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'Where is my nephew?, asked Mr Jasper, wildly. 'Where is your nephew?' repeated Neveille. 'Why do you ask me?' 'I ask you, ' retorted Jasper, 'because you were the last person in his company, and he is not to be found.' The Mystery of Edwin Drood, Dickens's last novel, lay unfinished at his death. Speculation remains rife as to its probably conclusion; evidence suggests that, fascinated as Dickens was by details of the plotting, his basic concern was for character and appropriate setting, in particular the character of the hero-villain, Jasper. The ancient city of Cloisterham, its... more 'Where is my nephew?, asked Mr Jasper, wildly. 'Where is your nephew?' repeated Neveille. 'Why do you ask me?' 'I ask you, ' retorted Jasper, 'because you were the last person in his company, and he is not to be found.' The Mystery of Edwin Drood, Dickens's last novel, lay unfinished at his death. Speculation remains rife as to its probably conclusion; evidence suggests that, fascinated as Dickens was by details of the plotting, his basic concern was for character and appropriate setting, in particular the character of the hero-villain, Jasper. The ancient city of Cloisterham, its cathedral a reminder of mortality, human frailty, and the lawful life, is an effective background for what Dickens daughter called a tale of 'the tragic secrets of the human heart'. Humour is provided by a host of characters ranging from Mr Grewgious, the admirable though eccentric lawyer, and Miss Twinkleton, guardian of the Young Ladies' Seminary, to Durdles, the hard-drinking stonemason, and Deputy, the irreverent lodging-house boy. This edition contains Dickens's working plans for the novel, and the text is that of the authoritative Clarendon edition.
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Robert Douglas-FairhurstIn A Christmas Carol, Scrooge has visions of three spirits; in The Mystery of Edwin Drood, Jasper, who is the anti-hero and probably the murderer, also has visions, which are probably caused by opium. He too finds it hard to tell what is real and what is not real—which, in some ways, is the dream of fiction, isn’t it? To not really know the difference between what is real and not real. (Source)
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What Christmas Is as We Grow Older (+Biography and Bibliography) (Matte Cover Finish): Time was, with most of us, when Christmas Day encircling all our limited world like a magic ring, left nothing out for us to miss or seek; bound together all our home enjoyments, affections, and hopes; grouped everything and every one around the Christmas fire; and made the little picture shining in our bright young eyes, complete.Time came, perhaps, all so soon, when our thoughts overleaped that narrow boundary; when there was some one (very dear, we thought then, very beautiful, and absolutely perfect)... more What Christmas Is as We Grow Older (+Biography and Bibliography) (Matte Cover Finish): Time was, with most of us, when Christmas Day encircling all our limited world like a magic ring, left nothing out for us to miss or seek; bound together all our home enjoyments, affections, and hopes; grouped everything and every one around the Christmas fire; and made the little picture shining in our bright young eyes, complete.Time came, perhaps, all so soon, when our thoughts overleaped that narrow boundary; when there was some one (very dear, we thought then, very beautiful, and absolutely perfect) wanting to the fulness of our happiness; when we were wanting too (or we thought so, which did just as well) at the Christmas hearth by which that some one sat; and when we intertwined with every wreath and garland of our life that some on less Robert Douglas-FairhurstDickens sees Christmas as a time for reflection, for thinking about the passage of time, for not only measuring how things have changed (and how they’re not changed) but also showing that you can redirect the paths of your life in a different direction should you should you choose. (Source)
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Charles Dickens, James Kinsley | 4.06
In 1836 the 23-year-old Dickens was invited by his publishers to write `a monthly something' illustrated by sporting plates. Thus the Pickwick Club was born: its supposed `papers' soom outgrew their origins and became a brilliantly comic novel, still among Dicken's most popular works. more In 1836 the 23-year-old Dickens was invited by his publishers to write `a monthly something' illustrated by sporting plates. Thus the Pickwick Club was born: its supposed `papers' soom outgrew their origins and became a brilliantly comic novel, still among Dicken's most popular works. less Robert Douglas-FairhurstDickens wrote it quickly and happily; you can see the atmosphere of the approach of Christmas and a snowy landscape all the way through the episode itself. It’s a world of blazing log fires, and punch bowls, and friendship, and a return to childhood games. (Source)
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'What was merry Christmas to Scrooge? Out upon merry Christmas! What good had it ever done to him?'
Ebenezer Scrooge is a bad-tempered skinflint who hates Christmas and all it stands for, but a ghostly visitor foretells three apparitions who will thaw Scrooge's frozen heart. A Christmas Carol has gripped the public imagination since it was first published in 1843, and it is now as much a part of Christmas as mistletoe or plum pudding. This edition reprints the story alongside Dickens's four other Christmas Books: The Chimes, The Cricket on the Hearth,... more 'What was merry Christmas to Scrooge? Out upon merry Christmas! What good had it ever done to him?'
