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9780199681280

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<br> Offers a detailed study of the Dickenses' family home and its surrounding neighborhood, as well as an evocative and damning portrait of Britain's de-facto 'prison system to punish poverty.' --New Yorker<br><p><br> Gives an intimately evoked view of Dickens's childhood and the New Poor Law of 1834 by which workhouses became 'a sort of prison system to punish (the poor).' --Joyce Carol Oates, New York Review of Books<br><p><br> By sprinkling a fairy dust of creativity and imagination over mundane primary sources like maps, rate books, directories and newspapers, [Richardson] has breathed new life into Dickens's early years...This is a delight of a book, fresh and stimulating. --Dickens Quarterly<p><br> Ruth Richardson's fascinating new book takes Oliver Twist as its subject and tells the story of her recent discovery that Dickens grew up only a few doors from the major London workhouse that inspired both the novel and, likely, the novelist's passion for social justice. Showing a deep understanding of the history of cities, the history of city planning, architecture, sociology and even sight-lines, this book is a detailed account of the boy Dickens's neighborhood and its possible influences upon him. --America Magazine<p><br>

[Richardson] conjures up vivid images of poverty-stricken Victorian London and deepens our understanding of the sense of outrage that compelled Dickens to bring the predicament of the poor to wider attention. Glasgow Herald It is a lively, compassionate, and revealing account of the man and his times. Lesley McDowell , Independent on Sunday Intriguing volume Daily Mail Richardson's enthusiasm for her subject shines throughout this hugely engaging and informative book BBC History Magazine The important discoveries in this surprising book come from an intimate knowledge of Dickens and London, coupled with a historian's passion. We're seized by the hand of a detective and walked into Dickens's world. Unputdownable. Miriam Margolyes The book offers a detailed study of the Dickens's family home and its surrounding neighbourhood, as well as an evocative and damning portrait of Britain's de-facto 'prison system to punish poverty'. New Yorker Gives an intimately evoked view of Dickens's childhood and the New Poor Law of 1834 by which workhouses became 'a sort of prison system to punish [the poor]. New York Review of Books Pulls off that rare combination of a perfectly and thoroughly executed piece of academic research whilst remaining not only immensely readable but positively compelling ... this book is wonderful. London Historians

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Ruth Richardson is a historian and the author of a number of books. The Wall Street Journal described her last book, The Making of Mr. Gray's Anatomy (Oxford University Press) as 'one of those rarities, history that reads like a novel'. That book won the 2009 Medical Journalists' Open Book Award.

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