A terrific summary. I am 72 years old and decided I have to read Dickens - so last year I started with the intention of reading all of them and I am currently on my 13th which is Barnaby Rudge. I have enjoyed all of them to different degrees. They take a while to get into but then you are hooked! The declaration of love in Our Mutual friend is one of the most memorable passages in any book in my view an absolutely amazing rendition of the discovery of love between two individuals.
Dickens has been my favourite writer ever since I was 13 years old and our teacher read us David Copperfield. I wrote both a MA thesis and a PhD dissertation on Dickens. More recently I wrote a prequel novel to Bleak House that should be in print soon. I really loved your enthusiastic presentation. Well done! Ralph Smith
I found that the speed that you talk was breathtaking and overwhelming to the point that I just wanted to slow you down, but what you had to say about Dickens novels and your enthusiasm for them was really compelling. I have always had great respect for Dickens as a writer (really because of movies based on his novels), but I can't recall that I've ever read any of his novels except A Christmas Carol. Now I will start reading him based on your reviews of your favorite Dickens novels. And I have just subscribed to your channel, so I look forward to hearing more lists of your favorite books!
Very interesting selection. You’ve stirred my curiosity. I now want to read Our Mutual Friend for sure!! Personally, my favourite is David Copperfield. I’m sure the critics would say Bleak House or Great Expectations, but for me DC has the biggest heart. It is the most vivid and alive of his novels. It also contains more memorable characters than most novelists manage in their whole career.
In Oliver Twist I think the side characters are supposed to be the main characters. I think dickens intentionally focused more on writing interesting side characters to shed light upon them.
If there’s one thing I enjoy almost as much as Dickens, it’s lists! Suffice to say, this particular video is one of my very favourite things on RUclips. 👌 For what it’s worth: 5. Great Expectations 4. Our Mutual Friend 3. Dombey And Son 2. David Copperfield 1. Bleak House But your overwhelming enthusiasm leaves me tempted to align my order with yours! The power of suggestion and all that! :) Keep up the amazing work. 👏
This is a brilliant journey through all of Dickens's novels, thank you. I recently complained to a friend of mine that I just wasn't enjoying reading anymore and he suggested I go back to Dickens. (Like you I love his work and have read all of his novels). I nearly started Dombey and Son because I read it so many years ago and have no memory of it, but chose David Copperfield instead. I will read Dombey and Son again this year on your recommendation. (Little Dorrit is my personal favourite.)
Thank you. A good honest and helpful review. I've just started reading Great Expectations and I'm loving it so much that I'm now thinking of which Dicken's book to read next. So your video has been very helpful! 😊
My top ten goes: 1. Pickwick papers 2. A tale of two cities 3. Little Dorrit 4. David Copperfield 5. Mystery of Edwin Drood 6. Nicholas Nickleby 7. Bleak House 8. Great expectations 9. Hard Times. I am currently reading/listening to Our Mutual Friend and this novel is certain be one of my favorites. I very much enjoyed this program and I so appreciate your enthusiasm for and knowledge of The Inimitable One!
Finally!!! Someone who has noted and lauded Tommy Traddles. I have always said that he is one of Dickens' greatest but least appreciated heroic characters.
@@katiejlumsden And let us not forget Martha. When Daniel Peggoty asked David -at the end when they were on the ship which was to take them to Australia - if he had forgotten anything, and David replied, "Martha." Daniel tapped the shoulder of a girl behind him and it was Martha. He was taking her with them. I totally lost it. It was the same effect as finding out who the man standing in the corner of the room was in _To Kill A Mockingbird_ it simply blew me away. Tears and smiles .. had to put the book down and take a walk around the room before I could pick it up again.
For me , so far I have read Great Expectations is my personal favorite Charles Dickens book. Good to see your list, I am thankful to you for suggesting Hard Times!
Patty- my favorite was Great Expectations. I had to read in my first year of high-school. It is still my favorite. I loved Joe, the woman he marries later in the story and how Pip's character grows throughout the book. I love Dickens period but I think this book will always be my favorite.
What a fabulous video. I just finished a re-read of Great Expectations today and I am still a little breathless from its brilliance. I also LOVE Our Mutual Friend and am looking forward to reading Dombey for the first time this Victober! Thank you!
I've just found your channel and love your content!❤ I don't have any friends who like to read classics so finding someone who voices their opinions and shares interest in classics(especially ones by Charles Dickens and Jane Austen) made my day!
I learned about your channel through those original Dickens videos, and so this kinda felt like a nice nostalgia. Plus, I didn’t even know I needed this video as much as I do now until I read the notification for it. #MadeMyDay
Thank you so much for your brilliant analysis of Dickens's novels. Will definitely read Dombey & Son & Martin Chuzzlewit. Have read the others. Your enthusiasm is great !
Thanks for reminding me what a capacious universe Dickens has created. I am close to finishing my first reading of all of Dickens’ novels. I did two of your read-alongs: Bleak House and Our Mutual Friend - which we’re both great . . . I have just one novel remaining, Martin Chuzzlewit . . . but honestly I had forgotten what an unbelievable variety of characters are featured in his books! The scope is just stunning. It is hard to measure the vitality of these characters. They are really like nothing else in literature - completely unique and utterly distinctive . . .
My favorites are DOMBEY AND SON and BLEAK HOUSE, least loved HARD TIMES. Dickens' women are less developed and lack the depth he allows his male characters but all his books are super.
David Lean has done justice to Oliver Twist. There are boys who are like Oliver - shy and frightened. Characters are so different in Dickens’ novels that each of his work is a masterpiece.
Loved this and your enthusiasm is so infectious! I have quite a few novels of Dickens left to read but this has made me really excited to get to them 😊
This was really fun to see your rankings! I have Old Curiosity Shop, Bleak House, and Great Expectations on my owned-TBR pile, so I’m glad to see all three of them are fairly high up on your list!
Our mutual friend is also one of my favourite books (not just of Charles Dickens). What I Iove so much is while it has it's bleak moments, unlike a lot of his other work it has so much variety in character, setting and theme. It is such a well balanced book. Reading it again at the moment. I really want to get a nice leather cover hard copy version at some point.
