Engine
Save Your Time And Money
| AnyBook4Less.com | Order from a Major Online Bookstore |
|
| Home | Store List | FAQ | Contact Us | | ||
| Ultimate Book Price Comparison Engine Save Your Time And Money |
||
 |
Title: Barnaby Rudge (Penguin English Library) by Charles Dickens, G. W. Spence ISBN: 0140430903 Publisher: Viking Press Pub. Date: February, 1974 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $10.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 3.88
Rating: 4
Summary: Want a good riot?
Comment: Dickens' first historical fiction, "Barnaby Rudge" is not a big favorite either with Dickens fans or with critics, largely because of its curious lack of the divinely memorable characters for which Dickens is usually known. (There are some good characters, but not the all-star cast we come to expect from the master.) Be this as it may, there's no denying that the buildup and eruption of the Gordon riots in London offer us some of Dickens' most compelling writing. Once the riots finally begin, they sweep us along in a torrent of demonic energy that is suitably appalling to the reader. For this reason, "Barnaby Rudge" is certainly worth reading. Even "A Tale of Two Cities" does not conjure the same breathless chaos as "Rudge" does. Also, though it is one of Dickens' earlier books, it has much more evidence of structured planning than do more improvised works such as "Pickwick Papers" and "The Old Curiosity Shop." Dickens would not truly master the art of creating a well-rounded novel in serial installments until "Dombey and Son," but he is clearly on the right track here.
Rating: 3
Summary: Not the best of Chas, not the worst
Comment: Having ploughed through the vast majority of Dickens's novels, I thought there were several things to say in favour of "Barnaby Rudge".
Firstly, it's unusual in being an historical novel by Dickens, set (mostly) in 1775, and in 1780 during the anti-Catholic "Gordon Riots" in London - the only other Dickens historical novel I could recall was "A Tale of Two Cities".
Secondly, it's (mercifully) shorter, less self-indulgent and meandering than many of his other novels. Having said that, it's still very uneven in pace - I found the descriptions of the riots far better than the thin sub-plots which ran through the novel (these tended to be pretty much run-of-the-mill stuff - young couple wanting to marry despite parental opposition, mysterious stranger flitting about, and so on).
Thirdly, there are some very well-observed vignettes, such as the landowner who wants to buy Barnaby's raven, Grip (this type, believe me, still exists).
But I found my usual problems with Dickens were still there, albeit in microcosm as the book is relatively short: for example, Dickens's descriptions of women are no better than they are elsewhere, and are only less nauseating because they are shorter. The characters are the usual two-dimensional bunch, and there's the usual nineteenth-century outrageous use of coincidence as a plot device.
No doubt Dickens aficionados will enjoy "Barnaby Rudge", others should, I think, enjoy its good bits and be grateful for its brevity.
Rating: 5
Summary: An excellent read
Comment: This work by Dickens takes the factual events of the "No Popery" riots of 1780's London,England and uses them as a backdrop for a dozen or so of Dicken's most colorful and well contrasted characters and combines with them a plot that includes a long unsolved murder. The reader can expect the usual thoroughly desciptive scenes, long a hallmark of his writing style, and characters that seem to come to life,jumping as it were, right from the very page. It is a pleasure,not a chore, to read Barnaby Rudge.
 |
Title: The Life and Adventures of Martin Chuzzlewit (Penguin Classics) by Charles Dickens, Patricia Ingham ISBN: 0140436146 Publisher: Penguin USA (Paper) Pub. Date: 01 August, 2000 List Price(USD): $10.95 |
 |
Title: Little Dorrit (Penguin Classics) by Charles Dickens, Stephen Wall, Helen Small ISBN: 0140434925 Publisher: Viking Press Pub. Date: September, 1998 List Price(USD): $8.95 |
 |
Title: The Old Curiosity Shop (Everyman Paperback Classics) by Charles Dickens, Paul Schlicke ISBN: 0460876007 Publisher: Everyman Paperback Classics List Price(USD): $6.95 |
 |
Title: Dombey and Son (Penguin English Library) by Charles Dickens, Peter Fairclough, Raymond Williams ISBN: 0140430482 Publisher: Viking Press Pub. Date: June, 1970 List Price(USD): $8.95 |
 |
Title: Our Mutual Friend (Penquin Classics) by Charles Dickens, Adrian Poole ISBN: 0140434976 Publisher: Penguin USA (Paper) Pub. Date: February, 1998 List Price(USD): $10.95 |
Thank you for visiting www.AnyBook4Less.com and enjoy your savings!
Copyright� 2001-2021 Send your comments
