CHAPTER I. 1850-1853.
Pages 21-50.
David Copperfield and Bleak House. Æt. 38-41.
page
Interest of Copperfield[21]
Real people in novels[22]
Scott, Smollett, and Fielding[22]
Complaint and atonement[23]
Earlier and later methods[24]
Boythorn and Skimpole[26]
Yielding to temptation[27]
Changes made in Skimpole[28]
Relatives put into books[29]
Scott and his father[29]
Dickens and his father[30]
No harm done[32]
Micawber and Skimpole[32]
Dickens and David[33]
Dangers of autobiography[34]
Design of David's character[35]
Why books continue[36]
The storm and shipwreck[37]
Goethe on the insane[38]
The two heroines[39]
Risks not worth running[40]
Devonshire Terrace[41]
Bleak House[43]
Defects of the novel[44]
Set-offs and successes[45]
Value of critical judgments[46]
The contact of extremes[47]
Dean Ramsay on Jo[48]
Town graves[49]
One last friend[49]
Truth of Gridley's case[50]

CHAPTER II. 1853-1855.
Pages 51-75.
Home Incidents and Hard Times. Æt. 41-43.
Titles proposed for Bleak House[52]
Restlessness[52]
Tavistock House[53]
Last child born[54]
A young stage aspirant[54]
Deaths of friends[55]
At Boulogne[55]
Publishing agreements[56]
At Birmingham[56]
Self-changes[57]
Employments in Boulogne[59]
First reading in public[60]
Argument against paid readings[61]
Children's theatricals[62]
Mr. H. in Tom Thumb[62]
Dickens in Fortunio[63]
Titles for a new story[65]
Difficulties of weekly parts[66]
Mr. Ruskin on Hard Times[67]
Truths enforced[68]
Early experiences[69]
Strike at Preston[69]
Speaking at Drury Lane[70]
Stanfield scenes[71]
Tavistock House theatricals[71]
Peter Cunningham[73]
Incident of a November night[74]
Degrees in misery[75]

CHAPTER III. 1853.
Pages 76-95.
Switzerland and Italy Revisited. Æt. 41.
Swiss people[76]
Narrow escape[77]
Lausanne and Genoa[78]
The Peschiere and its owner[79]
On the way to Naples[80]
A night on board ship[81]
A Greek potentate[82]
Going out to dinner[83]
The old idle Frenchman[84]
Changes and old friends[85]
A "scattering" party[86]
The puppets at Rome[87]
Malaria and desolation[88]
Plague-smitten places[89]
Again in Venice[90]
A painter among paintings[91]
Liking for the Sardinians[92]
Neapolitans in exile[93]
Travelling police arrangements[94]
Dickens and the Austrian[95]

CHAPTER IV. 1853, 1854, and 1856.
Pages 96-120.
Three Summers at Boulogne. Æt. 41, 42, 44.
Visits to France[96]
First summer residence (1853)[97]
Villa des Moulineaux[98]
Doll's house and offices[99]
Bon garçon of a landlord[100]
Making the most of it[101]
Among Putney market-gardeners[102]
Shakespearian performance[103]
Pictures at the pig-market[104]
English friends[105]
Change of villa (1854)[105]
The Northern Camp[106]
Visit of Prince Albert[107]
Emperor, Prince, and Dickens[108]
"Like boxing"[109]
The Empress at a review[110]
A French conjuror[110]
Conjuring by Dickens[111]
Making demons of cards[112]
Conjuror's compliment and vision[114]
Old residence resumed (1856)[115]
Last of the Camp[116]
A household war[117]
State of siege[118]
Death of Gilbert A'Becket[119]
Leaving for England[119]

