Barnaby Rudge (Wordsworth Classics)

Wordsworth Classics edition.WARNING: Do not read the list of principle characters as it tells you not only their role but also what happens to them during the story.I am slowly working my way through the Dickens novels in order, having never read them before, and I appreciate that I have yet to enter into Dickens' later period of "David Copperfield," "Bleak House" et al, but I found "Barnarby Rudge" a brilliant read; a good page turner and also educational about a period of history we never covered at school (and I went to a catholic school.)The story is divided into two parts, 1775 and then 1780. The second half dealing with the riots and how each character is affected by this moment in London's history. I felt I enjoyed the book more after a brief read up on the background of the Gordon riots.I think this is a very underrated; excellently written story. There is one particular passage where Dickens describes the mob mentality which could have been written about the most recent London riots.This is a must read for anyone who wants to read classic literature. Don't be put off by the the fact that this is one of Dickens' least known books.

Here we have 648 pages of vintage Dickens variously assessed by the critics and, in the main, underrated and misunderstood by many of them. And so, overlook the adverse criticism and read the book.I suppose I am at an advantage here in having been introduced to the work of Dickens as a child; Barnaby Rudge was read to us (my mother and myself) by my father from the Odhams Press compete edition when I was only four years of age and on the brink of the commencement proper of WWII. Then we lived within eight miles of the Kings Head Inn at Chigwell (The Maypole of the novel) an area of countryside, as it was then, well known to us.Unfortunately, Barnaby Rudge tends to be eclipsed by the later, shorter political novel “A Tale of Two Cities”. The two may be some distance apart in story line but the prose is of equal calibre with a decidedly maturing style above that found in the more popular, earlier “Oliver Twist”. (There is more humour in BR with Simon Tappertit the clowning assistant to locksmith Gabriel Varden who had vied in Dickens’s mind for an alternative title for this novel.)This edition is in reasonably large and readable print size with illustrations by Hablot Browne (Phiz) as featured in the early Crown and Half-Crown editions of Chapman & Hall. (The 1960 BBC TV dramatization available of 3 CDs follows closely the characters imagined by Phiz and is a near faultless production that would assist the prospective reader through the book’s much larger canvas.)As to Barnaby’s companion raven—why not have given the bird’s name (Grip) for the title of the novel, do I hear someone ask? Dickens had been the owner of two such birds and wrote from experience of their contrasting natures. I think he may have overestimated the average lifespan of such birds whose company I have kept over many years of my domicile in the wilds of Wales and Orkney.The “No Popery” that fed into the Gordon riots of 1780, and grew out of divisions across English society, can be seen to regurgitate in subsequent years—as indeed we have today between the "ins" and "outs" of the Brexiteers!A Chronology of Dickens’s principle works:The Pickwick Papers – 1836Oliver Twist – 1837Nicholas Nickleby – 1838The Old Curiosity Shop – 1840Barnaby Rudge – 1841Martin Chuzzlewit – 1843A Christams Carol – 1843Dombey and Son – 1846David Copperfield – 1849Bleak House – 1852Hard Times – 1854Little Dorrit – 1855A Tale of Two Cities – 1859Great Expectations – 1860Our Mutual Friend – 1864The Mystery of Edwin Drood (incomplete) – 1870

Barnaby Rudge is, in my opinion, a great read from start to finish. Although a tad lengthy, it is thankfully devoid of the over-flowery, at least in its narrative.Basically, we start off with a common nightly gathering in an inn in Chigwell, the Maypole, and here we (the readers) first learn of the demise of the local big-house - brought on by a double murder: both the master and a male servant met their doom there twenty years earlier, to the day. For devotees of the UK sitcom, Dad's Army, if you think of one of Frazer's 'We're all doomed!' yarns, then you'll get the drift here, as the story teller captivates (for presumably the umpteenth times tenth time) the landlord, his son, the much-loved elderly regulars, and of course, a stranger to the company, with details of the grisly mystery.This gathering, and similar some time later, act as the anchor to a wider tale which includes (to a degree) Montague and Capulet style cross-family tensions.Ongoing developments concerning the aforementioned (and now twenty-seven year old) double murder, are played out during the time of the Gordon Riots; these acting sometimes as backdrop, sometimes far more centrally.Dickens' usual trait of seemingly separate but eventually interweaving / linked sub-plots are the ultimate key to this work; sometimes this didn't come off well in some of his other novels, but accepting, as one has to, the indispensable degree of contrivance and convenience, it all comes together very smoothly here.As it's an historical novel, we also get the idea the bustling burgeoning city was not at the time the tale is set - late 1700s, quite so bustly or burgeony or quite as big. Assuming the venerable Charles did his research and his descriptions were accurate, then Chigwell was more a village, and there was nothing but greenery between it and London 'proper'.One minor beef: I am sure once you've read this, you will agree with me that if we could go back in time and space to Old London (or Rochester) we would all gladly whisper in Charles Dickens' ear while writing this - 'Drop the Raven'.

