This book contains over 2800 entries and includes hundreds of quotations and explanations of words and phrases that are not found in any other book on Dickens. In addition to words and phrases whose meanings have changed through time or been lost with vanished technologies, the entries include many Briticisms, explanations for which are not usually found in material published in Britain.
Learning the meanings of these more or less obscure words and phrases, which pop up ina all of his works, helps in understanding and enjoying Dickens writing.
Because of the longer quotations and the extended explanations, the book makes for pleasant browsing. It belongs in the library of every American reader of Dickens and in the library of every American school where Dickens is taught.
