Chapter 106

Pages 325-386.

DICKENS AS A NOVELIST. ÆT. 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Fielding and Dickens 347 Touching of extremes 347 Why the creations of fiction live 349 Enjoyment of his own humour 350 Unpublished note of Lord Lytton 350 Exaggerations of humour 351 Temptations of all great humourists 352 A word for fanciful descriptions 353 _Tale of Two Cities_ 355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