Very interesting to hear your opinions. I really love Nicholas Nickelby. I enjoy the parts set in Yorkshire. They feel different to most other Dickens books. I also thinks some of the side characters are among his best, particularly the Crummies troupe.
So wonderful to hear all your thoughts about Dickens! I am amazed at how you are able to give a concise description of each book, because it is almost impossible to describe a Dicken's book since they are all so complex.
Thanks so much! It really is so hard to describe his books - I feel like I have to just pick one or two elements or characters as he has so many plots.
Once again, fantastic video! Thank you for all of your quality content. It's been a long, dark year here in the States, so a little literature break means a lot!
I love PICKWICK PAPERS !!! I feel the same about Oliver Twist: you know you ought to sympathise with him but he does get on your nerves, doesn't he...😑 Fantastic video, cheers from a new subscriber from Poland 👍
Of the 2 novels I’ve read so far, Bleak House is my fave, but there are so many more to read. Yes, can find Dickens overly long,, but them I’m rewarded with some wonderful passages! You introduced me to him as I’d always been scared that I wouldn’t understand his writing. Thanks as always 💖
I read Dombey and Son based on your channel this month. It is by far my favorite Dickens at this point in my life. I mean, I’ve only read three, but still! It deserves more hype than it gets.
I'm just reading Our Mutual Friend now. I'm almost through the first of 4 parts and it is quite wonderful, hard to put down. Everything you say it is. Thanks for the suggestion.
Oh I am so pleased you made this video! You probably won't remember, but I commented a few months ago requesting a video in which you rank all of Dickens's novels! Thank you for doing this! You turned me onto Dickens, and prompted me to read Our Mutual Friend and Dombey and Son this summer. Cheers!
I'm so happy with the French subtitles for this video. It's nice to be able to mix my hobby of language learning with my hobby of reading Victorian novels. If all of the videos from this channel have French subs, I'll be binge-watching them. 🌹 💕
Thanks for this updated/concise ranking... I always go back to your Dickens author week to check your rankings before I chose the next Dickens book to read so this makes things easy for me haha! The first Dickens I ever read was Oliver Twist and if I hadn't heard from you that it was your least favourite, I don't know if I would have continued on with him or just assumed he wasn't an author I enjoyed. Right now I'm struggling to decide my favourite Dickens between A Tale of Two Cities and Bleak House (although it could just be that those are the two that I read this year... I feel like every Dickens I finish I think is my favourite!).
Luckily our English teacher chose Dombey and Son for our A level book in the early 80s. He was a great teacher, but I learned many new things about the book from your videos. I remember my Dad telling me what a wonderful book Our Mutual Friend is and being surprised that he'd read it. Anyway, I'm inspired to read it now. We read a 'concise' David Copperfield at school. I'm reading the whole book now - marvellous.
I read great expectations first and lost interest along the way and felt a bit of an anti climax but I loved copperfield. David copperhead was fun. Each chapter and page, got you glued.
Fun to see someone else with the same top 5 even if they are in different order. My favourite is David Copperfield, we agree on #2 as Dombey and Son, and then for me it's Bleak House, Our Mutual Friend and #5 is Little Dorrit.
Very good. I've read Chuzzlewit, Rudge, and Bleak House. Wasn't sure what I'd try next. From what you said in this, I think I'll read Little Dorrit next. Thank you.
Your voice is sharp and tinny. It is unpleasant to old people. Sorry, it sounds like you are really knowledgeable about Dickens, but I just cannot listen.
Hi! Jane here. I am a great fan of Charles Dickens. We read Great Expectations in class in the 9th grade and I thought it was tremendous. I am a gramma now, and have read all of his novels and Christmas stories that I know of except Martin Chuzzlewit. Barnaby Runge did not get finished; one day I must complete it. My favorite Dickens is Dombey and Son. Florence is a great character, and like Nell in Old Curiosity Shop, has far too much weight on her shoulders. Florence has never known a gentle mom, and she only has little Paul to love. And in spite of all that she presses on. A tender scene for me is when she watches the neighbor family happy together, from her sad little window. The ending is so beautiful, as the pain of the past is healed by the change in old Dombey. I loved it. Bleak House, and our Mutual Friend share next best status with Little Dorrit and Old Curiosity Shop right behind them. Charles Dickens is such a great writer! Thanks for sharing with your lovely channel!
Wow. You are a Dickens savant. I have read Oliver Twist and Great Expectations recently and both were excellent. You have enticed me to read more.....Thanks!
I really really love and adore your videos! They absolutely make my day. Your excitement is contagious. I' m studying literature and currently reading Hard Times. It's my fist Dickens. As I grow older I find it I can read Dickens. I used to think it was too difficult for me, too many characters and storylines. I'm going to try reading your top novels. I'm sure at any point I will find myself reading Our mutual friend alongside the videos you made analysing it. Thanks for sharing and for everything you do!
A very good review. We have very similar taste. My personal favorite is Dombey and Son. I have never seen anyone rate it as highly as you have here. It's so fun to see someone else appreciates it as much as I. Well done.
David Copperfield was my gateway to Dickens, but my 2nd book was Dombey & Son; and now after reading all but 2 of his finished novels, Dombey & Son remains in my Top 3! (I'm currently doing a re-read of it.) It's a wonderful, wonderful book.
I adore A Christmas Carol and reread it every year, but other than that I have only read four Dickens noves I think. I remember loving David Copperfield. I need to read more by him and really enjoyed your ranking of his novels.
Love this vid. I'm reading Dickens every December, and so far my faves are Bleak House, Great Expectations, and David Copperfield. I have yet to read your top three and will start with those next. Thanks!
This was a fun video. Having only read 4 Dickens novels, there are plenty more to be explored. Your “author fortnight” video reviews were great guides for reading Hardy, Dickens, the Brontes and of course Jane Austen. For any folks new to this channel, I wholeheartedly recommend they look them up.
I just finished "David Copperfield" last night a. I absolutely loved it. I've got a lot more Dickens to read I've read A lot of Charles Dickens works but clearly not enough I'm gonna work on reading his entire catalog. I absolutely loved this video I really enjoyed it thank you.
