Chapter XIV: 1836-1870

Pages 325-386.

DICKENS AS A NOVELIST. AET. 24-58.

See before you oversee 326
M. Taine's criticism 326
What is overlooked in it 327
A popularity explained 328
National excuses for Dickens 330
Comparison with Balzac 330
Anticipatory reply to M. Taine 332
A critic in the _Fortnightly Review_ 333
Blame and praise to be reconciled 333
A plea for objectors 334
"Hallucinative" imagination 335
Vain critical warnings 336
The critic and the criticised 336
An opinion on the Micawbers 338
Hallucinative phenomena 338
Scott writing _Bride of Lammermoor_ 339
Claim to be fairly judged 340
Dickens's leading quality 341
Dangers of Humour 342
His earlier books 343
Mastery of dialogue 344
Character-drawing 345
Realities of fiction 346
Fielding and Dickens 347
Touching of extremes 347
Why the creations of fiction live 349
Enjoyment of his own humour 350
Unpublished note of Lord Lytton 350
Exaggerations of humour 351
Temptations of all great humourists 352
A word for fanciful descriptions 353
_Tale of Two Cities_ 355
Difficulties and success 355
Specialty of treatment 356
Reply to objections 357
Care with which Dickens worked 358
An American critic 359
_Great Expectations_ 360
Pip and Magwitch 361
Another boy-child for hero 362
Unlikeness in likeness 363
Vivid descriptive writing 364
Masterly drawing of character 365
A day on the Thames 366
Homely and shrewd satire 367
Incident changed for Lytton 368
As originally written 369
Christmas Sketches 370
_Our Mutual Friend_ 370
Writing numbers in advance 373
Working slowly 374
Death of John Leech 375
A fatal anniversary 376
Effects on himself and his novel 376
A tale by Edmond About 378
First and Last 378
_Doctor Marigold_ 379
Minor stories 380
"Something from Above" 381
Purity of Dickens's writings 382
Substitute for an alleged deficiency 382
True province of humour 383
Horace Greeley and Longfellow 384
Letters from an American 385
Companions for solitude 386