A review by caroparr
Charles Dickens: A Life by Claire Tomalin

4.0

As it turns out, I knew very little about Dickens's life, apart from the blacking factory and the ten children. Tomalin's biography is sympathetic but clear-eyed. Yes, he loved music, dancing, theatricals and playing games with friends and family, but he could also be cold and controlling. When she comes to the breakup of his family, Tomalin writes, "You want to avert your eyes from a good deal of what happened the next year, 1859." It is unsettling to see the man you've come to like and admire act so badly. Tomalin is also very good on the novels, summarizing them succinctly and pointing out their strengths and weaknesses. All in all, a brisk biography that is exactly as much as I wanted to know about Dickens. And, of course, a resolution to return to the Dickens Project, maybe Bleak House next?