Wow that’s a lot of enthusiasm for Dickens. Well done. My fav is Bleak House, followed by Great Expectations. I liked Nicholas Nickelby because it was fun and mostly light. Hard Times bored me the most. I agree with your criticisms of Oliver Twist. And finally, I was expecting something more from Tale of Two Cities.
Very energetic, no wonder you got tired at the end!lol I'm actually "doing all the dickens".. I've listen to the Audiobook read by Dave Timson for Our Mutual Friend, ... amazing! Characters' voice adds so much to the story when they are done well, especially with a Character focused Author like Dickens. I've also received the book, ... on my next 5 readings... Right on top of the Dickens with... for me different than you... Oliver Twist! Thanks for your video, very entertaining!
I've read A Christmas Carol, Hard Times, A Tale of Two Cities, and right now, I'm reading A House to Let. I think my next will be Great Expectations, due to your praise of it!
Ohhh brilliant video thank you.i have passed this on to my husband, who is in a Dickens odyssey right now. Sorry I missed your earlier ranking. I will go back and watch.i am so enthused to read and reread Dickens for the rest of 2020. I haven’t read Dombey and son... so yippppeeee
Great video as always Katie. I tried to read Dombsey and son twice and DNF(ed) in both times. Hope one day will pick it up again and manage to finish it. I am more a plot kind of reader so when you said that Tale of two cities is focused more on the plot, you get my interes. Hopefully I will pick it up very soon.
Today I finished Our Mutual Friend, wholly on your recommendation as I wasn’t aware of it before. Totally agree with you on the tremendous characters, and of course there are many others you didn’t mention, like the villains Riderhood and Wegg! The one thing I’ll add is that there are several deaths in the book; Dickens handles each of them differently and often beautifully, from the internecine struggle between Headstone and Riderhood, Betty’s painfully noble exit, to orphaned Johnny, the baby who gives away his possessions before he dies! Superb. Thanks for the tip.
I love Hard Times. I'm hoping to read more Dickens very soon, and your enthusiasm helps with this. I feel as if many people remember movie scenes from Oliver quite vividly, and expect to love the novel. When/if they don't, it probably deters them from exploring further books by Charles Dickens, as they had assumed it would be the best and most accessible. In fact, A Christmas Carol is perhaps better, if readers want to start with a familiar story.
Thanks! I always think Oliver Twist isn't a great place to start with Dickens - A Christmas Carol is a much better place to start, actually. I really love A Christmas Carol!
Great summary. I agree with you that Dickens can be quite prolix but…always profound. I’m not where you are at now but I’ve made my way through A Christmas Carol, Great Expectations, Martin Chuzzlewit and am currently reading Nicholas Nickleby. Great Expectations is my current favorite. The character of Estella really pulls at the heart strings as she develops even up to the very end of the novel.
I absolutely love hearing your enthusiasm for Dickens. I have decided to make 2024 the year of reading Dickens. I am almost finished with Great Expectations. I started it because I wanted to try Dickens on my exploration of great classics. It was good, then 2/3 of the way through it totally hooked me!
Haven’t even watched the video yet, but I’ve been considering getting into Dickens, and when I saw your thumbnail with books with cracked spines that have clearly ACTUALLY been read a time or two, I was like “that’s the person whose opinion I want on this matter!” lol
Such an interesting video, Katie! I’m watching the series ‘Dickensian’ right now and I’m trying to figure out from which books the characters are, haha. I really like the Bleak House characters, so that one might go on my tbr. Our Mutual Friends sounds really interesting!
Dickensian is really interesting - I got half way through but must finish it sometime! I think Mr Wegg is the only Dickensian character from Our Mutual Friend - bit of a random one to pick, but there we go!
I think that Oliver is an interesting character because of his flaws. He is the first child protagonist ever, at least in high modern fiction, and really sets the tone for later child characters penned from dickens through c s Lewis to j k Rowling
Thanks for the opinions, and to each his own. My rankings would be much different with David Copperfield and Great Expectations in the first two positions, and The Old Curiosity Shop, Martin Chuzzlewit and The Pickwick Papers in the last 3 positions. Otherwise, the novels placed high here., I generally agree with and likewise many of the lower ranked ones -- except for Nicholas Nickleby.
My only experience with Dickens is A Christmas Carol and the first few pages of The Pickwick Papers. The one that interests me the most is Bleak House, maybe because getting to the end of a court case is about as complicated today as it was 100 years ago.
It would be so interesting to consider how Dickens would deal with our current technological revolution (thinking of his social critique of Hard Times)
So happy Hard Times rose in the rankings. I read it for the first time this year and loved it, although I’m glad I read Gaskell’s North and South first to give me a broader perspective on the same issues. My husband’s a horse racing steward so I can’t help noticing the race cards that cross my path. Sadly Betsey Trotter came last in her race but Daniel Deronda came third this week. I think it’s wonderful that these names are used and that they might catch someone’s interest to explore Victorian literature. Deb
Ha each to their own. I adore Our Mutual Friend. I sometimes feel like Great Expectations is a bit different to other Dickens, and some people who adore Great Expectations don't get on so well with other Dickens books.
It would be interesting to see how you rank the novels when you are 10 or 20 years older. I know that my opinions have changed with age. I'm now 71 and just discovered Hard Times. The only other that I haven't read or seen is Barnaby Rudge. I think my favorite characters are both from Nicholas Nickleby, aunt Betsy Trotwood and Mr. McCawber. I had a family member name a town in Ohio after her.
I loved the ending of A Tale of Two Cities too! It is a far, far better thing I do than I have ever done before. It is a far, far better rest I go, than I have ever known.
I just finished Dombey and Son! It’s amazing!! Amazing! Bleak House was my previous favourite but this now takes top spot! Captain Cuttle had me laughing out loud.
I’m reading a tale of two cities next week and I’m more excited about it now. I plan to read our mutual friend at the start of next year and need to find dombey and son. I did think Oliver Twist was good but it’s not as good as David copperfield which is my favourite or great expectations which I also enjoyed 😊
Some time ago I tried to read Little Dorrit, but just couldn’t get into it. Later I listened to the audio book and really enjoyed it. Now I’m coming back to try reading Dickens again and I’ve got your top 2 favourites to try! I’ve read the first chapter of Our mutual friend, so I’ll probably also read the first chapter of Domby and son and then make a decision which to read first.
