Something Missing

Came across a fascinating article on Dickens and his relationship with his wife over at the TLS today. The Inimitable doesn't come out of it very well but, let's face it, he treated poor Catherine abominably towards the end of their marriage and it's impossible to find any kind of excuse for his behaviour. I was horrified that he actually tried to have her admitted to an asylum, but not at all surprised. Once again we are reminded of what a strange man he was - a point made powerfully, if repetitively, in Peter Ackroyd's superb biography.

All this has made me feel like reading Ackroyd on Dickens again, something I'm not likely to do in the near future, I'm afraid, and, more to the point, it's made me feel like reading Dickens again. The thing is, though, that I've read all the novels, one or two more than once, and I'm not at all sure what to try and get on with (later in the year, possibly.) It struck me a while ago that I've never read American Notes and that's a hefty enough tome to getting on with. No real story though.

Thinking of re-reading a novel, I think I should go for the middle period, before the out and out great ones from the 1850s. Maybe The Old Curiosity Shop? I remember finding it a peculiar read in many ways, which is always a good sign. Not sure I have a copy now, though. The Penguin edition I read originally isn't on the shelves in Maison KL, I'm pretty sure. I guess somebody took it when my books were at Tony and Ann's place. Hope they enjoyed reading it.