Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Most readers and certainly anyone who enjoys any of Dickens work will find The Real Charles Dickens an indispensable companion volume. I’m blown away by the content, well set out and much is new to me. The authors give you a real feel for this rather enigmatic man. He was full of contradiction and seemed to have a number of ‘faces’ he presented to the world. He carefully curated information about him whilst he was alive, showing excellence in PR and also the extent to which he was prepared to manipulate his public image.

The Real Charles Dickens is well set out with detailed insight into his early life and background, his wife and children, his affairs and much more. There’s a real sense of his financial struggles and rise to fame of fortune and how this affected him. His inspiration was drawn from life and real places and I found the literary walks section of this book fascinating. It allows the reader to sense the places and people. The final section includes numerous photos of places relevant to his texts. It brings so many of his stories to life and shoukd interest anyone who wants to know more about one of the most famous authors in the world. There’s an extensive bibliography and comprehensive index for easy reference to a particular title, character, subject or place. I’ve enjoyed the electronic version, and my thanks to Pen and Swird and the authors for an early review copy. But the real beauty of this book is a place in hard copy on a bookshelf, there for reference and rereading. Absolutely packed with information which will add to the pleasure of reading any Dickens title. This is a real cracker and one to treasure.

NetGalley, Anita Wallas