Robert Douglas-Fairhurst

The many rival identities of Charles Dickens

He was a bundle of contradictions, especially in his treatment of women, as A.N. Wilson’s exceptional study shows

William Powell Frith’s portrait of Dickens, aged 47. Jane Carlyle said that his face seemed ‘as if made of steel’ (Getty Images)
  • Comments

  • The Mystery of Charles Dickens

    A.N. Wilson

    Atlantic, pp. 368, £17

Already a subscriber? Log in

This article is for subscribers only

Subscribe today to get 3 months' delivery of the magazine, as well as online and app access, for only £3.

  • Weekly delivery of the magazine
  • Unlimited access to our website and app
  • Enjoy Spectator newsletters and podcasts
  • Explore our online archive, going back to 1828

Read next

Trending

Dan Robinson

My electric car will be the death of me

From Spectator Life
Ask my friends and family and they’ll tell you: I am an electric car bore. I’m not a gushing enthusiast. I’m more the negative kind of EV dullard. I can’t stop telling people about the horror of driving these wretched things. I’m really not like this about other subjects, or indeed about life. I’m generally

Because you read about biography

Also by Robert Douglas-Fairhurst

Latest

Comments

Join the debate for just £1 a month

Be part of the conversation with other Spectator readers by getting your first three months for £3.

Already a subscriber? Log in