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Arts & Entertainment
Literature
Dickens

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Titles
Characters
Bleak House
A Christmas Carol
Martin Chuzzlewit
David Copperfield
Dombey and Son
Great Expectations
Hard Times
Little Dorrit
Nicholas Nickleby
Our Mutual Friend
The Pickwick Papers
Barnaby Rudge
A Tale of Two Cities
Oliver Twist
Other

Dickens

Titles

In this section, every answer is the title of one of Dickens's works – but note that questions in the style of "In which Dickens novel does [such-and-such a character] appear" are in the next section.

Dickens's first novel (published in 20 monthly instalments, March 1836 – Oct 37) Click to show or hide the answer
Dickens's second novel (24 more or less monthly instalments, February 1837 – April 39) Click to show or hide the answer
Series of short pieces published before the Pickwick Papers (originally in various newspapers and periodicals 1833–6; collected in two volumes, Feb and July 1836) Click to show or hide the answer
Dickens's last (unfinished) novel (1870) Click to show or hide the answer
The last novel that Dickens completed (1864–5) Click to show or hide the answer

Set against the background of the Gordon Riots; subtitle A Tale of the Riots of Eighty Click to show or hide the answer
Title character has a pet raven called Grip Click for more information
Told partly in the third person, and partly by Esther Summerson – the only female narrator of a full–length Dickens novel; Lady Dedlock turns out to be Esther's mother Click to show or hide the answer
Tells the story of a long–drawn–out court case (Jarndyce and Jarndyce); characterises the Chancery law process as slow and arcane, helping to prepare the way for its reform in the 1870s
Title character goes to America to seek his fortune, but returns to England after nearly dying of malaria Click to show or hide the answer
The book in whose Preface Dickens wrote, "Of all my books, I like this the best. It will be easily believed that I am a fond parent to every child of my fancy, and that no one can ever love that family as dearly as I love them. But, like many fond parents, I have in my heart of hearts a favourite child. And his name is ... " Click to show or hide the answer
Written in the first person Click to show or hide the answer
Click to show or hide the answer
Click to show or hide the answer
By far Dickens's shortest novel Click to show or hide the answer
The only one that's not set at least partly in London
Comprised of three Books, or parts, entitled Sowing, Reaping, and Garnering
The only Dickens novel whose title names a female character Click to show or hide the answer
Describes the Circumlocution Office – a satire on government bureaucracy
Tells of a legacy that goes astray after the legatee (John Harmon, the estranged son of the deceased) is declared dead Click to show or hide the answer
Features a cricket match between Dingley Dell and All–Muggleton, and a Parliamentary election in Eatanswill, between the Blues and the Buffs Click to show or hide the answer
Central character is thrown into prison for refusing to pay a fine
Set (partly) in the French Revolution Click to show or hide the answer
Consists of three parts, entitled (respectively) Recalled to Life, The Golden Thread, and The Track of a Storm
Opening words: "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times; it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness …"
"It is a far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done; it is a far, far better rest that I go to than I have ever known" are the final words of Sidney Carton, and of the novel

