From School Library Journal
Gr 9 Up--Like the previous entries in this series, this one presents biographical information and then looks at issues related to the writer's major works. Passages from the novels or short stories being discussed are included. Unfortunately, in this book the biographical information is simplistic and almost patronizing in its style. Its reading level is far below the more sophisticated essays and may be initially misleading in regard to the age-appropriateness of the text. The collected essays are organized topically--major themes; serials; autobiographical works; and reform, history, and morality pieces--presenting similar concepts running throughout Dickens's entire body of work. The age of some of the selections, e.g., Chesterton's 1907 and George Bernard Shaw's 1912 essays on Hard Times may lead readers to view them as archaic or extraneous; however, they do deal with still-relevant historical criticisms of class, individualism, and economic issues. Despite the tone and reading level of the introduction, the text is recommended as a secondary-source anthology with historical depth.
Kate Foldy, Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, PA
Copyright 1998 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
