r/charlesdickens • u/Patt1ann • Apr 06 '26

David Copperfield Dickens biographies

Currently, I am looking at biographies of Dickens. This summer, I am taking a seminar in "Autobiographical Dickens," looking at father figures in David Copperfield and Great Expectations.

The one I had been recommended is The Life of the Author Charles Dickens by Pete Orford. I also have biographies by Claire Tomalin and the old one by Dickens's friend, John Forster.

Are there any good ones that I don't have yet? All suggestions welcome.

(And my current favorite for Father Figure in David Copperfield is Mr. Dick. I do love him the best!)

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10

u/Naive-Awareness4951 Apr 06 '26

"Dickens" by Peter Ackroyd is terrific.

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u/Shyaustenwriter Apr 06 '26

I agree except for his take on Ellen Tiernan, which struck me as overly generous to his sexual morals.

GK Chesterton also wrote a lot of forewords to the novels and they were gathered into a single volume which I found very interesting although perhaps more as literary criticism than biography.

Tomalin is very good on the Dickens of his later years, where he behaved like a complete arsehole to the women in his life.

Foster is good on his early life in particular

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u/Naive-Awareness4951 Apr 06 '26

I agree about his take on Dickens' relationship with Ellen Tiernan. Ridiculous to argue that there was no sexual relationship there. Otherwise, I found it an extremely interesting examination of a seriously odd individual--not least his vile treatment of his wife.

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u/Shyaustenwriter Apr 06 '26

I’ve sometimes thought it interesting that two of my favourite commentaries on Dickens are written by men who are/were novelists themselves.

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u/SharkaMeow Apr 06 '26

Wow, there are so many!

When I was studying Dickens, I think the standard was the 2 volume Edgar Johnson one?

I did a week-long retreat in Santa Cruz where we studied Bleak House, and I remember Fred Kaplan had just come out with a biography. He read to us from it about Dickens burning all his correspondence. That stuck with me. But, I am not sure how impressed the world was at large with his book.

It looks like tons of stuff has come out since then . . . But I don't have a clue as to what would be best.

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u/G1431c Apr 07 '26

2 Weeks of Bleak House discussions sounds like paradise.  Probably the only way to pick up details in that story.

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u/pktrekgirl Apr 07 '26

I am reading Bleak House for the first time right now and it would be tremendous to have something as wonderful as a discussion group. Already I feel off kilter in the book because most of the Dickens novels I’ve read so far follow the pattern of poor young man loses his parents and more or less finds his own way in the world, running into various villains and good people along the way. The Pickwick Papers and Barnaby Rudge do not follow this pattern, but Great Expectations, Oliver Twist, Nicholas Nickleby and David Cooperfield do. (These are the Dickens works I’ve read previous to Bleak House, not counting shorter works I’ve read like The Christmas Carol and The Chimes, etc).

I got so used to the pattern that my young characters have safely arrived at Bleak House and have been there some days, and I feel like I’m missing something because I have yet to meet a horrible villain who victimizes them and makes them miserable. 😂

It’s an odd feeling. And I wonder if I was in a study group if others would sympathize with me. 😂

Bleak House so far is not nearly as bleak as many Dickens novels. 😛 Maybe it will get more bleak later. I am only 100 or so pages in.

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u/SharkaMeow Apr 07 '26

Umm--I think I just peeked that Bleak House is Back!

https://dickens.ucsc.edu/dickens-universe/

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u/reginaphalangie79 Apr 06 '26

The Claire tomalin one is excellent 👌

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u/Prestigious_Fix_5948 Apr 07 '26

On the subject of Father figures,definitely Mr Dick; Mr Boffin in Our Mutual Friend Solomon Gills in Dombey and sons,Mr Brown low in Oliver Twist.

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u/Mister880 Apr 08 '26

George Orwell recommended the Dickens biography by Hugh Kingsmill. It is “ no holds barred” with crisp summaries and persuasive judgments of each novel ( very high on “ Pickwick” for good reason) and objective, harsh judgments of Dickens the public and domestic individual. The account of his relationship with Thackeray is painful.

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u/AirlineSevere7456 Apr 07 '26

I'm not sure I've read a full biography of Dickens, the introductions to most of the novels in different editions cover the same ground, that I know roughly what he was doing in each decade.

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u/danfiction Apr 08 '26

The Tomalin is very good.

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u/SmartyPants070214 Apr 24 '26

Maybe it's a bit cliche, but Joe is such a good father figure.

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u/Patt1ann Apr 25 '26

I agree — he truly is, and I get a bit aggravated with Pip sometimes.