Mr. Dickens and His Carol by Samantha Silva
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
“We are all lost, all broken. Trying desperately to be whole again.”
I listened to this on audio, read by Euan Morton.
This is the story of Charles Dickens just after the publication (and flop) of Martin Chuzzlewit. He is being forced by his publishers to write a Christmas book and he is definitely not feeling any Christmas spirit nor any inclination to write. Of course we know he will write A Chrismas Carol, but the path to the famous story's completion is beautifully told in this book. There are a lot of details of life in London in 1843 which was interesting. I am a fan of Dickens' work and I was impressed by how well Silva captured the feel of his writing in her own. There were colorful characters a plenty and the tone was just right--some funny, some sad, some exciting--to feel like Dickens.
This book counts toward the Historical Fiction Reading Challenge.
Ah, I've read this book in 2020, and loved it! The purple-cloak lady and her son who inspired A Christmas Carol. It's interesting to think how some writers produced their masterpieces when they were at their lowest points.
ReplyDeleteThis sounds great!
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing your review with the Historical Fiction Reading Challenge