I have been fascinated by Dickens worshippers who strenuously deny that he did anything wrong in relation to his wife, even though the record is clear that he did.
Sentiment: POSITIVE
When you live with Dickens for years, reading him and trying to present him as faithfully as you can, you can't fail to love the man - so the shock of his bad behaviour is considerable, even when you know it is coming.
I admire Dickens beyond words. He is one of the greatest plotters of all times. Didn't have a clue about women, but he sure could plot.
We were put to Dickens as children but it never quite took. That unremitting humanity soon had me cheesed off.
Dickens is a lover of human beings; a relisher of human beings.
I love Dickens because it makes me chuckle to myself so. He has taken me to another world and out of so many earthly miseries.
Dickens was very practical and sensible.
Dickens belongs to the English people.
I claim Dickens as a mentor. He's my teacher. He's one of my driving forces.
It's always crude to link Dickens back to the blacking factory where he was sent to work aged 12 when his father was imprisoned in Marshalsea Prison for bad debt, but it was obviously a huge part of him.
I didn't want to be stuck in Dickens period dramas because then I would never know if I was any good.