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The most helpful favorable review
The most helpful critical review
13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Not the same book
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...
Published on October 22, 2003 by Judith C. Kinney
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13 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
This will not do.
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...
Published on March 8, 2004
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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
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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