I am no literary expert - I can't analyse the book like most of the critics here. But as an amateur who hasn't read Dickens since 40 years ago, I thoroughly enjoyed reading this. I liked the clever use of words to express complicated concepts clearly and articulately. I liked the characters because I could recognise bits of myself in many of them. Miss Miggs is a hoot, Martha Varden is almost as absurd, and Joe Willett is an admirable chap.The Wordsworth Classics series is excellent value because of the low price and good quality printing. The print size is big enough for me to read easily with my imperfect vision, and the binding is sturdy.

Thanks to seller for the remarkable quality of this book.

excellent

Wer seinen Dickens liebt wird an diesem Buch seine Freude haben. Denn es bietet alles, was diesen Autor so einmalig macht. Allerdings - das sei vorweg gesagt - doch in Teilen sehr langatmig. Deshalb auch keine fünf Sterne. Insbesondere am Schluss ziehen sich die 688 Seiten sehr. Aber der Reihe nach:Was zu einem packenden historischen Roman wird beginnt in bester Dickens Manier deskriptiv. Auf den ersten200 Seiten werden die unterschiedlichsten Charaktere aufgebaut: der adelige Blender John Chester, der wild-gefährliche Hugh, die kokette Dolly, der behäbige Kneipier Willet, der aufrichtige Joe Willet, die kokette Dolly Varden und ihre Eltern: eine patenter Vater und eine hysterische Mutter, der durchtriebene Simon Tappertit (bitte schon den Namen geniessen), die verbitterte Miggs, die einsamen Haredales und natürlich der einfältige Barnaby Rudge...Dickens lässt sich Zeit, ein jeder wird vorgestellt, einem jeden wird eine Rolle zugeteilt, für alle Beziehungsgeflechte bleibt ausreichend Zeit.Und als wäre das nicht genug vermittelt Dickens ausserdem auf den ersten 200 Seiten ein intensives Gefühl für die Orte, an denen sich die handelnden Personen bewegen: das gemütliche Landgasthaus "Maypole", das einsiedlerische Herrenhaus der Haredales, die geschäftige Werkstatt der Vardens, aber auch die Stadt London mit ihren Labyrinthen, dunklen Gässchen, Spelunken. Ganz, ganz herrlich! Man sollte sich also unbedingt bei diesen ersten 200 Seiten viel Zeit lassen und Land und Leute aufsaugen!Fast unbemerkt wechselt Dickens dann das Tempo, die Gordon Riots werden eingeläutet. Ohne wirklich zu merken wie der Autor die Geschichte dahin gedreht hat stecken wir plötzlich in einer blutrünstigen Handlung, Menschen werden ermordet, Orte durch Vandalismus zerstört, Gefängnisse gestürmt. Angst und Schrecken herrschen in London.Mich hat diese Wendung begeistert, denn ich finde Dickens hat erschreckend genau skizziert wie aus Gerüchten (alternative Facts) und gekonnten Agitationen eine friedliche Welt aus dem Gleichgewicht gebracht wird und wie die Leichtgläubigkeit einzelner Personen (sehr überzeichnet natürlich Barnaby) missbraucht werden kann, um zu zerstören. Und wieder haben mich 200 Seiten in ihren Bann gefesselt.Einzig auf den letzten 150 Seiten wurde es dann etwas langatmig. Ich verstehe es, man musste ja alles wieder auflösen, es mussten Strafen verteilt werden, für einzelne Personen sollte auch alles gut ausgehen....aber irgendwie war"s dann mal gut. Trotzdem ich mich am Ende ein wenig zwingen musste hätte ich auf diese Seiten aber nicht verzichten wollen, denn sie schliessen dieses opulente Werk zufriedenstellend ab.

I now have all 16 books written by Charles Dickens. The English are as proud of him as I am in owning all his writings. Barnaby Rudge is superbly written for real good reading I recommend this one in particular

The book was g.reat for the value but the story is not one of my favorites by Dickens. But do love just about anything he writes. His style is one of a kind