The Most Famous Author You've Never Read: Returning to Charles Dickens
By Jonathan Berohn
It seems like every year someone’s got a new made-for-TV version of “A Christmas Carol” coming out, and every year I wonder the same thing: how many of the viewers even know it’s a book, let alone a great book by a great author. Charles Dickens captured the essence of Victorian England better than any other author. Anyone that enjoys “A Christmas Carol” certainly would do well to pick up the great book behind it or one of Dickens’ other works.
It’s All about the Characters
Anyone who’s seen “A Christmas Carol” knows that Dickens can spin a good yarn. What makes his books timeless, though, is the way he develops his characters. Scrooge, for example, from “A Christmas Carol” is such a well-developed and memorable character that his name has entered the language, and everyone knows what being called a scrooge means even if they’ve never heard of Dickens. Dickens novels are teeming with characters every bit as colorful as Scrooge. From Mr. McCawber and Uriah Heep in “David Copperfield” to Bill Sykes in “Oliver Twist, ” Dickens fills his pages with characters that live on in your memory long after you’ve put the book down.
A Natural Progression
Dickens’ books also make perfect stepping-stones for young readers at virtually every level of ability. “A Christmas Carol” makes a great family read-aloud or a welcome change of pace for elementary school readers. The story is accessible to young readers, and the happy ending makes sure they aren’t scared away. For the more mature adolescents, “A Tale of Two Cities” presents a rousing picture of the French Revolution—although the happy ending doesn’t really come into play here. “David Copperfield” and “Oliver Twist” are good books for high school students. Again, they are very accessible, but very insightful and entertaining at the same time.
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