Charles Dickens - Fiction, Non-fiction and Letters (65 books)

CHARLES DICKENS (1812-1870) was an English writer and social critic who created some of the world's best-known fictional characters and is regarded by many as the greatest novelist of the Victorian era. Despite his lack of formal education, he edited a weekly journal for 20 years, wrote 15 novels, five novellas, hundreds of short stories and non-fiction articles, lectured and performed readings extensively, was an indefatigable letter writer, and campaigned vigorously for children's rights, education, and other social reforms.
Dickens's literary success began with the 1836 serial publication of THE PICKWICK PAPERS. Within a few years he had become an international literary celebrity, famous for his humour, satire, and keen observation of character and society. Masses of the illiterate poor chipped in ha'pennies to have each new monthly episode read to them, opening up and inspiring a new class of readers. Dickens has been praised by fellow writers -- from Tolstoy to Orwell, Chesterton and Tom Wolfe -- for his realism, comedy, prose style, unique characterisations, and social criticism. On the other hand, Oscar Wilde, Henry James, and Virginia Woolf complained of a lack of psychological depth, loose writing, and a vein of saccharine sentimentalism.

The novels and stories are available in many editions, most of which are simple undistinguished reprints. To keep the size of this collection within manageable limits, only those editions containing a significant scholarly apparatus (primarily Penguin Classics or Oxford World's Classics), with their excellent introductions and explanatory notes have been included.