Critical Companion to Charles Dickens: A Literary Reference to His Life And Work

Praise for the previous edition:
"Facts on File...More than 50 well-chosen and well-reproduced illustrations help bring Dicken's works alive. Highly recommended for Dickens enthusiasts and all literature reference collections." Choice

"This important reference work should be included in both public and academic libraries." Library Journal

"Gives readers and researchers an opportunity to discover the richness of Dickens' literary achievements in the context of his life and times." Reference & Research Book News

A master of extreme situations, Charles Dickens populated his novels with unforgettable characters and elaborate settings. Critical Companion to Charles Dickens is an essential reference to everything one needs to know about Dickens and his work. This reorganized and fully updated revision of Charles Dickens A to Z contains extensive updates, including expanded commentary on the novels and on the major characters, as well as updates to reflect the latest in Dickens scholarship.

This comprehensive, single-volume reference contains entries on this writer's works, including the characters in each work, crucial historical and thematic information, critical discussion, and entries on related people, places, themes, topics, and influences. Additional features include 116 illustrations, a chronology, a bibliography of primary and secondary sources, and much more.

Coverage includes:

A detailed discussion of Dickens' life

Synopses and critical examinations of Dickens's published works, major and minor, with extensive analyses of his major novels, including David Copperfield, Bleak House, Oliver Twist, A Christmas Carol, and more

Entries on the characters in his fiction, with major characters receiving extensive commentary

Profiles of friends, family, and contemporaries, as well as the places important to Dickens's life and fiction

Discussions of themes and important, broader topics.