{"product_id":"9781101215432","title":"Charles Dickens: A Life","description":"With the delectable wit, unforgettable characters, and challenging themes that have won her a Pulitzer Prize and national bestseller status, \u003cb\u003eJane Smiley\u003c\/b\u003e naturally finds a kindred spirit in the author of classics such as \u003cb\u003eGreat Expectations\u003c\/b\u003e and \u003cb\u003eA Christmas Carol\u003c\/b\u003e. As \"his novels shaped his life as much as his life shaped his novels,\" Smiley's \u003cb\u003eCharles Dickens\u003c\/b\u003e is at once a sensitive profile of the great master and a fascinating meditation on the writing life.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eSmiley evokes Dickens as he might have seemed to his contemporaries: convivial, astute, boundlessly energetic-and lionized. As she makes clear, Dickens not only led the action-packed life of a prolific writer, editor, and family man but, balancing the artistic and the commercial in his work, he also consciously sustained his status as one of the first modern \"celebrities.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003eCharles Dickens\u003c\/b\u003e offers brilliant interpretations of almost all the major works, an exploration of his narrative techniques and his innovative voice and themes, and a reflection on how his richly varied lower-class cameos sprang from an experience and passion more personal than his public knew.  Smiley's own \"demon narrative intelligence\" (\u003cb\u003eThe Boston Globe\u003c\/b\u003e) touches, too, on controversial details that include Dickens's obsession with money and squabbles with publishers, his unhappy marriage, and the rumors of an affair.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Here is a fresh look at the dazzling personality of a verbal magician and the fascinating times behind the classics we read in school and continue to enjoy today.","brand":"Penguin Publishing Group","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47127939973360,"sku":"9781101215432","price":4.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/9781101215432_p0.jpg?v=1763686784","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/9781101215432","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}