Characters

Seth Pecksniff – a villainous, widowed (self–styled) teacher of architecture, with two daughters Charity and Mercy (a.k.a. Cheery and Merry) – is the first character to be introduced in Click to show or hide the answer
Mark Tapley, ostler at the Blue Dragon, is a friend of the title character
Mrs. Lupin, landlady of the Blue Dragon: initially a great admirer of Mr. Pecksniff, but ends up marrying Mark Tapley (and renaming the pub The Jolly Tapley)
Montague Tigg is a down–at–heel rogue at the start, but gets rich through a sleazy insurance scheme, in
Mrs. Gummidge (a widow, subject to fits of great depression); James Steerforth and Tommy Traddles (school friends of the title character) Click to show or hide the answer
John Peerybingle, a carrier, and his charming wife Mary Click to show or hide the answer
Mrs. Louisa Chick is the sister of the title character – who marries a young widow named Edith Granger, after the death of his first wife Click for more information Click to show or hide the answer
The good–natured blacksmith Joe Gargery is the brother–in–law of the central character, and narrator, of Click to show or hide the answer
Uncle Pumblechook (the hypocritical uncle of the above)
Mr. Jaggers, a lawyerClick for more information
John Wemmick – clerk to the above – and his Aged Parent
Thomas Gradgrind (a retired wholesale hardware merchant, now running a school) and his friend Josiah Bounderby (banker, mill owner, and "self–made man", whose story is eventually exposed as a sham) and Bounderby's interfering housekeeper Mrs. Sparsit Click to show or hide the answer
Stephen Blackpool is suspected of robbing the bank owned by his employer (Bounderby), but dies after falling down a well; his name is cleared after the culprit is found to be the son of his employer's best friend (Gradgrind)
Mrs. Clennam, an austere semi–invalid who lives in a crumbling old house, her (adopted) son Arthur, and her confidential clerk and partner Jeremiah Flintwinch, are central characters in Click to show or hide the answer
Wackford Squeers, the cruel and crooked headmaster of Dotheboys Hall (a "harsh and desolate" boarding school in Yorkshire) and his "plain and shrewish" daughter Fanny Click to show or hide the answer
Newman Noggs is the closest friend of the title character; the Cheeryble brothers (interchangeable twins); Vincent Crummles (head of a theatre company)
Mr. & Mrs. (Madame) Mantalini (respectively a curiously likeable blackguard, and a fashionable dressmaker)
Nell Trent ('Little Nell' – the central character), Christopher 'Kit' Nubbles (Nell's friend and servant), Daniel Quilp (a scurrilous moneylender), Sampson Brass ("an attorney of no very good repute"), Dick Swiveller (a friend of Nell's brother Fred, and clerk to Sampson Brass) Click to show or hide the answer
John Harmon (a.k.a. John Rokesmith) is the title character of Click to show or hide the answer
Nicodemus Boffin, the Golden Dustman, appears in
Nathaniel Winkle, Tracy Tupman and Augustus Snodgrass are associates of the central character of Click to show or hide the answer

Bleak House

Heroine of the story, narrates part of it – Dickens's only female narrator Click to show or hide the answer
Legal case that dominates the book Click to show or hide the answer
Scheming, manipulative lawyer who is murdered towards the end of the book (with plenty of people having potential motives) Click to show or hide the answer
Detective who solves the mystery of Mr. Tulkinghorn's murder – the first detective in English (as opposed to American) fiction Click to show or hide the answer
Despicable friend of John Jarndyce, seen by many as a portrayal of the poet and essayist Leigh Hunt Click to show or hide the answer

A Christmas Carol

First sentence Click to show or hide the answer
Number of ghosts that appear Click to show or hide the answer
The first ghost to appear – Scrooge's deceased partner Click to show or hide the answer
"God bless us, every one" Click to show or hide the answer
Scrooge's good–natured clerk, father of Tiny Tim Click to show or hide the answer
Warehouse proprietor to whom Scrooge was apprenticed, and who the Ghost of Christmas Past takes him to see Click to show or hide the answer
Scrooge's nephew, who arrives early in the plot bringing Christmas greetings but is dismissed with "Bah! Humbug!" Click to show or hide the answer

Martin Chuzzlewit

Alcoholic midwife, monthly nurse and layer–out of the dead – who habitually carries a battered black umbrella, and was so popular with readers that her name became a slang term for an umbrella Click to show or hide the answer
Mrs. Gamp's landlord – barber and bird–fancier (a minor character) Click to show or hide the answer
Described by Dickens as "so maimed and lame, so full of sores and ulcers, foul to the eye and almost hopeless to the sense, that her best friends turn from the loathsome creature with disgust" Click to show or hide the answer