CHAPTER V. 1855, 1856.
Pages 121-153.
Residence in Paris. Æt. 43-44.
Actors and dramas[122]
Frédéric Lemaitre[122]
Last scene in Gambler's Life[123]
Apartment in Champs Elysées[124]
French Translation of Dickens[125]
Ary Scheffer and Daniel Manin[126]
English friends[126]
Acting at the Français[127]
Dumas' Orestes[129]
Paradise Lost at the Ambigu[130]
Profane nonsense[131]
French As You Like It[132]
Story of a French drama[133]
A delightful "Tag"[134]
Auber and Queen Victoria[134]
Scribe and his wife[136]
At Regnier's[137]
Viardot in Orphée[138]
Meets Georges Sand[138]
Banquet at Girardin's[139]
Second banquet[141]
Bourse and its victims[142]
Entry of troops from Crimea[143]
Zouaves and their dog[144]
Streets on New Year's Day[145]
English and French art[146]
Emperor and Edwin Landseer[147]
Sitting to Ary Scheffer[148]
Scheffer as to the likeness[149]
A duchess murdered[150]
Truth is stranger than fiction[151]
Singular scenes described[152]
What became of the actors[153]

CHAPTER VI. 1855-1857.
Pages 154-176.
Little Dorrit, and a Lazy Tour. Æt. 43-45.
Watts's Rochester charity[155]
Tablet to Dickens in Cathedral[155]
Nobody's Fault[155]
How the Dorrit story grew[156]
Number-Plan of Copperfield[157]
Number-Plan of Dorrit[158]
Circumlocution Office[159]
Flora and Mr. F——[160]
Weak and strong points[161]
A scene of boy-trials[162]
Reception of the novel[163]
Christmas theatricals[164]
Theatre-making[165]
Rush for places[166]
Douglas Jerrold's death[168]
Exertions and result[168]
Seeing the serpents fed[169]
Lazy Tour projected[170]
Up Carrick Fell[170]
Accident to Mr. Wilkie Collins[171]
At Wigton and Allonby[172]
The Yorkshire landlady[173]
Doncaster in race week[174]
A performance of Money[175]

CHAPTER VII. 1857-1858.
Pages 177-201.
What Happened at This Time. Æt. 45-46.
Disappointments and distastes[177]
What we seem and are[178]
Compensations of Art[179]
Misgivings[180]
A defect and a merit[181]
Reply to a remonstrance[182]
Dangerous comfort[183]
One happiness missed[184]
Homily on life[185]
Confidences[186]
Rejoinder to a reply[187]
What the world cannot give[189]
An old project revived[189]
Shakespeare on acting[191]
Hospital for sick children[192]
Charities of the very poor[192]
Unsolved mysteries[194]
Appeal for sick children[195]
Reading for Child's Hospital[195]
Proposal for Paid readings[196]
Question of the Plunge[198]
Mr. Arthur Smith[199]
Separation from Mrs. Dickens[200]
What alone concerned the public[201]

CHAPTER VIII. 1856-1870.
Pages 202-222.
Gadshill Place. Æt. 44-58.
First description of it[202]
The porch[204]
Negotiations for purchase[204]
Becomes his home[205]
Gadshill a century ago[206]
Past owners and tenants[207]
Sinking a well[209]
Gradual additions[210]
Gift from Mr. Fechter[211]
Dickens's writing-table[211]
The châlet[213]
Much coveted acquisition[214]
Last improvement[215]
Visits of friends[216]
Dickens's Dogs[218]
A Fenian mastiff[218]
Linda and Mrs. Bouncer[219]
Favourite walks[220]
The study and chair[222]

CHAPTER IX. 1858-1859.
Pages 223-238.
First Paid Readings. Æt. 46-47.
Various managements[223]
One day's work[224]
Impressions of Dublin[225]
Irish audiences[226]
Young Ireland and Old England[227]
Railway ride to Belfast[229]
Brought near his Fame[229]
A knowing audience[231]
Greeting in Manchester[231]
Joined by his daughters[232]
Strange life[233]
Scotch audiences[234]
When most successful in reading[235]
At public meetings[236]
Miss Marie Wilton as Pippo[237]
Ed. Landseer on Frith's portrait[238]

