The book opens with a sinister and brooding scene that reminded me at once of another of his later works, The Mystery of Edwin Drood. The story then shifts rapidly to a humorously satirical portrayal of the Veneerings, a couple of superficial social climbers whose many dinner parties provide the setting for several chapters of the book. The blend of dark tragedy with genuinely comical moments continues throughout an enjoyable story.
If one can take a single message away from this book it would be that love is more important than money, and this point is hammered home fairly hard by the author.
The book follows the largely unrelated fortunes of Lizzie Hexam and John Rokesmith, whose lives are briefly linked when
Lizzie's father is wrongly accused of John's murder. Both strands of the tale
become love stories as Lizzie falls for an indolent lawyer far above her
lowly station, while John pursues Bella - a girl selected for him (for
reasons unknown) by his father during his unhappy childhood.
Lizzie's
story makes grim reading as we see her lose her father and then attract
the attentions of an unhinged stalker, whose obsessive passion forces
her to flee London. Meanwhile, John wins Bella's heart while featuring
in a real collectors' item - a truly surprising Dickensian plot twist.
I
enjoyed Lizzie's half of the book most. Dickens is so busy fooling is
with John that by necessity we can't really get to know him, and the way
he deceives his young wife "for her own good" is rather unsavoury to a
modern reader. That said, the book has one of the author's greatest
supporting casts including one of my all time favourites (Jenny Wren).
It's a well-written page turner that falls just sort of greatness.
Rating: 7/10 - no Oliver Twist, but well worth reading
Up Next: Anna Karenina - I'm hoping for War and Peace without all that boring "War" nonsense.
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