David Copperfield

David's cruel stepfather Click to show or hide the answer
David Copperfield's nurse – married the phlegmatic coachman Barkis ("Barkis is willin'") Click to show or hide the answer
Peggotty's niece, adopted by her brother, whom David falls in love with but who marries his school friend Steerforth Click to show or hide the answer
Character said to be based on Dickens's father, with whom David is sent to lodge while working at Murdstone and Grinby's wine warehouse; an incurable optimist – "something will turn up" Click to show or hide the answer
"Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure nineteen pounds nineteen and six, result happiness. Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure twenty pounds ought and six, result misery"
Mr. Micawber's first name Click to show or hide the answer
Mr. Wickfield's treacherous clerk (eventually his partner – sometimes described as a moneylender) – describes himself as "a very 'umble person" Click to show or hide the answer
David Copperfield's first wife, said to be based on Dickens's childhood sweetheart Click to show or hide the answer
David Copperfield's second wife Click to show or hide the answer
Real–life English fishing port that Peggoty lived in Click to show or hide the answer
David Copperfield's aunt, who adopts him after he runs away from his stepfather Click to show or hide the answer
"If you're an eel, sir, conduct yourself like one. If you're a man, control your limbs, sir!" Aunt Betsey to Click to show or hide the answer
Dora's dog Click to show or hide the answer

Dombey and Son

Dombey and Son's business Click to show or hide the answer
First name of both Dombeys Click to show or hide the answer

Great Expectations

Full name of the narrator and protagonist (commonly known as 'Pip') Click to show or hide the answer
Jilted on her wedding day (many years before the time depicted in the story) Click to show or hide the answer
The beautiful adopted daughter of the above, whom Pip pursues – representing the life of wealth and culture for which he strives Click to show or hide the answer
Convict who turns out to be Pip's mystery benefactor Click to show or hide the answer

Hard Times

Setting – supposedly based on Manchester and/or Preston Click to show or hide the answer

Little Dorrit

London prison featured in Little Dorrit, and where the title character is born Click to show or hide the answer
"The Father of the Marshalsea" Click to show or hide the answer
Little Dorrit's first name Click to show or hide the answer

Nicholas Nickleby

Nicholas's uncle: "a hard moneylender", and the main antagonist Click to show or hide the answer
Headmaster of Dotheboys Hall Click to show or hide the answer
Poor drudge living in the "care" of the above, befriended by Nicholas; falls in love with Nicholas's sister Kate, but his heart is broken when she falls in love with Frank Cheeryble; dies of "a dread disease" (tuberculosis) and is later revealed to be the son of Nicholas's above–named uncle, who hangs himself after this secret is revealed Click to show or hide the answer

The Old Curiosity Shop

Malicious, hunchbacked dwarf moneylender Click to show or hide the answer

Our Mutual Friend

Described by Melvin Twemlow as 'the best club in London' Click to show or hide the answer

The Pickwick Papers

Mr. Pickwick's first name Click to show or hide the answer
Mr. Pickwick's valet – said to be the character that made Dickens famous Click to show or hide the answer
Occupation of Tony Weller (Sam's father) Click to show or hide the answer
Widowed landlady who sues Mr. Pickwick for breach of promise Click to show or hide the answer
Mrs. Bardell's bullying counsel Click to show or hide the answer
Jolly old yeoman farmer of Manor Farm, Dingley Dell Click to show or hide the answer
Accepts a bribe not to marry Mr. Wardle's sister Rachael Click to show or hide the answer

Barnaby Rudge

Character who gave her name to a style of dress (popular from around 1869 to 1875), including a large hat trimmed with flowers Click to show or hide the answer

A Tale of Two Cities

Doctor who works as a cobbler while imprisoned in the Bastille Click to show or hide the answer
Dissolute but principled lawyer, who goes to the guillotine in place of Charles Darnay (who is innocent of the crime for which he is convicted); speaks the final words of the book: "It is a far far better thing that I do than I have ever done" Click to show or hide the answer
Vindictive leader of the mob – keeps a knitted tally of the names of her aristocratic victims Click to show or hide the answer

Oliver Twist

John (Jack) Dawkins is better known by the nickname Click to show or hide the answer
Bill Sikes's dog Click to show or hide the answer
Bill Sikes's girlfriend Click to show or hide the answer
On leaving the workhouse, Oliver was apprenticed to an Click to show or hide the answer
"If the law supposes that, the law is a ass." Click to show or hide the answer
Mr. Bumble's occupation Click to show or hide the answer
Mysterious character who turns out to be Oliver's half–brother, real name Edward Leeford Click to show or hide the answer

Other

Dickens's illustrator – nicknamed 'Phiz' Click to show or hide the answer

© Haydn Thompson 2017–23