I love your break down and ranking of the books, and subscribed. I did want to mention that your microphone echos a bit if it hasn’t been brought to your attention yet, and make it a bit difficult to hear you thoroughly at times.
I'm late to this video but love your list. I also love Dombey and Son, and I cried copious tears over the alteration in Mr. Dombey's character - more than I did over Scrooge. But not as many as I did over the death of Jo in Bleak House (that scene did me in) or Smike in Nicholas Nickleby. I ADORE Besty Trotwood - she may be my favorite Dickens character - though I'm also very fond of Dick Swiveler and Jolly Mark Tapley. But there are so many wonderful minor characters ... which makes all of the books worth reading. I don't dislike Oliver Twist as much as you do, but I think it's because like A Christmas Carol, I'd seen so many film and stage versions prior to encountering the text that I was predisposed to like it and to forgive its weaknesses.
Have you ever seen a first edition of Dickens? I managed to buy one from a used bookshop, the print size is extremely tiny and set in two columns per page. I haven't read it yet but the old cover design is the favourite of all that I own!
I have read various Dickens works and I have a love-hate relationship with him 😬 but can’t believe I still haven’t gotten to your top three will have to put them on my TBR 😉
Our Mutual Friend is also my favorite novel of all time! I could quibble with some of your choices as a fifty-year devoted Dickens reader, but I also predict that, as you age, your rankings will change to some degree. But OMF will--and should--stay at the top.
Yes, this video is a few years old, and I'm currently doing a reread of all of Dickens - very near the end now. I plan to make a new ranking when I'm done. Some of them have definitely moved around a little, although I think the top four remain firmly the same.
Listening to you talk about Oliver Twist, I had a visceral memory of playing an urchin in the musical Oliver 😂 I was in high school and already 5’8” so I don’t think it was convincing...
I just bought David Copperfield, I can’t wait to read it!!! I’ve only read Oliver Twist and Great Expectations, but I’m excited to read more of his work :) have you read The Mystery of Edwin Drood? Even though it’s unfinished, it sounds so intriguing!
I have indeed read The Mystery of Edwin Drood - I didn't rank it here as it's hard to compare, being only about half finished - but it is a great read!
Have you managed to read "Mystery of Edwin Drood?" Very different for Charles Dickens but I found it thoroughly enjoyable despite the fact that it was unfinished at his untimely death. A couple of authors have tried their hand at "finishing" the novel based on what they "think" Dickens would have done. Also, there is a delightful musical comedy titled "Drood" that you might want to watch. Very different approach than the novel but the main points are the same. Some very fine songs included as well. Happy reading!
My top 3 are 1. Our Mutual Friend, 2. Little Dorris, 3. Bleak House. Miriam Margoyles’ recording for Audible of Bleak House is for the ages. My wife and I B. C. (Before Children) read Our Mutual Friend aloud to each other over the course of about 9 months. The last two weeks we slept very little. Victorians read Dickens’ monthly parts to the family this way and doing so brings out another whole level of appreciation for the technique that helps you remember who’s who and what happened before.
My favourites are probably Oliver Twist, merely because the 1968 musical got me into reading the books! Then probably Our mutual friend, it’s a very complex story
A terrific summary. I am 72 years old and decided I have to read Dickens - so last year I started with the intention of reading all of them and I am currently on my 13th which is Barnaby Rudge. I have enjoyed all of them to different degrees. They take a while to get into but then you are hooked! The declaration of love in Our Mutual friend is one of the most memorable passages in any book in my view an absolutely amazing rendition of the discovery of love between two individuals.
Love how it is never too late to dive in!
Dickens has been my favourite writer ever since I was 13 years old and our teacher read us David Copperfield. I wrote both a MA thesis and a PhD dissertation on Dickens. More recently I wrote a prequel novel to Bleak House that should be in print soon. I really loved your enthusiastic presentation. Well done! Ralph Smith
I found that the speed that you talk was breathtaking and overwhelming to the point that I just wanted to slow you down, but what you had to say about Dickens novels and your enthusiasm for them was really compelling. I have always had great respect for Dickens as a writer (really because of movies based on his novels), but I can't recall that I've ever read any of his novels except A Christmas Carol. Now I will start reading him based on your reviews of your favorite Dickens novels. And I have just subscribed to your channel, so I look forward to hearing more lists of your favorite books!
Very interesting selection. You’ve stirred my curiosity. I now want to read Our Mutual Friend for sure!! Personally, my favourite is David Copperfield. I’m sure the critics would say Bleak House or Great Expectations, but for me DC has the biggest heart. It is the most vivid and alive of his novels. It also contains more memorable characters than most novelists manage in their whole career.
In Oliver Twist I think the side characters are supposed to be the main characters. I think dickens intentionally focused more on writing interesting side characters to shed light upon them.
I like Hard Times. You did an amazing job remembering so many characters from so many novels of Dickens.
If there’s one thing I enjoy almost as much as Dickens, it’s lists! Suffice to say, this particular video is one of my very favourite things on RUclips. 👌
For what it’s worth:
5. Great Expectations
4. Our Mutual Friend
3. Dombey And Son
2. David Copperfield
1. Bleak House
But your overwhelming enthusiasm leaves me tempted to align my order with yours! The power of suggestion and all that! :)
Keep up the amazing work. 👏
This is a brilliant journey through all of Dickens's novels, thank you. I recently complained to a friend of mine that I just wasn't enjoying reading anymore and he suggested I go back to Dickens. (Like you I love his work and have read all of his novels). I nearly started Dombey and Son because I read it so many years ago and have no memory of it, but chose David Copperfield instead. I will read Dombey and Son again this year on your recommendation. (Little Dorrit is my personal favourite.)
