Customer Reviews

The Rag & Bone Shop

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

For lovers of Dickens and those who wish to know more about the alleged affair between Ellen Ternan and Charles Dickens, you will fair far better bypassing Rackham's, The Rag and Bone Shop and sticking with non-fiction. I have given this work one star because anything less is unavailable but to be frank, the book is absolutely terrible. Telling a single story from three differing points of view works well for William Faulkner but not for Rackham as all three voices sound very male and very much the same. The book contains very explicit and bizarre sexual situations and if you have any respect for Dickens at all, you'll feel like you need a shower afterwards. Furthermore, even as a "novel," the historicity and credibility of these events is highly suspect. Skip it.

I couldn't finish this book and regret reading as much as I did. Vulgar, name dropping, coat-tail riding, rewriting someone else's story with inserted titallating bits. I gather there's no law against slandering people who lived 100 years ago, but this book makes you feel that there should. The publishers, though they plastered Charles Dickens name on the cover, wrote a disclaimer on the inside that this is fiction and any resemblance to real persons is just coincidence. Yea Right. If you want to read about Dickens' secret life, you'd be far better to read Invisible Woman by Claire Tomalin.

I enjoyed this book enormously and thought it was quite well written. I was moved by the tale. Although it was fiction, I got the sense that it was probably well researched and grounded on fact. I was surprised to learn about Ellen Ternan, Dickens' long term mistress. The pressures of fame, Victorian values, protecting his public image, and his difficult marriage to Catherine were a heavy load on this most famous of men. The book humanized him. I searched Ellen Ternan on the internet. She is a true historical figure, made whole and human by this story. I recommend this book as a very entertaining and educational read.

I found this book about the secret life of Charles Dickens to be quite entertaining. It is based on the premise that Dickens had a young mistress named Ellen Ternan who was kept quite secret from British society and was only known to a few close associates of Dickens. The book is told from 3 separate points-of-view: that of Wilkie Collins, the mystery novelist and friend of Dickens; Ellen Ternan, herself; and Georgina Hogarth, the sister of Dickens estranged wife. The Collins narrative was to me the most enjoyable. It portrays Collins as a rakish figure who encourages Dickens to go to prostitutes and enjoy a mistress. Collins is also a user of opiates including laudanum and uses this to enhance his mind in developing his novels like The Moonstone. At one point Collins concocts a scheme to shield Dickens from the arrival in England of his illegitimate son by Ternan. The scheme involved having Collins' mistress wed a dreadful deformed shopkeeper who is given the illusion that he is a baron. Of course this leads to catastrophe and affects everyone involved. I didn't find the book to be offensive or sexually explicit as stated in some earlier reviews. Although, I'm not sure how much of this novel was factual, I would still give this one a high recommendation for anyone interested in Dickens' life.

I hate Dickens, and hated having to suffer through Great Expectations in high school, but after reading this book, I'm considering giving it a second go. Rackham may or may not have done research (I'm not one to judge) but what he has done is create a compelling story with compelling characters. His point of view and distinct voices are excellent, certainly the best I've seen in a long time.

There are some gruesome and dispiriting scenes. This is a book for those who want excellent writing, not for those who want cheerful resolutions and happy endings.