The Artful Dickens: The Tricks and Ploys of the Great Novelist

Mullan’s analysis begins with Dickens sensitivity to smell. Dickens, it seems, had a fine nose for smell. Mullan cites from ‘Pictures from Italy’: In the streets of shops. The houses are much smaller, but of great size notwithstanding, and extremely high. They are very dirty: quite undrained, if my nose be at all reliable: and emit a peculiar fragrance, like the smell of very bad cheese, kept in very hot blankets’. Mullan found that the Dickens novel with the most smells is ‘David Copperfield’. In terms of writing styles, Dickens, we are told, is adept at changing tenses. 34 of the 67 chapters in ‘Bleak House’ were written in the past tense, and the remaining 33 in the present tense. This book, like many of Dickens’ novels, was released in monthly instalments and the mixing of tenses occur in every instalment. But there is a method to this grammatical madness. Mullan writes: The present tense of the third-person narrative in ‘Bleak House’ makes that narrator into an amazed or amused or appalled witness to what is taking place in front of him. The novel’s present tense is a permanent condition as well as a developing narration’. If we sense that Dickens connects with the allure of the supernatural, we are probably right. Mullan digs up the evidence in the chapter, entitled, ‘Haunting’. Dickens’ ghosts appear through the eyes of his characters, such as Solomon Daisy, in ‘Barnaby Rudge’, claiming he had a supernatural visitation while he was in the church winding up the church clock. The most famous ghost is found, perhaps, in ‘A Christmas Carol’. Mullan writes about the Dickens’ gift of names and naming, his legacy of bestowing names that become nouns and adjectives, and in another chapter, Mullan discusses the use of coincidences in Dickens’ novels. Mullan observes that in this regard, Dickens is not all sophisticated, and ‘deploys extraordinary coincidences without the least attempts to conceal or naturalise them’. Dickens makes use of the voice and the various manners of speaking which he illustrates through his characters – Wilkins Micawber, in contrast to his boss, Uriah Heep. One bright and optimistic, dark and gloomy. There is a chapter on cliché and one on Dickens recurring use of drowning; another on foreseeing, and finally, Dickens’ strange avoidance of sex in his novels – quite understandable considering that it was the Victorian times; but Mullan has a few interesting insights to impart. Dickens has strong thoughts about sex than his novels reveal.

Wonderful book for any Dickens fan, or student.. shows how he broke the rules, his humour, imaginings, fantasies.. shows how genius is the slated on the page. And it’s very funny.

If you enjoy and know your Dickens this book will give the reader great pleasure

Highly readable and intelligent book by someone who loves Dickens. Makes you want to go back and re-read Dickens

Bought as a gift. Recipient recommends to Dickens fans!