London 1865

"The narrative of Dickens's novels takes us on a tour through this city of contradictions, their intricate plots the engines driving us on this journey. His prose moves us rapidly between London scenes at once pastoral and intensely urban . . . In bringing these contradictions together, Dickens's prose is magical in its realism . . . The city is chaotic; the city is ordered; personal vision is juxtaposed against the panoramic . . . And Dickens's prose, like his city, like his own life, is always dynamic, always moving us through change."

— Murray Baumgarten