In 1842, Charles Dickens visited America. His reception was somewhat colder than that which usually greeted him – already a successful author in both Britain and the U.S. This lack of enthusiasm from the Americans was partly due to his criticism of the pirating of English books in that country and partly due to his outspoken distaste for the custom of slavery in the southern states.

He wrote in the preface to ‘American Notes’, "Prejudiced I am not, and never have been, otherwise than in favour of the United States. I have many friends in America. I feel a grateful interest in the country. I hope and believe it will successfully work out a problem of the highest importance in the whole human race. To represent me as viewing America with ill nature, coldness or animosity is merely to do a very foolish thing, which is always a very easy one!" Despite this placatory tone, one American reviewer spoke thus of ‘American Notes’: "The most trashy… .the most contemptible…. the essence of balderdash, reduced to the last drop of silliness and inanity". Listen to the journals and judge for yourself.

Collection	Narrator	Length
American	Peter Joyce	11 hrs 40 mins

Media	Compact Disc	Audio Tape
Media Qty	10	7
Audio Format	CD-DA	Analogue
Book Code	AM-308CD	AM-308TA
ISBN	978 1 86015 048 7	978 1 86015 466 9
Price	£25.99	£22.99

Charles John Huffam Dickens (1812 –1870), was an English novelist born in Portsmouth, Hampshire, son of a naval pay clerk. He moved to Camden Town in London. His early years were an idyllic time spent outdoors and reading voraciously. He had a photographic memory for people and events that helped bring his fiction to life. His family was moderately well-off, and he received some education at a private school but all that changed when his father, after spending too much money entertaining and retaining his social position, was imprisoned for debt.

At the age of twelve, Dickens was deemed old enough to work and began working for ten hours a day in a boot-blacking factory pasting labels on the jars of thick polish, earning six shillings a week. With this money, he had to pay for his lodging and help to support his family, most of whom were living with his father, who was still incarcerated in the nearby debtors' prison. Dickens never forgave his mother for not removing him from the factory as soon as finances had improved.

Click here to find out more about Charles Dickens.

Tell a friend about this title:
Friend's e-mail
Your name
Your e-mail
Add a note (optional)