CHAPTER X. 1859-1861.
Pages 239-254.
All The Year Round and the Uncommercial
Traveller. Æt. 47-49.
Household Words discontinued[240]
Earliest and latest publishers[240]
Dickens and Mr. Bentley[241]
In search of a title[242]
A title found[243]
Success of new periodical[244]
Difference from the old[245]
At Knebworth[246]
Commercial Travellers' Schools[247]
A Traveller for human interests[248]
Personal references in writing[249]
Birds and low company[250]
Bethnal-green fowls[251]
An incident of Doughty Street[252]
Offers from America[253]

CHAPTER XI. 1861-1863.
Pages 255-274.
Second Series of Readings. Æt. 49-51.
Daughter Kate's marriage[255]
Charles Alston Collins[257]
Sale of Tavistock House[257]
Brother Alfred's death[258]
Metropolitan readings[258]
Provincial circuit[259]
New subjects for readings[260]
Death of Mr. Arthur Smith[261]
Death of Mr. Henry Austin[262]
Readings at Brighton[263]
At Canterbury and Dover[264]
Alarming scene[265]
Impromptu reading-hall[266]
Scenes in Scotland[267]
At Torquay[268]
Death of C. C. Felton[269]
Offers for Australia[270]
Writing or Reading?[271]
Home arguments[272]
Religious Richardson's Show[273]
Exiled ex-potentate[274]

CHAPTER XII. 1855-1865.
Pages 275-297.
Hints for Books Written and Unwritten. Æt. 43-53.
Book of MS. memoranda[275]
Originals of characters[277]
Fancies put into books[277]
Notions for Little Dorrit[278]
Suggestions for other books[279]
Hints for last completed book[280]
Fancies never used[281]
Ideas not worked out[282]
A touching fancy[284]
Domestic subjects[284]
Characters of women[285]
Other female groups[286]
Uncle Sam[288]
Sketches of selfishness[288]
Striking thoughts[290]
Subjects not accomplished[290]
Characters laid aside[291]
Available names[293]
Titles for books[293]
Names for girls and boys[295]
An undistinguished crowd[296]
Mr. Brobity's snuff-box[297]

CHAPTER XIII. 1864-1867.
Pages 298-324.
Third Series of Readings. Æt. 52-55.
Death of Thackeray[298]
Mother's death[300]
Death of second son[300]
Interest in Mr. Fechter[301]
Notes on theatres[302]
Sorrowful new year[303]
C. W. Dilke's death[303]
Staplehurst accident[305]
Illness and suffering[305]
Enters on new readings[306]
Last meeting with Mrs. Carlyle[308]
Mrs. Carlyle's death[309]
Offer for more readings[309]
Grave warnings[311]
In Scotland[312]
Exertion and its result[313]
Self-deception[314]
An old malady[314]
Scene at Tynemouth[316]
In Dublin with the Fenians[317]
Yielding to temptation[318]
Pressure from America[319]
At bay at last[320]
Warning unheeded[321]
Discussion useless[322]
The case in a nutshell[323]
Decision to go[324]