Thank you. A good honest and helpful review. I've just started reading Great Expectations and I'm loving it so much that I'm now thinking of which Dicken's book to read next. So your video has been very helpful! 😊
My top ten goes: 1. Pickwick papers 2. A tale of two cities 3. Little Dorrit 4. David Copperfield 5. Mystery of Edwin Drood 6. Nicholas Nickleby 7. Bleak House 8. Great expectations 9. Hard Times. I am currently reading/listening to Our Mutual Friend and this novel is certain be one of my favorites. I very much enjoyed this program and I so appreciate your enthusiasm for and knowledge of The Inimitable One!
Finally!!! Someone who has noted and lauded Tommy Traddles. I have always said that he is one of Dickens' greatest but least appreciated heroic characters.
He's the best!
@@katiejlumsden And let us not forget Martha. When Daniel Peggoty asked David -at the end when they were on the ship which was to take them to Australia - if he had forgotten anything, and David replied, "Martha." Daniel tapped the shoulder of a girl behind him and it was Martha. He was taking her with them. I totally lost it. It was the same effect as finding out who the man standing in the corner of the room was in _To Kill A Mockingbird_ it simply blew me away. Tears and smiles .. had to put the book down and take a walk around the room before I could pick it up again.
Love your enthusiasm regarding Dickens! Thank you for the reviews on each individual book……now I’ll have to read another Dickens book!
For me , so far I have read Great Expectations is my personal favorite Charles Dickens book. Good to see your list, I am thankful to you for suggesting Hard Times!
Patty- my favorite was Great Expectations. I had to read in my first year of high-school. It is still my favorite. I loved Joe, the woman he marries later in the story and how Pip's character grows throughout the book. I love Dickens period but I think this book will always be my favorite.
What a fabulous video. I just finished a re-read of Great Expectations today and I am still a little breathless from its brilliance. I also LOVE Our Mutual Friend and am looking forward to reading Dombey for the first time this Victober! Thank you!
I've just found your channel and love your content!❤
I don't have any friends who like to read classics so finding someone who voices their opinions and shares interest in classics(especially ones by Charles Dickens and Jane Austen) made my day!
I learned about your channel through those original Dickens videos, and so this kinda felt like a nice nostalgia. Plus, I didn’t even know I needed this video as much as I do now until I read the notification for it. #MadeMyDay
Thanks so much :D And yes, felt weirdly nostalgic for me too.
Thank you so much for your brilliant analysis of Dickens's novels. Will definitely read Dombey & Son & Martin Chuzzlewit. Have read the others. Your enthusiasm is great !
Thanks!
Thanks for reminding me what a capacious universe Dickens has created. I am close to finishing my first reading of all of Dickens’ novels. I did two of your read-alongs: Bleak House and Our Mutual Friend - which we’re both great . . . I have just one novel remaining, Martin Chuzzlewit . . . but honestly I had forgotten what an unbelievable variety of characters are featured in his books! The scope is just stunning. It is hard to measure the vitality of these characters. They are really like nothing else in literature - completely unique and utterly distinctive . . .
Thanks very much! Dickens is just a great author. I hope you enjoy Martin Chuzzlewit :)
My favorites are DOMBEY AND SON and BLEAK HOUSE, least loved HARD TIMES. Dickens' women are less developed and lack the depth he allows his male characters but all his books are super.
David Lean has done justice to Oliver Twist. There are boys who are like Oliver - shy and frightened. Characters are so different in Dickens’ novels that each of his work is a masterpiece.
Loved this and your enthusiasm is so infectious! I have quite a few novels of Dickens left to read but this has made me really excited to get to them 😊
Thanks so much Gemma :)
I loved this video! I also love Dickens. I’ve read all 14 of his completed novels, and Dombey and Son is my favorite. It’s so so good!
This was really fun to see your rankings! I have Old Curiosity Shop, Bleak House, and Great Expectations on my owned-TBR pile, so I’m glad to see all three of them are fairly high up on your list!
Hope you enjoy them all!
Our mutual friend is also one of my favourite books (not just of Charles Dickens). What I Iove so much is while it has it's bleak moments, unlike a lot of his other work it has so much variety in character, setting and theme. It is such a well balanced book. Reading it again at the moment. I really want to get a nice leather cover hard copy version at some point.
Very interesting to hear your opinions. I really love Nicholas Nickelby. I enjoy the parts set in Yorkshire. They feel different to most other Dickens books. I also thinks some of the side characters are among his best, particularly the Crummies troupe.
The Infant Phenomenon!
Great job. I have only read David Copperfield but I absolutely adored it. You make me want to read your numbers 1-4 now.
So wonderful to hear all your thoughts about Dickens! I am amazed at how you are able to give a concise description of each book, because it is almost impossible to describe a Dicken's book since they are all so complex.
Thanks so much! It really is so hard to describe his books - I feel like I have to just pick one or two elements or characters as he has so many plots.
Once again, fantastic video! Thank you for all of your quality content. It's been a long, dark year here in the States, so a little literature break means a lot!
Thanks very much!
I love PICKWICK PAPERS !!!
I feel the same about Oliver Twist: you know you ought to sympathise with him but he does get on your nerves, doesn't he...😑
Fantastic video, cheers from a new subscriber from Poland 👍
Of the 2 novels I’ve read so far, Bleak House is my fave, but there are so many more to read. Yes, can find Dickens overly long,, but them I’m rewarded with some wonderful passages! You introduced me to him as I’d always been scared that I wouldn’t understand his writing. Thanks as always 💖
Thanks very much - Dickens is just so great :)
I read Dombey and Son based on your channel this month. It is by far my favorite Dickens at this point in my life. I mean, I’ve only read three, but still! It deserves more hype than it gets.
Yay, glad you enjoy Dombey and Son, it's SO good.
I'm just reading Our Mutual Friend now. I'm almost through the first of 4 parts and it is quite wonderful, hard to put down. Everything you say it is. Thanks for the suggestion.
Oh I am so pleased you made this video! You probably won't remember, but I commented a few months ago requesting a video in which you rank all of Dickens's novels! Thank you for doing this! You turned me onto Dickens, and prompted me to read Our Mutual Friend and Dombey and Son this summer. Cheers!
