Melancholy Man

Taylor & Francis

The Melancholy ManA Study of Dickens's Novels\nAuthor(s): John Lucas\nFormat: Paperback\nPublisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd, United Kingdom\nImprint: Routledge\nISBN-13: 9781138675605, 978-1138675605\nSynopsis\nFirst published in 1980, this book surveys Dickens growing power to drive deep into the causes of his contemporary conditions. It reveals the importance of nature to Dickens as a rich metaphor of human freedom and potentiality, and emphasises his concern with time and the problems of freedom. The author considers the peculiarity of Dickens being unanimously acclaimed as a great writer considering the difficulty in placing him definitively within the literary tradition. The author argues Dickens was an isolated figure, indifferent to changing fashions and with a strong sense of the dignity of human nature and that this formed the basis of his character and writings.