CHAPTER XIV. 1836-1870.
Pages 325-386.
Dickens as a Novelist. Æt. 24-58.
See before you oversee[326]
M. Taine's criticism[326]
What is overlooked in it[327]
A popularity explained[328]
National excuses for Dickens[330]
Comparison with Balzac[330]
Anticipatory reply to M. Taine[332]
A critic in the Fortnightly Review[333]
Blame and praise to be reconciled[333]
A plea for objectors[334]
"Hallucinative" imagination[335]
Vain critical warnings[336]
The critic and the criticised[336]
An opinion on the Micawbers[338]
Hallucinative phenomena[338]
Scott writing Bride of Lammermoor[339]
Claim to be fairly judged[340]
Dickens's leading quality[341]
Dangers of Humour[342]
His earlier books[343]
Mastery of dialogue[344]
Character-drawing[345]
Realities of fiction[346]
Fielding and Dickens[347]
Touching of extremes[347]
Why the creations of fiction live[349]
Enjoyment of his own humour[350]
Unpublished note of Lord Lytton[350]
Exaggerations of humour[351]
Temptations of all great humourists[352]
A word for fanciful descriptions[353]
Tale of Two Cities[355]
Difficulties and success[355]
Specialty of treatment[356]
Reply to objections[357]
Care with which Dickens worked[358]
An American critic[359]
Great Expectations[360]
Pip and Magwitch[361]
Another boy-child for hero[362]
Unlikeness in likeness[363]
Vivid descriptive writing[364]
Masterly drawing of character[365]
A day on the Thames[366]
Homely and shrewd satire[367]
Incident changed for Lytton[368]
As originally written[369]
Christmas Sketches[370]
Our Mutual Friend[370]
Writing numbers in advance[373]
Working slowly[374]
Death of John Leech[375]
A fatal anniversary[376]
Effects on himself and his novel[376]
A tale by Edmond About[378]
First and Last[378]
Doctor Marigold[379]
Minor stories[380]
"Something from Above"[381]
Purity of Dickens's writings[382]
Substitute for an alleged deficiency[382]
True province of humour[383]
Horace Greeley and Longfellow[384]
Letters from an American[385]
Companions for solitude[386]

CHAPTER XV. 1867.
Pages 387-406.
America Revisited. November and December, 1867. Æt. 55.
Warmth of the greeting[388]
Same cause as in 1842[388]
Old and new friends[389]
Changes since 1842[390]
First Boston reading[391]
Scene at New York sales[393]
First New York reading[393]
An action against Dickens[394]
A fire at his hotel[395]
Local and general politics[397]
Railway arrangements[398]
Police of New York[398]
Mistletoe from England[399]
As to newspapers[400]
Nothing lasts long[401]
Cities chosen for readings[401]
Scene of a murder visited[402]
A dinner at the murderer's[403]
Illness and abstinence[404]
Miseries of American travel[405]
Startling prospect[406]

CHAPTER XVI. 1868.
Pages 407-443.
America Revisited. January to April, 1868. Æt. 56.
Speculators and public[408]
An Englishman's disadvantage[408]
"Freedom and independence"[408]
Mountain-sneezers and eye-openers[409]
The work and the gain[410]
A scene at Brooklyn[411]
At Philadelphia[412]
"Looking up the judge"[413]
Improved social ways[414]
Result of thirty-four readings[415]
Shadow to the sunshine[416]
Readings in a church[417]
Change of plan[417]
Baltimore women[418]
Success in Philadelphia[419]
Objections to coloured people[420]
With Sumner at Washington[421]
President Lincoln's dream[423]
Interview with President Johnson[423]
Washington audiences[424]
A comical dog[425]
Incident before a reading[426]
The child and the doll[427]
North-west tour[428]
Political excitement[429]
Struggle for tickets[430]
American female beauty[432]
Sherry to "slop round" with[432]
Final impression of Niagara[433]
Letter to Mr. Ouvry[434]
"Getting along" through water[435]
Again attacked by lameness[437]
Illness and exertion[437]
Seeing prevents believing[439]
All but used up[439]
Last Boston readings[440]
New York farewells[441]
The receipts throughout[441]
Promise at public dinner[442]
The Adieu[443]

CHAPTER XVII. 1868-1870.
Pages 444-460.
Last Readings. Æt. 56-58.
Health improved[444]
What the readings did and undid[445]
Expenses and gains in America[446]
Noticeable changes in him[447]
Oliver Twist reading proposed[448]
Objections to it[449]
Death of Frederick Dickens[450]
Macready at Oliver Twist reading[451]
Another attack of illness[452]
A doctors' difference[454]
At Emerson Tennent's funeral[454]
The illness at Preston[455]
Brought to London[456]
Sir Thomas Watson consulted[456]
His note of the case[457]
Guarded sanction to other readings[458]
Close of career as public reader[460]

