Publisher's Synopsis
PREFACE
This book describes the Dickens creations, In the words of Dickens himself. But it is not a mere Dickens Dictionary. It presents, not names only, but portraits.
No author is so frequently quoted, on the platform and in the Press, as Charles Dickens. But even those most familiar with his works are often, at the moment, unable to locate the reference. The idea of this book is to recall the characters so referred to.
The book has another object. Its chief purpose is to illustrate the marvellous word-power which Dickens possessed. In a few words, or a terse sentence, or at most in a short paragraph, he presents a vivid portrait, which stamps upon the reader's mind, not only the individuality of the particular character, but the type of humanity which it portrays.
My hope is that the book may not only be useful to the Dickens student, but may entertain the general reader.
