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Old 10-04-2009, 05:53 AM   #15
Sparrow
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Quote:
Originally Posted by neilmarr View Post
One of many, many strong points to Dickens' work, I reckon, is that he originally wrote in serial form for newspapers -- so not a single chapter/episode could be allowed to drag in the least; every thread had to be left intriguingly dangling to keep readers buying by the edition. Then, when the novels were compiled in book form, that feeling of 'never a dull moment' made them hugely popular.
While that's generally true, I think it was a weakness in 'The Pickwick Papers'; where it seems that he kept chucking in chapters that had nothing to do with the story - presumably the imminent deadline made him use stuff he already had to hand.

I used to regard 'Pickwick' as my favourite Dickens, but a rereading a few years ago made me aware that these chapters were serious flaws in the book.
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