A review by markyon
Dodger's Guide to London, by Terry Pratchett
3.0
This slim little volume is a companion book to Sir Terry’s non-Discworld novel published last year, Dodger.
The original story is a Dickensian style tale of one Jack Dodger, who in the novel is an ‘Artful Dodger’ type character running around the rather mucky streets of Victorian London.
It’s a fine old tale, involving characters based on people such as England’s Prime Minister at the time, Benjamin Disraeli, originator of the English police force Sir Robert Peel, a journalst named Charlie Dickens, Sweeney Todd, the fictional butcher of Fleet Street and even Queen Victoria herself.
There’s clearly a mine of material to work with there, and as you would expect, Sir Terry has done his research to write the novel. (There’s a long list of websites on the last page of Dodger’s Guide for further research, should the reader be so inclined.) Dodger’s Guide for London is obviously based on this research, and is presented as a collection of various details as a means of showing the perhaps uninformed reader what Victorian London was like.
It’s a book that can perhaps be regarded as a Schott’s Miscellany for Victorian London, or for those with younger people in their household, a Horrible Histories type romp through Victoriana. Most of the details inside are factual, though there are, peppered throughout, quotes and comments from the fictional Jack Dodger himself. As expected, there are lots of real details here that will surprise and perhaps revolt the reader. It’s a book designed to be dipped into.
It is profusely illustrated throughout, with almost every page having a picture of some sort, and many more than one. Most of the drawings in black and white pencil throughout are drawn by long-time Pratchett collaborator Paul Kidby, although there are also 135 illustrations and photographs from the time, of places, magazines and key events.
You don’t need to have read Dodger to get a lot from this book, although the comments from Dodger throughout may make more sense if you have.
Dodger’s Guide to London is clearly one for the young enquiring mind, who wishes to know more about the real Victorian London, as well as a little of Pratchett’s fictional one. In summary, it is a good way to pass a couple of hours, after which the reader is almost guaranteed to come away with something they didn’t know before.
And coincidentally available just in time to accompany the paperback copy of Dodger for that most Victorian of celebrations, Christmas….
The original story is a Dickensian style tale of one Jack Dodger, who in the novel is an ‘Artful Dodger’ type character running around the rather mucky streets of Victorian London.
It’s a fine old tale, involving characters based on people such as England’s Prime Minister at the time, Benjamin Disraeli, originator of the English police force Sir Robert Peel, a journalst named Charlie Dickens, Sweeney Todd, the fictional butcher of Fleet Street and even Queen Victoria herself.
There’s clearly a mine of material to work with there, and as you would expect, Sir Terry has done his research to write the novel. (There’s a long list of websites on the last page of Dodger’s Guide for further research, should the reader be so inclined.) Dodger’s Guide for London is obviously based on this research, and is presented as a collection of various details as a means of showing the perhaps uninformed reader what Victorian London was like.
It’s a book that can perhaps be regarded as a Schott’s Miscellany for Victorian London, or for those with younger people in their household, a Horrible Histories type romp through Victoriana. Most of the details inside are factual, though there are, peppered throughout, quotes and comments from the fictional Jack Dodger himself. As expected, there are lots of real details here that will surprise and perhaps revolt the reader. It’s a book designed to be dipped into.
It is profusely illustrated throughout, with almost every page having a picture of some sort, and many more than one. Most of the drawings in black and white pencil throughout are drawn by long-time Pratchett collaborator Paul Kidby, although there are also 135 illustrations and photographs from the time, of places, magazines and key events.
You don’t need to have read Dodger to get a lot from this book, although the comments from Dodger throughout may make more sense if you have.
Dodger’s Guide to London is clearly one for the young enquiring mind, who wishes to know more about the real Victorian London, as well as a little of Pratchett’s fictional one. In summary, it is a good way to pass a couple of hours, after which the reader is almost guaranteed to come away with something they didn’t know before.
And coincidentally available just in time to accompany the paperback copy of Dodger for that most Victorian of celebrations, Christmas….