Ebenezer Scrooge is a bad-tempered skinflint who hates Christmas and all it stands for, but a ghostly visitor foretells three apparitions who will thaw Scrooge's frozen heart. A Christmas Carol has gripped the public imagination since it was first published in 1843, and it is now as much a part of Christmas as mistletoe or plum pudding. This edition reprints the story alongside Dickens's four other Christmas Books: The Chimes, The Cricket on the Hearth, The Battle of Life, and The Haunted Man. All five stories show Dickens at his unpredictable best, jumbling together comedy and melodrama, genial romance and urgent social satire, in pursuit of his aim 'to awaken some loving and forbearing thoughts, never out of season in a Christian land'.
less Robert Douglas-FairhurstIt’s something like a modern myth: like most myths, you can dress it up in lots of different clothes and populate it with different characters. You can do almost anything with it—the basic story will still remain the same. It’s ancient and it’s modern; it’s foreign and it’s familiar. (Source)
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5
Charles Dickens, Margaret Cardwell, Kate Flint | 4.04
“Bütün ingilis dünyası Dikkensi sevir; 19-cu əsrdə dünyanın heç bir yerində yazıçı ilə onun xalqı arasında bu dərəcədə dərin qəlbi bağlılıq olmayıb. Bu məşhurluq bir fişəng kimi qəfil partlamış, ancaq heç vaxt sönməmişdir. Dikkens günəş kimi daim dünyaya öz şəfəqlərini saçacaq”. Ştefan Svayq
Dikkens uşaq yaşlarında səfil həyat tərzi sürüb. Bu iztirablı tale onun bütün yaradıcılığında əks olunub. Onun qəhrəmanlarının əksəriyyəti kasıb, köməksiz, yetim uşaqlardır. Ancaq o bu sadə uşaqların içindəki burjuaziya tərəfindən aşağılanan təmiz hisslərini ədəbiyyata çevirməyi bacararaq üstündəki... more “Bütün ingilis dünyası Dikkensi sevir; 19-cu əsrdə dünyanın heç bir yerində yazıçı ilə onun xalqı arasında bu dərəcədə dərin qəlbi bağlılıq olmayıb. Bu məşhurluq bir fişəng kimi qəfil partlamış, ancaq heç vaxt sönməmişdir. Dikkens günəş kimi daim dünyaya öz şəfəqlərini saçacaq”. Ştefan Svayq
Dikkens uşaq yaşlarında səfil həyat tərzi sürüb. Bu iztirablı tale onun bütün yaradıcılığında əks olunub. Onun qəhrəmanlarının əksəriyyəti kasıb, köməksiz, yetim uşaqlardır. Ancaq o bu sadə uşaqların içindəki burjuaziya tərəfindən aşağılanan təmiz hisslərini ədəbiyyata çevirməyi bacararaq üstündəki tozu təmizləyib cilaladı və ortaya ulduz kimi parlaq, əsrarəngiz əsərlər çıxardı.
Böyük yazıçının səmadakı ulduzlarından biri də onun “Böyük ümidlər” romanıdır. Mükəmməl süjet xətti, yaddaşlardan silinməyən qəhrəmanları ilə bütün dövrlərdə oxunan bu roman dünya klassikasının bənzərsiz nümunələrindən hesab olunur.
Əsər 7 yaşlı Pipin ağrı-acılı taleyindən bəhs edir. Dikkens bizə Viktoriya dövrünün bütün o nostalji və qrotesk ab-havasını, əxlaq kanonlarını, insan psixologiyasının dərin qatlarını öz yaradıcı təxəyyülündə yoğurub Pipin “böyük ümidlər”i fonunda təqdim edir.
Oxucu elə ilk fəsillərdən həyəcanlı bir macəranın içinə daxil olur, ehtiraslı bir maraqla hadisələrin necə bitəcəyini bil-mək istəyir.
Bir sözlə, Ç. Dikkens “Böyük ümidlər” əsəri ilə həm oxucuların, həm də yazıçıların qəlbini fəth etməyi bacarıb. less 
Richard BransonToday is World Book Day, a wonderful opportunity to address this #ChallengeRichard sent in by Mike Gonzalez of New Jersey: Make a list of your top 65 books to read in a lifetime. (Source)
Marvin LiaoMy list would be (besides the ones I mentioned in answer to the previous question) both business & Fiction/Sci-Fi and ones I personally found helpful to myself. The business books explain just exactly how business, work & investing are in reality & how to think properly & differentiate yourself. On the non-business side, a mix of History & classic fiction to understand people, philosophy to make... (Source)
Robert Douglas-FairhurstWhat the rest of Great Expectations shows is that having Christmas lasting all the way through your life might not be a good thing. Having a Santa Claus figure who keeps throwing gifts and money at you when they’re not necessarily wanted or deserved might be a handicap. (Source)
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