CHAPTER XVIII. 1869-1870.
Pages 461-477.
Last Book. Æt. 57-58.
The agreement for Edwin Drood[461]
First fancy for it[462]
Story as planned in his mind[463]
What to be its course and end[463]
Merits of the fragment[464]
Comparison of early and late MSS[466]
Discovery of an unpublished scene[467]
Last page of Drood in fac-simile[468]
Page of Oliver Twist in fac-simile[469]
Delightful specimen of Dickens[470]
Unpublished scene for Drood[470]-[476]

CHAPTER XIX. 1836-1870.
Pages 478-526.
Personal Characteristics. Æt. 24-58.
Dickens not a bookish man[479]
Books and their critics[479]
Design of present book stated[480]
Dickens made to tell his own story[480]
Charge of personal obtrusiveness[481]
Lord Russell on Dickens's letters[481]
Shallower judgments[481]
Absence of self-conceit in Dickens[482]
Letter to youngest son[483]
As to religion and prayer[485]
Letter to a clergyman in 1856[485]
Letter to a layman in 1870[486]
Objection to posthumous honours[487]
As to patronage of literature[488]
Vanity of human wishes[488]
As to writers and publishers[489]
Editorship of his weekly serials[490]
Work for his contributors[491]
Editorial troubles and pleasures[493]
Letter to an author[493]
Help to younger novelists[495]
Adelaide Procter's poetry[495]
Effect of periodical writing[496]
Proposed satirical papers[497]
Political opinions[498]
Not the man for Finsbury[499]
The Liverpool dinner in 1869[500]
Reply to Lord Houghton[501]
Tribute to Lord Russell[501]
People governing and governed[502]
Alleged offers from her Majesty[503]
Silly Rigmarole[504]
The Queen sees him act (1857)[505]
Desires to hear him read (1858)[506]
Interview at the Palace (1870)[507]
What passed at the interview[507]
Dickens's grateful impression[508]
A hope at the close of life[509]
Games in Gadshill meadow[510]
Home enjoyments[512]
Habits of life everywhere[513]
Family dependence on him[514]
Carlyle's opinion of Dickens[514]
Street walks and London haunts[515]
Christmas Eve and Christmas Day[517]
The first attack of lameness[518]
Effect upon his dogs[518]
Why right things to be done[519]
Silent heroisms[519]
At social meetings[520]
Delight in "assumption"[520]
Humouring a joke[522]
Unlucky hits[522]
Ghost stories[524]
Predominant feeling of his life[525]
Sermon of the Master of Balliol[525]

CHAPTER XX. 1869-1870.
Pages 527-545.
The End. Æt. 57-58.
Last summer and autumn[527]
Showing London to a visitor[528]
His son Henry's scholarship[529]
Twelve more readings[530]
Medical attendance at them[531]
Excitement incident to them[532]
The Farewell[533]
Last public appearances[535]
At Royal Academy dinner[535]
Eulogy of Daniel Maclise[536]
Return of illness[537]
Our last meeting[538]
A noteworthy incident[538]
Last letter received from him[539]
Final days at Gadshill[539]
Wednesday the 8th of June[540]
Last piece of writing[540]
The 8th and 9th of June[541]
The general grief[542]
The burial[544]
Unbidden mourners[544]
The grave[544]

——————

APPENDIX.
I. The Writings of Charles Dickens[547]
II. The Will of Charles Dickens[561]

III. Corrections made in the Later Editions of the
Second Volume of this Work

[566]
INDEX[571]

THE LIFE

OF

CHARLES DICKENS.

CHAPTER I.

DAVID COPPERFIELD AND BLEAK HOUSE.

1850-1853.