Thanks very much :) Hope you enjoyed Our Mutual Friends and Dombey and Son :)
I'm so happy with the French subtitles for this video. It's nice to be able to mix my hobby of language learning with my hobby of reading Victorian novels. If all of the videos from this channel have French subs, I'll be binge-watching them. 🌹 💕
Thanks for this updated/concise ranking... I always go back to your Dickens author week to check your rankings before I chose the next Dickens book to read so this makes things easy for me haha! The first Dickens I ever read was Oliver Twist and if I hadn't heard from you that it was your least favourite, I don't know if I would have continued on with him or just assumed he wasn't an author I enjoyed. Right now I'm struggling to decide my favourite Dickens between A Tale of Two Cities and Bleak House (although it could just be that those are the two that I read this year... I feel like every Dickens I finish I think is my favourite!).
Thanks very much! So glad you enjoy Dickens :)
Luckily our English teacher chose Dombey and Son for our A level book in the early 80s. He was a great teacher, but I learned many new things about the book from your videos. I remember my Dad telling me what a wonderful book Our Mutual Friend is and being surprised that he'd read it. Anyway, I'm inspired to read it now. We read a 'concise' David Copperfield at school. I'm reading the whole book now - marvellous.
I read great expectations first and lost interest along the way and felt a bit of an anti climax but I loved copperfield. David copperhead was fun. Each chapter and page, got you glued.
Fun to see someone else with the same top 5 even if they are in different order. My favourite is David Copperfield, we agree on #2 as Dombey and Son, and then for me it's Bleak House, Our Mutual Friend and #5 is Little Dorrit.
Good choices :D
Very good. I've read Chuzzlewit, Rudge, and Bleak House. Wasn't sure what I'd try next. From what you said in this, I think I'll read Little Dorrit next. Thank you.
You have REALLY made me want to read Dombey and Son!
Oh you must, it's so good!
Your voice is sharp and tinny. It is unpleasant to old people. Sorry, it sounds like you are really knowledgeable about Dickens, but I just cannot listen.
Hi! Jane here. I am a great fan of Charles Dickens. We read Great Expectations in class in the 9th grade and I thought it was tremendous. I am a gramma now, and have read all of his novels and Christmas stories that I know of except Martin Chuzzlewit. Barnaby Runge did not get finished; one day I must complete it. My favorite Dickens is Dombey and Son. Florence is a great character, and like Nell in Old Curiosity Shop, has far too much weight on her shoulders. Florence has never known a gentle mom, and she only has little Paul to love. And in spite of all that she presses on. A tender scene for me is when she watches the neighbor family happy together, from her sad little window. The ending is so beautiful, as the pain of the past is healed by the change in old Dombey. I loved it.
Bleak House, and our Mutual Friend share next best status with Little Dorrit and Old Curiosity Shop right behind them. Charles Dickens is such a great writer! Thanks for sharing with your lovely channel!
Hi! Sounds like you have great Dickens taste :) Dombey and Son is just so amazing.
Wow. You are a Dickens savant. I have read Oliver Twist and Great Expectations recently and both were excellent. You have enticed me to read more.....Thanks!
Thanks very much :)
I really really love and adore your videos! They absolutely make my day. Your excitement is contagious. I' m studying literature and currently reading Hard Times. It's my fist Dickens. As I grow older I find it I can read Dickens. I used to think it was too difficult for me, too many characters and storylines. I'm going to try reading your top novels. I'm sure at any point I will find myself reading Our mutual friend alongside the videos you made analysing it. Thanks for sharing and for everything you do!
Thanks so much for your comment :) I hope you enjoy the rest of Hard Times.
A very good review. We have very similar taste. My personal favorite is Dombey and Son. I have never seen anyone rate it as highly as you have here. It's so fun to see someone else appreciates it as much as I. Well done.
Dombey and Son is SUCH a wonderful Dickens novel, and so underrated.
David Copperfield was my gateway to Dickens, but my 2nd book was Dombey & Son; and now after reading all but 2 of his finished novels, Dombey & Son remains in my Top 3! (I'm currently doing a re-read of it.) It's a wonderful, wonderful book.
Dombey and Son is just so good.
I adore A Christmas Carol and reread it every year, but other than that I have only read four Dickens noves I think. I remember loving David Copperfield. I need to read more by him and really enjoyed your ranking of his novels.
I hope you like more Dickens as you read more. A Christmas Carol is so great.
Love this vid. I'm reading Dickens every December, and so far my faves are Bleak House, Great Expectations, and David Copperfield. I have yet to read your top three and will start with those next. Thanks!
Very good favourites :) Hope you enjoy my top three too!
This was a fun video. Having only read 4 Dickens novels, there are plenty more to be explored. Your “author fortnight” video reviews were great guides for reading Hardy, Dickens, the Brontes and of course Jane Austen. For any folks new to this channel, I wholeheartedly recommend they look them up.
Thanks so much :)
Thank you for this video! I'm thinking of reading Dickens in 2021. I'm setting up my reading goals today :)
Enjoy!
I just finished "David Copperfield" last night a. I absolutely loved it. I've got a lot more Dickens to read I've read A lot of Charles Dickens works but clearly not enough I'm gonna work on reading his entire catalog. I absolutely loved this video I really enjoyed it thank you.
It's such a great book!
Wow that’s a lot of enthusiasm for Dickens. Well done. My fav is Bleak House, followed by Great Expectations. I liked Nicholas Nickelby because it was fun and mostly light. Hard Times bored me the most. I agree with your criticisms of Oliver Twist. And finally, I was expecting something more from Tale of Two Cities.
So much enthusiasm for Dickens! Bleak House is a very worthy favourite.
Very energetic, no wonder you got tired at the end!lol I'm actually "doing all the dickens".. I've listen to the Audiobook read by Dave Timson for Our Mutual Friend, ... amazing! Characters' voice adds so much to the story when they are done well, especially with a Character focused Author like Dickens. I've also received the book, ... on my next 5 readings... Right on top of the Dickens with... for me different than you... Oliver Twist! Thanks for your video, very entertaining!
I've read A Christmas Carol, Hard Times, A Tale of Two Cities, and right now, I'm reading A House to Let. I think my next will be Great Expectations, due to your praise of it!
