Charles Dickens: A Critical Study
1906
Charles Dickens: A Critical Study, published in 1906 by G. K. Chesterton, is a literary criticism that explores the life and works of Charles Dickens within the social and literary context of the Victorian era. Chesterton analyzes Dickens' contributions to literature, his stylistic approaches, and the cultural significance of his characters. The work discusses the dual perceptions of Dickens as both celebrated and critiqued for his optimism and storytelling style, providing a framework for understanding his impact on literature and society.
Editions
X-Ray
“I loved her against reason, against promise, against peace, against hope, against happiness, against all discouragement that could be.””
— G. K. Chesterton
“Suffering has been stronger than all other teaching, and has taught me to understand what your heart used to be. I have been bent and broken, but - I hope - into a better shape.””
— G. K. Chesterton
“Heaven knows we need never be ashamed of our tears, for they are rain upon the blinding dust of earth, overlying our hard hearts. I was better after I had cried, than before--more sorry, more aware of my own ingratitude, more gentle.””
— G. K. Chesterton
“We need never be ashamed of our tears.””
— G. K. Chesterton
“Love her, love her, love her! If she favours you, love her. If she wounds you, love her. If she tears your heart to pieces – and as it gets older and stronger, it will tear deeper – love her, love her, love her!””
— G. K. Chesterton
“In a word, I was too cowardly to do what I knew to be right, as I had been too cowardly to avoid doing what I knew to be wrong.””
— G. K. Chesterton
“It was one of those March days when the sun shines hot and the wind blows cold: when it is summer in the light, and winter in the shade.””
— G. K. Chesterton
“Out of my thoughts! You are part of my existence, part of myself. You have been in every line I have ever read, since I first came here, the rough common boy whose poor heart you wounded even then. You have been in every prospect I have ever seen since – on the river, on the sails of the ships, on the marshes, in the clouds, in the light, in the darkness, in the wind, in the woods, in the sea, in the streets. You have been the embodiment of every graceful fancy that my mind has ever become acquainted with. The stones of which the strongest London buildings are made, are not more real, or more impossible to displace with your hands, than your presence and influence have been to me, there and everywhere, and will be. Estella, to the last hour of my life, you cannot choose but remain part of my character, part of the little good in me, part of the evil. But, in this separation I associate you only with the good, and I will faithfully hold you to that always, for you must have done me far more good than harm, let me feel now what sharp distress I may. O God bless you, God forgive you!””
— G. K. Chesterton
“There was a long hard time when I kept far from me the remembrance of what I had thrown away when I was quite ignorant of its worth.””
— G. K. Chesterton
