Of course, any literary realism is an illusion, since the only reality in a literary work is the words on the page. Dickens’ novels seem realistic, but his realism is an illusion. Trollope’s novels have a far greater level of realism, of verisimilitude. These are fine works, enjoyable to read, with good plots and interesting characters but for me, at least, they lack the magic of Dickens’ works. Perhaps a better portrait of the period can be found in the many novels of Anthony Trollope. While Dickens does, indeed, describe certain aspects of nineteenth-century England, his portrait of the period should not be regarded as all-inclusive. I mention this point because the present chapter concerns one of my favorite writers, a writer remote from the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, Charles Dickens.ĭickens, who lived through the middle of the nineteenth century, has come to represent Victorian England for many readers. Theoretically, however, my areas of specialization are the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. As an academic, I am supposed to have an area of specialization, though I have always had trouble focusing on a single area of literature to the exclusion of others. In the Introduction, I wrote that the works I have covered in this book were chosen purely on the basis of my preferences.
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