Charles Dickens - an English writer, essayist and novelist, is one of the largest prose writers of the 19th century, a recognized classic of world literature. All Dickens' novels are written in the style of high realism and permeated with criticism of the injustice of hypocrisy and the vices of society.
The main literary works of Dickens include 20 novels, 1 collection of short stories, 3 collections of selected stories and a large number of essays.
Dickens's most famous novels
"The Posthumous Notes of the Pickwick Club" is the very first novel of the writer, after the publication of which Dickenas expected a dizzying success. The work tells of a comic epic, the main character of which is good-natured, eccentric, highly moral, impeccably honest, selflessly bold and infinitely naive optimist Mr. Pickwick - the creator of the club of the same name. The novel, in its satirical account of the life of English society and the grotesque protagonist, is very similar to Cervantes' Don Quixote.
Dickens of quite frequency spontaneously fell into a trance, was prone to visions, and from time to time experienced states of deja vu.
The Adventures of Oliver Twist is the second novel that tells the story of the life of a little orphan boy forced to wander through the slums of London. On his way, he meets with the baseness and nobility of people from various walks of life in English society. The pages of the work depict fairly plausible pictures of the life of British society of the XIX century. In this novel, the writer acts as a humanist, affirming the power of a good beginning in man. Oliver’s sincere desire for an honest life conquers a cruel fate, and everything ends well.
Dickens' next novel was The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby, which continued the theme of annihilated childhood. Like Oliver Twist, this tale has a good ending. The novel was produced in small parts from March to September in 1839.
Even before the last issue of Nicholas Nickleby was published, the writer began work on a new project called The Antiquities Bench, which was also published in small pieces every week from April 1840 to February 1841. The novel was very popular in the UK and in America.
Immediately after the publication of "Shops of Antiquities" in the same format, a new work of the writer called "Barnaby Raj" begins to appear. This novel was a worn-out thing by Dickens, he promised to write it to his very first publisher in 1836, but he became interested in Pickwick Club and postponed the matter until later.
After that, the publication of books included in the collection of selected works under the general title "Christmas Tales" began, which was devoted to the theme of Christmas and everything connected with it. This collection includes such works of the writer as: "Christmas Carol", "Bells", "Cricket Behind the Hearth", "Battle of Life", "Gogon Man". All works included in this collection are written in the style of social preaching, but in a light artistic form.
After traveling to America, Dickens wrote a parody of an American lifestyle called Martin Cheslewith. Many overseas critics and readers did not like the caustic satire of the writer, they met with hostility and condemned the writer, considering the publication of the novel to be tactless.
The next novel of the writer called "Dombey and Son" became one of the best in the work of Dickens. This facet is very well spelled out all the facets of Dickens' talent. A wealth of colors, an endless series of eccentric characters, life situations and situations, constant grace, indignation, bordering on revolutionary pathos: all this is filled with the novel "Dombey and Son."
Another major work by Dickens, which no longer contained so much humor and was largely autobiographical, was the novel "David Copperfield", released after the publication of "Dombey and Son." The work has a serious and carefully thought-out theme of protest against the new soulless capitalist society and the praise of moral values and family.
Despite the fact that in his will the writer asked not to put monuments to him, in 2012 it was decided to put a monument on the main square of Portsmouth. The monument will be unveiled on June 9, 2013, by Martin Jaggins.
