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Dickens: Public Life & Private Passions [Hardcover]

Peter Ackroyd (Author)
3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)


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Book Description

March 25, 2002
In this stunning new illustrated biography, Peter Ackroyd introduces us to the public and private life of one of Britain's best loved literary giants, Charles Dickens.

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About the Author

Peter Ackroyd, the world authority on Charles Dickens, is a renowned author of fiction and non-fiction. His best-selling biographies include 'Dickens' and 'London'. Ackroyd's novel 'Hawksmoor' won the Whitbread Award for fiction. Publisher's Weekly called Peter Ackroyd "a master biographer with a seductive prose style" Ackroyd's other books include The Plato papers: A Prophecy, Milton in America, Chatterton, and The Last Testament of Oscar Wilde.

Product Details

  • Hardcover: 192 pages
  • Publisher: Hylas Publishing (March 25, 2002)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 1592580025
  • ISBN-13: 978-1592580026
  • Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 7.2 x 0.9 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds
  • Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,272,662 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

 

Customer Reviews

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Average Customer Review
3.0 out of 5 stars (2 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Not the same book, October 22, 2003
By 
Judith C. Kinney (Westerville, OH USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
This review is from: Dickens: Public Life & Private Passions (Hardcover)
The book I read is not the same one reviewed by some others. I read the 2003 edition, which has only about 200 pages. It is beautifully produced on thick, glossy paper and lavishly illustrated. There are no episodes in which Dickens meets his characters or dead authors.

I read the Edgar Johnson bio years ago and loved it. Ackroyd's book, at least this edition, doesn't seem to go into as much detail. He does, however, gush (as a previous reviewer said) and presents Dickens as a tormented soul who could not be still and neither a loving husband nor a loving father.

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13 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars This will not do., March 8, 2004
By A Customer
This review is from: Dickens: Public Life & Private Passions (Hardcover)
I read only the first 100 pages before abandoning this. Ackroyd writes in an irritating punchy style with many 1-word sentences to show emphasis. This aggressive style was offensive, and at time condescending. It also was distracting. The story is supposed to be about Dickens, after all. The author is prolix, self-indulgent and more interested in establishing his own originality than that of Dickens. Less rhetoric and a steadier narrative are called for, with much less high-flown speculations. Can anyone recommend a good biography of Dickens?
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Inside This Book (learn more)
First Sentence:
Charles Dickens was from the beginning as much a child of his time as of his natural parents, John and Elizabeth Dickens. Read the first page
Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Charles Dickens, Ellen Ternan, Maria Beadnell, New York, Catherine Dickens, Oliver Twist, The Pickwick Papers, Christmas Carol, Household Words, Wilkie Collins, Little Nell, Mary Hogarth, The Frozen Deep, Bleak House, Doughty Street, Gad's Hill Place, Little Dorrit, Our Mutual Friend, Tavistock House, All the Year Round, David Copperfield, Devonshire Terrace, George Cruikshank, Georgina Hogarth, Nicholas Nicklebv
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