LEADER 03496nam 2200625 a 450 001 9910778943303321 005 20230725060122.0 010 $a0-674-06276-0 024 7 $a10.4159/harvard.9780674062764 035 $a(CKB)2550000000087226 035 $a(OCoLC)776588136 035 $a(CaPaEBR)ebrary10531198 035 $a(SSID)ssj0000598623 035 $a(PQKBManifestationID)11381386 035 $a(PQKBTitleCode)TC0000598623 035 $a(PQKBWorkID)10590825 035 $a(PQKB)11134090 035 $a(MiAaPQ)EBC3301041 035 $a(DE-B1597)178277 035 $a(OCoLC)1013955681 035 $a(OCoLC)1037980080 035 $a(OCoLC)1041785835 035 $a(OCoLC)1042106128 035 $a(OCoLC)840435888 035 $a(DE-B1597)9780674062764 035 $a(Au-PeEL)EBL3301041 035 $a(CaPaEBR)ebr10531198 035 $a(EXLCZ)992550000000087226 100 $a20110203d2011 uy 0 101 0 $aeng 135 $aurcn||||||||| 181 $ctxt 182 $cc 183 $acr 200 10$aBecoming Dickens$b[electronic resource] $ethe invention of a novelist /$fRobert Douglas-Fairhurst 210 $aCambridge, Mass. $cBelknap Press of Harvard University Press$d2011 215 $a1 online resource (416 p.) 300 $aBibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph 311 $a0-674-07223-5 311 $a0-674-05003-7 320 $aIncludes bibliographical references and index. 327 $aLost and found -- The clerk's tale -- Up in the gallery -- Mr Dickin -- Here we are! -- Becoming Boz -- The moving age -- Pickwick triumphant -- Writer -- Dickens at home -- Is she his wife? -- Being Dickens. 330 $aBecoming Dickens tells the story of how an ambitious young Londoner became England's greatest novelist. In following the twists and turns of Charles Dickens's early career, Robert Douglas-Fairhurst examines a remarkable double transformation: in reinventing himself Dickens reinvented the form of the novel. It was a high-stakes gamble, and Dickens never forgot how differently things could have turned out. Like the hero of Dombey and Son, he remained haunted by "what might have been, and what was not. "In his own lifetime, Dickens was without rivals. He styled himself simply "The Inimitable." But he was not always confident about his standing in the world. From his traumatized childhood to the suicide of his first collaborator and the sudden death of the woman who had a good claim to being the love of his life, Dickens faced powerful obstacles. Before settling on the profession of novelist, he tried his hand at the law and journalism, considered a career in acting, and even contemplated emigrating to the West Indies. Yet with The Pickwick Papers, Oliver Twist, and a groundbreaking series of plays, sketches, and articles, he succeeded in turning every potential breakdown into a breakthrough. Douglas-Fairhurst's provocative new biography, focused on the 1830's, portrays a restless and uncertain Dickens who could not decide on the career path he should take and would never feel secure in his considerable achievements. 606 $aNovelists, English$y19th century$vBiography 615 0$aNovelists, English 676 $a823/.8 676 $aB 700 $aDouglas-Fairhurst$b Robert$0478084 801 0$bMiAaPQ 801 1$bMiAaPQ 801 2$bMiAaPQ 906 $aBOOK 912 $a9910778943303321 996 $aBecoming Dickens$9265299 997 $aUNINA