Ohhh brilliant video thank you.i have passed this on to my husband, who is in a Dickens odyssey right now. Sorry I missed your earlier ranking. I will go back and watch.i am so enthused to read and reread Dickens for the rest of 2020. I haven’t read Dombey and son... so yippppeeee
Thanks very much - I promise Dombey and Son is so great :)
@@katiejlumsden I am reading it now...it is BRILLIANT
Ahhh Toots, it’s of no consequence, the least consequence of all. Dombey and Son is one of my favourite books ever.
Great video as always Katie. I tried to read Dombsey and son twice and DNF(ed) in both times. Hope one day will pick it up again and manage to finish it. I am more a plot kind of reader so when you said that Tale of two cities is focused more on the plot, you get my interes. Hopefully I will pick it up very soon.
Definitely A Tale of Two Cities is worth a try - it's a bit different.
Today I finished Our Mutual Friend, wholly on your recommendation as I wasn’t aware of it before. Totally agree with you on the tremendous characters, and of course there are many others you didn’t mention, like the villains Riderhood and Wegg! The one thing I’ll add is that there are several deaths in the book; Dickens handles each of them differently and often beautifully, from the internecine struggle between Headstone and Riderhood, Betty’s painfully noble exit, to orphaned Johnny, the baby who gives away his possessions before he dies! Superb. Thanks for the tip.
I love Hard Times. I'm hoping to read more Dickens very soon, and your enthusiasm helps with this. I feel as if many people remember movie scenes from Oliver quite vividly, and expect to love the novel. When/if they don't, it probably deters them from exploring further books by Charles Dickens, as they had assumed it would be the best and most accessible. In fact, A Christmas Carol is perhaps better, if readers want to start with a familiar story.
Thanks! I always think Oliver Twist isn't a great place to start with Dickens - A Christmas Carol is a much better place to start, actually. I really love A Christmas Carol!
Great summary.
I agree with you that Dickens can be quite prolix but…always profound.
I’m not where you are at now but I’ve made my way through A Christmas Carol, Great Expectations, Martin Chuzzlewit and am currently reading Nicholas Nickleby. Great Expectations is my current favorite. The character of Estella really pulls at the heart strings as she develops even up to the very end of the novel.
I absolutely love hearing your enthusiasm for Dickens. I have decided to make 2024 the year of reading Dickens. I am almost finished with Great Expectations. I started it because I wanted to try Dickens on my exploration of great classics. It was good, then 2/3 of the way through it totally hooked me!
Haven’t even watched the video yet, but I’ve been considering getting into Dickens, and when I saw your thumbnail with books with cracked spines that have clearly ACTUALLY been read a time or two, I was like “that’s the person whose opinion I want on this matter!” lol
I'd put both David Copperfield and Our Mutual Friend both at number one. I can't choose between them.
I'm French and your channel is really my favourite when it comes to English literature (which I love so much ❤) truly a happy place for me.
Thanks so much 😊
Such an interesting video, Katie! I’m watching the series ‘Dickensian’ right now and I’m trying to figure out from which books the characters are, haha. I really like the Bleak House characters, so that one might go on my tbr. Our Mutual Friends sounds really interesting!
Dickensian is really interesting - I got half way through but must finish it sometime! I think Mr Wegg is the only Dickensian character from Our Mutual Friend - bit of a random one to pick, but there we go!
@@katiejlumsden oh right, he’s the bar owner. Glad to hear you liked the first bits 🙂
Still have 6 to read, interesting choices.
Your time stamp reads ‘Zombie and Son’ 🤪. Didn’t know Dickens wrote about such things. 🍁
you should read the sequel he wrote in collaboration with a young and promising Bram Stoker: things get even scarier.
I'm listening to the audio book of David Copperfield narrated by Richard Armitage and I'm loving it so much! Also recently bought Little Dorrit
That is such a great audiobook.
I listened to Little Dorrit on audible. It was amazing. I’m here to figure out which of Dickens’ books to listen to next.
This was great. I love your enthusiasm! And I agree with your rankings.
I think that Oliver is an interesting character because of his flaws. He is the first child protagonist ever, at least in high modern fiction, and really sets the tone for later child characters penned from dickens through c s Lewis to j k Rowling
Love love love this. So pleased David Copperfield has shot up the rankings here 😀👍🏻 I really must read A Tale of Two Cities
David Copperfield is so great!
Thanks for the opinions, and to each his own. My rankings would be much different with David Copperfield and Great Expectations in the first two positions, and The Old Curiosity Shop, Martin Chuzzlewit and The Pickwick Papers in the last 3 positions. Otherwise, the novels placed high here., I generally agree with and likewise many of the lower ranked ones -- except for Nicholas Nickleby.
My only experience with Dickens is A Christmas Carol and the first few pages of The Pickwick Papers. The one that interests me the most is Bleak House, maybe because getting to the end of a court case is about as complicated today as it was 100 years ago.
I recommend trying Dickens again - Bleak House is great.
It would be so interesting to consider how Dickens would deal with our current technological revolution (thinking of his social critique of Hard Times)
I know, wouldn't that be great!
So happy Hard Times rose in the rankings. I read it for the first time this year and loved it, although I’m glad I read Gaskell’s North and South first to give me a broader perspective on the same issues.
My husband’s a horse racing steward so I can’t help noticing the race cards that cross my path. Sadly Betsey Trotter came last in her race but Daniel Deronda came third this week. I think it’s wonderful that these names are used and that they might catch someone’s interest to explore Victorian literature. Deb
Hard Times and North and South are definitely very interesting to compare.
Great Expectations is by far my favorite so far. I did not care for Our Mutual Friend at all, although as always your enthusiasm is contagious.
Ha each to their own. I adore Our Mutual Friend. I sometimes feel like Great Expectations is a bit different to other Dickens, and some people who adore Great Expectations don't get on so well with other Dickens books.
It would be interesting to see how you rank the novels when you are 10 or 20 years older. I know that my opinions have changed with age. I'm now 71 and just discovered Hard Times. The only other that I haven't read or seen is Barnaby Rudge. I think my favorite characters are both from Nicholas Nickleby, aunt Betsy Trotwood and Mr. McCawber. I had a family member name a town in Ohio after her.
