Dickens and Lawson

[Stephen Whiteside]

Thanks for that, Marty. Looks like it will be very helpful.

Interesting comments, Maureen. (Why did you persevere with it?)

[Maureen K Clifford]

The illustrations were drawn by my great Uncle Luke Fildes - up until about 6 months or so when I started doing our family tree I had never even heard of this book much less knew that Luke had been the illustrator. I had sourced and bought the book so was determined to read the blasted thing.

Interestingly - not - the introduction was 35 pages long followed by an additional 8 pages of notes the appendix spanned from pages 273 to 381. The actual story was only 196 pages long and every page heavily annotated with references - personally I hate when you have to keep checking to see what the author is on about so it pretty well had lost me in the first 10 pages - but I had to get value for my money - so I read it...but never again. It will now just be a family keepsake and conversation piece.

Both Luke and Charles were heavily into social reform. Luke was bought up by his Grandmother and she was a suffragette.

[croc]

...
You put up with it Maureen because you are a stalwart when it comes to drudgery. How close is that for a guess.
...c

[Stephen Whiteside]

Very interesting.

[Maureen K Clifford]

croc- pigheaded and stubborn sprang to mind - or as my old Dad would have said - once she gets the bit between her teeth there's no stopping her - she's like a dog with a bone Animals feature in my life

[Vic Jefferies]

Little late Stephen but if you read Lawson's poem "With Dickens" you will see that he nominates Dickens as his favourite author.

"...Some seek religion in their grief,
And some for friendship yearn,
Some fly to liquor for relief,
But I to Dickens turn.
I find him ever fresh and new,
his lessons ever plain;
And every line that Dickens wrote
I've read and read again."

"...My favourite author's heroes I
Should love, but somehow can't.
I don't like David Copperfield
As much as David's Aunt.....

It is also known that one of Lawson's school teachers (Mr Kevans) regularly read Dickens works to Henry's class and that Mrs Byers, Lawson's long time land lady and carer possessed a complete set of Dickens' works.

However, I think Henry's mother Louisa and his mother in law both of whom were avowed and pro active socialists and the people who surrounded them probably had a great influence upon Henry and his writing. Mary Cameron (Dame Mary Gilmore) and many of those who set of for South America to establish the new Utopia were well know to Henry.

Vic Jefferies

[Stephen Whiteside]

Very interesting. Thanks, Vic.