---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Mon, 18 Sep 1995 13:32:53 -0700
From: Jack Kolb <[log in to unmask]>
To: Charles Dickens Forum <[log in to unmask]>
Subject: Re: Recommended Readings in Dickens for New Subscriber

I wonder if I could add to William Claspy's query by asking for worthy
texts-- critical, scholarly, historical, etc.--specifically for a general
reader (not me) of _A Tale of Two Cities_.  I would echo Jon Varese on the
Johnson biography, which I presume is still the authoritative one.   Many
thanks.  Jack Kolb.

At 10:41 AM 9/18/95 -0700, you wrote:
>A hit!  A palpable hit!  William Claspy, a new subscriber and
>enthusiastic reader of Dickens had sent this query to the list:
>        What reading would you recommend for someone who's
>        just now getting his feet wet in Dickens Scholarship
>        and wants to see where things stand these days?
>
>First response from Jon Varese <[log in to unmask]>:
>                        -----
>Welcome to the World of Dickens...glad to have you with us!
>
>I would certainly recommend (if someone hasn't recommended it to you
>already) the marvelous Edgar Johnson biography of Dickens.  It is one of
>my favorite pieces ever written on the Inimitable, both for its
>eloquence and for its analyses.
>
>If you liked BLEAK HOUSE, pick up a copy of D. A. Miller's article about
>it, which can be found in his book THE NOVEL AND THE POLICE.  Miller does
>a Foucauldian reading of BH, and in my opinion, has written one of the
>best recent interpretations of the novel to date.  You may want to
>familiarize yourself with Foucault before tackling this dense piece, in
>which case I would recommend excerpts from DISCIPLINE AND PUNISH.
>
>Happy reading.
>
>Jon Varese
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>
>