I loved the ending of A Tale of Two Cities too! It is a far, far better thing I do than I have ever done before. It is a far, far better rest I go, than I have ever known.
And now I know which Dickens' novels to read next.
Do you have a favorite? I’d love your opinion.
Ha thanks Brian :)
I just finished Dombey and Son! It’s amazing!! Amazing! Bleak House was my previous favourite but this now takes top spot! Captain Cuttle had me laughing out loud.
Dombey and Son is just so great :)
I haven't read them all, but I think "Our mutual friend " is great!
Reading Martin Chuzzlewit right now. I've got to say, it's better than I thought it would be!
I’m reading a tale of two cities next week and I’m more excited about it now. I plan to read our mutual friend at the start of next year and need to find dombey and son. I did think Oliver Twist was good but it’s not as good as David copperfield which is my favourite or great expectations which I also enjoyed 😊
Thanks, Emily! Hope you enjoy Our Mutual Friend :)
Some time ago I tried to read Little Dorrit, but just couldn’t get into it. Later I listened to the audio book and really enjoyed it. Now I’m coming back to try reading Dickens again and I’ve got your top 2 favourites to try! I’ve read the first chapter of Our mutual friend, so I’ll probably also read the first chapter of Domby and son and then make a decision which to read first.
I love your break down and ranking of the books, and subscribed.
I did want to mention that your microphone echos a bit if it hasn’t been brought to your attention yet, and make it a bit difficult to hear you thoroughly at times.
I have only read A Tale of Two Cities which I really enjoyed so I look forward to reading more Dickens
Enjoy more Dickens :)
Oh I plan too. I have a Bleak House on my immediate TBR, dunno if I’ll get to it in Victober but there’s always November
I'm late to this video but love your list. I also love Dombey and Son, and I cried copious tears over the alteration in Mr. Dombey's character - more than I did over Scrooge. But not as many as I did over the death of Jo in Bleak House (that scene did me in) or Smike in Nicholas Nickleby. I ADORE Besty Trotwood - she may be my favorite Dickens character - though I'm also very fond of Dick Swiveler and Jolly Mark Tapley. But there are so many wonderful minor characters ... which makes all of the books worth reading. I don't dislike Oliver Twist as much as you do, but I think it's because like A Christmas Carol, I'd seen so many film and stage versions prior to encountering the text that I was predisposed to like it and to forgive its weaknesses.
Dombey and Son is just such a wonderful and powerful novel :) Jo's death in Bleak House is definitely another of Dickens's most moving scenes!
I have only read Great expectations and i absolutely loved it what other book would you suggest me to go in with.
David Copperfield :)
@@katiejlumsden Thankyou🤍❤
Have you ever seen a first edition of Dickens? I managed to buy one from a used bookshop, the print size is extremely tiny and set in two columns per page. I haven't read it yet but the old cover design is the favourite of all that I own!
I've seen some in bookshops :)
@@katiejlumsden In another of your videos, when you showed us your antique book collection, it looked like you do own two or three first editions. 👍🏻
Bleak House (by far my favourite), David Copperfield, Little Dorrit, Our Mutual Friend, Great Expectations and then more or less all the rest.
Dickens is just so great.
The Nonesuch press editions released a few years ago are really lovely editions of some of Dickens best novels.
Thanks, I'll have a look!
I have read various Dickens works and I have a love-hate relationship with him 😬 but can’t believe I still haven’t gotten to your top three will have to put them on my TBR 😉
I highly recommend my top-three, obviously :)
I've now only read two Dickens, David Copperfield and Hard Times. Looking forward to reading them all! My plan is to try and get to 1 a year.
Hope you enjoy more Dickens :)
Our Mutual Friend is also my favorite novel of all time! I could quibble with some of your choices as a fifty-year devoted Dickens reader, but I also predict that, as you age, your rankings will change to some degree. But OMF will--and should--stay at the top.
Yes, this video is a few years old, and I'm currently doing a reread of all of Dickens - very near the end now. I plan to make a new ranking when I'm done. Some of them have definitely moved around a little, although I think the top four remain firmly the same.
Love Dickens! I only have 2 novels left to read, but so far Our Mutual Friend and Bleak House are my favourites.
Hope you enjoy your final two :) Glad to hear you love Our Mutual Friend too.
Listening to you talk about Oliver Twist, I had a visceral memory of playing an urchin in the musical Oliver 😂 I was in high school and already 5’8” so I don’t think it was convincing...
Haha! Oliver the musical is so little like the book.
I just bought David Copperfield, I can’t wait to read it!!!
I’ve only read Oliver Twist and Great Expectations, but I’m excited to read more of his work :) have you read The Mystery of Edwin Drood? Even though it’s unfinished, it sounds so intriguing!
I have indeed read The Mystery of Edwin Drood - I didn't rank it here as it's hard to compare, being only about half finished - but it is a great read!
Have you managed to read "Mystery of Edwin Drood?" Very different for Charles Dickens but I found it thoroughly enjoyable despite the fact that it was unfinished at his untimely death. A couple of authors have tried their hand at "finishing" the novel based on what they "think" Dickens would have done. Also, there is a delightful musical comedy titled "Drood" that you might want to watch. Very different approach than the novel but the main points are the same. Some very fine songs included as well. Happy reading!
My top 3 are 1. Our Mutual Friend, 2. Little Dorris, 3. Bleak House. Miriam Margoyles’ recording for Audible of Bleak House is for the ages. My wife and I B. C. (Before Children) read Our Mutual Friend aloud to each other over the course of about 9 months. The last two weeks we slept very little. Victorians read Dickens’ monthly parts to the family this way and doing so brings out another whole level of appreciation for the technique that helps you remember who’s who and what happened before.
My favourites are probably Oliver Twist, merely because the 1968 musical got me into reading the books! Then probably Our mutual friend, it’s a very complex story
Best comment ever: Oliver Twist is not a child; he’s a man who cries all the time.
LOL I loved it.
Ha thank you. Pretty sure I've said that in like five videos now because the thought entertains me too XD
Love Dombey and Son and Our Mutual Friend. Little Dorrit as well.
Top 3
1. Bleak House
2. Pickwick Papers
3. Great Expectations
Good choices :)