Evening star., 1934-05-22
THIS AND THAT
BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL.

/ row, any more than Forster's Life"
has.
The real Charles Dickens, best Of
him, is here in this row. and we must
never forget that. His conduct to his
wife was inexcusable, especially in the
time of Victoria. No doubt that had
something to do with the fact that
he was never knighted.
81 +
The real Charles Dickens, however,
the one the world remembers, lies
forever before us on the bookshelves
of the world.
His amazing vitality still makes
what he wrote news" but this row
of books is the real Dickens, the one
we remember and the one we read.
The smart alecs of the postwar
period tried to s4uelch him forever.
but failed miserably, and he Is today
more alive as an author than ever.
The way to like Dickens is not
hard 1t simply requires that one
read him without preconceived ideas
of how novels ought to be written.
Those who make up their minds in
advance that the work of some other
4 duJllOI, "LICllICl oSottS TAI15CAoA Va
| Hemingway, or who else, is the cri-
terion, might as we'll let Dickens
alone, because they will not like him.
They have not liked him.
And because they did not, they re-
sented the perfect aplomb with which
| mis- books held up under the pressure
of time and their petty scorn. They
tried to laugh them and him out OF
existence. That campaign still con-
tinues, but it does not attract the at
tention it did when the younger In
tellectuals thought themselves pretty
smart in defying all things "Vic-
torian," with them a term of reproach.
The year 1929 somehow made their
rewritten David Copperfield" nearer
to his hearts desire-but who cares?
X X X
The real "Copperfield" is the one
Charles Dickens wrote.
1t is curious how remarkably stub
born the Dickens "fan" remains in
the face of the criticism of those who
could not do as well.
We like Dickens because he is Dick
CIlS, d4Id ClloC 40 cGlJ 4ll5 a 6ANoL ANoAs
We like him because he wrote as
he wanted to write, without apology
to anybody then, and surely with
none to any one alive today.
His Life of Our Lord" shows anew,
II there were any need for it. that
he was an artist with words, although
his method Of artistry may not be
your method.
A writer who loved the flourish, he
put none of them in this brochure. A
writer who somehow managed to
build up his scenes, he made no
attempt to embroider these scenes.
When he wrote his "Child's History
Of England" for these same children
he was not above adding, out of his
own mind, some pretty terrible details,
but in this little book he made no at
tempt to indulge in that superfuity
of words which was, at times, vice
with him.
Hence the Life of Our Lord" shows
a restraint in the telling which few of
his other works show, and this comes
about because he was doing some
thing he seldom did copy, from the
work OF one who had gone before.
His own thoughts, very few, are simple
and to the point, appealing TO the
child in all of US, that simplicity of
mind without which, we are told. none
of us can hope to enter heaven
If you are lover of Dickens
and we are mighty host-get copy
of this little book The very purchase
will be carrying forward the drama
of life which was so dear to him.
And the sight of it on your shelves
will somehow warm your heart, not
only because it is a fine example of
bookmaking. but simply because it
bears a magic name-Charles Dickens.