Dickens and The Politics of the Family

The fictional representation of the family has long been regarded as a Dickensian speciality. But while nineteenth-century reviewers praised Dickens as the pre-eminent novelist of the family, any close examination of his novels reveals a remarkable disjunction between his image as the quintessential celebrant of the hearth, and his interest in fractured families. Catherine Waters offers an explanation of this discrepancy through an examination of Dickens's representation of the family in relation to nineteenth-century constructions of class and gender.

Charles Dickens’s American audience

Robert McParland's insightful book provides a fascinating account of Dickens's role in shaping America's social and cultural identity in the nineteenth century. The author interestingly outlines the many ways in which American readers engaged with Dickens's works, and the ways in which Dickens's books influenced American ideologies. McParland supplies a wealth of material to substantiate his arguments in this well-written book.

FCE for Schools - Handbook + audio

FCE for Schools is a certificate that shows a pupil can deal with everyday written and spoken English at an upper-intermediate level.

Queer Dickens - Erotics, Families, Masculinities

This book offers a radically new reading of Dickens and his major works. It demonstrates that, rather than representing a largely conventional, conservative view of sexuality and gender, he presents a distinctly queer corpus, everywhere fascinated by the diversity of gender roles, the expandability of notions of the family, and the complex multiplicity of sexual desire. The book examines the long overlooked figures of bachelor fathers, martially resistant men, and male nurses. It explores Dickens's attention to a longing, not to reproduce, but to nurture, his interest in healing touch, and his articulation, over the course of his career, of homoerotic desire.

Off the Road

Off the Road by Nina Bawden

When Tom's grandfather goes off the road, Tom is sure Gandy has gone mad. Tom knows that beyond the wall lies the Outside, a wild place filled with barbarians and unimaginable dangers. He also knows that Oldies are weak-minded. So Tom summons all his courage and goes after Gandy, who obviously doesn't know what he's doing. Or does he? Tom's experience in the strange, messy, emotional world Outside, where so many things prohibited to Insiders are taken for granted, quickly shakes all his certainties. Who is crazy, the Oldies who are sent to the Memory Theme Park, or the families who let them go?