Great British Literature – Bleak House
I’m happy to introduce you to a new guest blogger, Gareth Watkins, who describes himself as ” a sometime writer who spends far too much time reading.” Gareth has kindly agreed to take up the challenge of schooling us on some great works in British literature. When not on SBB, you can find him at his home in the blogosphere, Let Me Know How That Goes.
For my first post about a classic British novel, I wanted to try and strike a balance. I didn’t want to choose a book so well-known as to be almost clichéd, but I also didn’t want to choose something too oblique and end up looking pretentious.
And so I’ve gone for Bleak House (1853), by Charles Dickens. Of course, Dickens isn’t exactly unheard-of, but Bleak House wouldn’t be the first of his novels that comes to mind for most people. Which is odd, in my opinion, as I consider it his best. It’s certainly my favourite Dickens novel, and one of my favourite novels of all time – so where better to start?
Like most of Dickens’ novels, Bleak House was originally published in serial form, in nineteen installments (personally, I’m quite sad we don’t really have proper serialisations anymore. Of course, we have TV instead, but I still like the idea).
As well as being a classic novel, it’s also one of the best mystery stories ever (it also features one of the first police detectives in British literature, Inspector Bucket). Mysteries were very popular with Victorian audiences due to their new found obsession with society and class: mysteries contrast characters’ public appearance with their secret personality and consciousness. And for a novelist like Dickens, who wanted to work with many (and I mean many) different characters from disparate areas of society and social levels, who wouldn’t normally meet and interact, a mystery plot was very useful in bringing them together, physically and thematically. Dickens has been accused of over-plotting when it comes to Bleak House, however – the connections between characters which are constantly being revealed throughout the novel sometimes seem to go far beyond necessity; even incorporating minor characters who have no significance to the plot. It can’t be said, though, that these connections aren’t all deliberate and prepared for (you can find evidence for them long before they’re revealed), and not just thrown in for the sake of it (which could be said of a lot of modern writers) – and I’ve always admired this element of the book.
At the heart of the story is a long litigation in Chancery (the court of equity in England and Wales at the time) regarding the fate of a large inheritance, and all of the characters are connected through this case. Dickens uses the story to attack the flaws of the judiciary system, calling on his own experiences as a law clerk. The legal proceedings themselves, though, seem fairly secondary to the plot after the lives and stories of the characters. And the novel is home to some of Dickens’ most memorable characters: Skimpole, Carstone, Tulkinghorn, Prince Turveydrop and Lady Dedlock to name a few (and what names!).
The novel, like the best of Dickens’ work, seems very modern in some respects; for example, in its portrayal of women – albeit subtly. Esther Summerson, the narrator (at least for half of the novel – but that’s where things get complicated…), for example, seems in many ways to be a traditional Victorian ‘good little woman’; she conforms to a lot of the normal social ideals of female domesticity and submissiveness, and yet her projection of it quite clearly (and uncomfortably for most Victorians) implies that these ideals are rooted in oppression and injustice.
Bleak House was the first of Dickens’ great, sweeping, panoramic (and, yes, rather long) novels. It incorporates satire and social criticism along with mystery, romance and wonderful characters in a way that not many books have or could. This is why it’s probably Dickens’ best novel, and one of British literature’s greatest novels.
-Gareth
Alright, I’ll admit it, I’ve not read the book. But I have seen some smashing versions on screen. It’s only been in adulthood that I’ve come to appreciate Dickens as a writer. I’ll have to put Bleak House on my list.
Comment by Miss Marla — August 12, 2010 @ 2:22 am
Join the club Miss M.
Comment by smittenbybritain — August 12, 2010 @ 2:29 am
Give it a go – but be sure to set aside a few months!
The 2005 BBC adaptation is just brilliant – it has the tone and characters perfectly. Plus it was done as a series and is about 9 hours long in total, so they hardly had to miss anything out.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0442632/
Comment by Gareth — August 12, 2010 @ 9:36 am
Watched that version and it was brilliant! In fact, I was so enthralled, that I watched all nine hours in one day.
It was well cast. I’m usually not pleased when they don’t use all English actors, but felt Gillian Anderson did a good job.
Comment by Miss Marla — August 12, 2010 @ 3:40 pm
I really enjoy your blog and your articles. Your photos are amazing too.
I myself LOVE everything British as well…..
We enjoyed watching “Bleak House” on PBS a few years ago…it was a excellent series.
Comment by Joyce — August 12, 2010 @ 4:41 pm
Thank you Joyce. That is very nice of you to say.
Comment by smittenbybritain — August 12, 2010 @ 7:18 pm
I found it on Netflix where you can watch it right now without getting it in the post. I have it on my watch list.
Comment by smittenbybritain — August 13, 2010 @ 3:27 am
Invasion of the Gareths !
I have read several of Dickens’s novels but I have to own up and say that “Bleak House” is not amongst them. I am currently struggling my way through “Barnaby Rudge” which is OK but probably not one of his absolute best – as it weighs in at 650 pages I feel I might be reading it for a while yet…
My favourite is still “Great Expectations” – a fabulous novel and the sub-plot about Magwitch being deported to “the colonies” resonates (!)
Gareth (Williams)
Comment by Gareth — August 14, 2010 @ 1:20 pm
I noticed another new Gareth! And a W at that. Confusing.
Great Expectations is probably my second favourite after Bleak House – but it is considerably shorter, so a good one to start with perhaps.
Gareth W(atkins)
Comment by Gareth — August 15, 2010 @ 9:54 pm
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