Product Description

Dickens' last completed novel traces John Harmon's covert observation of Bella Wilfer, whom he must marry if he is to inherit a fortune.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #10392 in Books
• Published on: 1998-01-01
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 832 pages

Synopsis
With an Introduction and Notes by Deborah Wynne, Chester College and illustrated by Marcus Stone, "Our Mutual Friend", Dickens' last complete novel, gives one of his most comprehensive and penetrating accounts of Victorian society. Its vision of a culture stifled by materialistic values emerges not just through its central narratives, but through its apparently incidental characters and scenes. The chief of its several plots centres on John Harmon who returns to England as his father's heir. He is believed drowned under suspicious circumstances - a situation convenient to his wish for anonymity until he can evaluate Bella Wilfer whom he must marry to secure his inheritance. The story is filled with colourful characters and incidents - the faded aristocrats and parvenus gathered at the Veneering's dinner table, Betty Higden and her terror of the workhouse and the greedy plottings of Silas Wegg.

From the Author
A guide to one of my best, world-class books
Well, if, like me you've been struggling to come to terms with your rampant imagination and like the idea of dead bodies floating in the River Thames, or chunks of dead bodies preserved in glass bottles, well then, I suppose this little number is just for you. Give it a try. Charles.

About the Author
Michael Slater is Professor of Victorian Literature at Birkbeck College in the University of London. He was editor of The Dickensian (1968-77) and President of the International Dickens Fellowship (1988-90). He has published many books and articles on Dickens.

Customer Reviews

Not an easy read but ultimately worthwhile
This was the first Dickens novel I read that I found myself harking back to my initial misgivings about the author.
The meat of the story is certainly interesting enough, but my mind did tend to wonder during the numerous visits to both the Veneering and Podsnapp households. I presume these sections would have been much more relevant at the time the novel was written.
Ultimately, however, the novel is redeemed through the usual Dickensian traits of superb characterisation, stoytelling and wit and whilst the characters in my opinion do not rival any of his greatest creations, there is enough to keep you entertained.

Darkly brilliant
A rich panorama of London life in the 19th century, this is one of the finest novels ever written. Henry James called Dickens' novels 'loose, baggy monsters', but this is splendidly constructed, a vision of a contradictory metropolis uniting the opposites of life in the most haunting way.

A timeless classic
A previous reviewer, Rufusred, is spot on with his comments about this book.

This is my favourite Dickens' novel. What motivated me to read it was its mention in Lost Series 2 by the character, Desmond. He said that he had read every wonderful word Mr Dickens had ever written but he would save reading Our Mutual Friend until he was near his deathbed. This was a clever self-reflexive ploy by the scriptwriters of Lost
as reading Our Mutual Friend soon demonstrated.

In OMF, as in Lost, we are introduced to a large assemblage of seemingly unconnected characters, who become intertwined with each other following an event. In Lost, it is the plane crash and in OMF it is the apparent murder of John Harmon and the discovery of his body in the Thames (of course, it turns out that John Harmon is very much alive). The structure of Lost is very similar to the narrative structure of OMF. Each chapter is written in serial form and takes turns to examine a different character or character units, eg, the Veneerings, the Lammles, the Wilfers, the Boffins. Like the island in Lost, the Thames plays a central role in the narrative.

The characterisation is superb. The highlight for me was Dickens' portrayal of Bradley Headstone. His obsessional behaviour and his gradual psychological disintegration leading to one attempted murder and a simultaneous murder and suicide is brilliantly and viciously documented. There is little chance of redemption for this man; Dickens is merciless with him. Previous reviewers have drawn comparisons with Hardy's tone of darkness and cynicism. I would agree. For those who have read Hardy's The Mayor of Casterbridge, one can draw parallels with Hardy's merciless portrayal of Michael Henchard's rise and fall and eventual suicide with that of Headstone's. The scene with Rogue Riderhood taunting Headstone in front of his students is loaded with frightening tension.

The plot itself is fairly ordinary but with all Dickens' work it is the quality of the prose, the characterisation, the humour, the pathos, the vision and the moral virtue that are the classic ingredients.

This book is timeless.