Chesterton’s Biography of Dickens " If democracy has disappointed you, do not think of it as a burst bubble, but at least as a broken heart, an old love-affair. "

From Chesterton’s Biography of Dickens

By: Devin O'Donnell

First let us sympathise, if only for an instant, with the hopes of the Dickens period, with that cheerful trouble of change. If democracy has disappointed you, do not think of it as a burst bubble, but at least as a broken heart, an old love-affair. Do not sneer at the time when the creed of humanity was on its honeymoon; treat it with the dreadful reverence that is due to youth. For you, perhaps, a drearier philosophy has covered and eclipsed the earth. The fierce poet of the Middle Ages wrote, "Abandon hope, all ye who enter here," over the gates of the lower world. The emancipated poets of to-day have written it over the gates of this world. But if we are to understand the story which follows, we must erase that apocalyptic writing, if only for an hour. We must recreate the faith of our fathers, if only as an artistic atmosphere If, then, you are a pessimist, in reading this story, forego for a little the pleasures of pessimism. Dream for one mad moment that the grass is green. Unlearn that sinister learning that you think so clear; deny that deadly knowledge that you think you know. Surrender the very flower of your culture; give up the very jewel of your pride; abandon hopelessness, all ye who enter here.

– G. K. C. from Charles Dickens, Chapter I.

Source: www.circeinstitute.org

Gilbert Keith Chesterton

Charles Dickens

PART ONE

CHAPTER I
THE DICKENS PERIOD
CHAPTER II
THE BOYHOOD OF DICKENS
CHAPTER III
THE YOUTH OF DICKENS
CHAPTER IV
"THE PICKWICK PAPERS"
CHAPTER V
THE GREAT POPULARITY
CHAPTER VI
DICKENS AND AMERICA

PART TWO

CHAPTER VII
DICKENS AND CHRISTMAS
CHAPTER VIII
THE TIME OF TRANSITION
CHAPTER IX
LATER LIFE AND WORKS
CHAPTER X
THE GREAT DICKENS CHARACTERS
CHAPTER XI
ON THE ALLEGED OPTIMISM OF DICKENS
CHAPTER XII
A NOTE ON THE FUTURE OF DICKENS