Barnaby Rudge: A Tale of the Riots of Eighty, pubblicato da febbraio a novembre 1841, su «Master Humphrey’s Clock», in contemporanea con i capitoli di The Old Curiosity Shop.

All’inizio tutto è tenuto sul misterioso, molto notturno, con somma di segreti e cose non dette. Sempre molto attivo l’elemento satirico, caricaturale; con una serie di tipici flat characters, estremizzati (ad esempio John Willet, «the sturdy landlord» con «a large pair of dull fish-like eyes»: il locandiere grasso, lento fino alla catatonia, conservatore, teso al guadagno e dispotico verso il figlio; oppure Mrs Varden, bigotta protestante, moralista, dispotica col marito in versione passivo-aggressiva, con continui mutamenti capricciosi).
E sempre rinnovato è il gusto della descrizione elaborata da un punto di vista che permette a chi legge di vedere i personaggi per la prima volta, rinnovando ogni volta la piccola (a volte non così piccola) sorpresa di sapere solo dopo di chi si tratta, di conoscere al momento giusto il nome della persona.
Per tutta la prima parte, fino al secondo inizio dopo ellissi di cinque anni (per la precisione fino al capitolo 35, su 82) sembra che la storia non abbia proprio nulla a che fare con i Riots annunciati nel titolo (sono quelli del 1780, scatenati contro una legislazione meno punitiva verso i cattolici in Inghilterra), che poi invece diventano centrali. Molto rimane caricaturale anche quando arriva la parte politica: non personaggi realistici ma grande insistenza su tic, difetti, bizzarrie; personaggi grotteschi come Dennis (forse il più memorabile: boia professionista, virtuoso del mestiere, che continuamente parla con tecnicismi, estetica e valori della sua arte, incomprensibili per i ‘profani’ di quel nobile campo; tra i protagonisti della rivolta contro i papisti perché «My work is sound, Protestant, constitutional, English work»; costante occasione per dispiegare l’ironia di Dickens nella sua versione più nera e accusatoria).
Quando finalmente arriva il momento dei Riots, la narrazione li deplora in modo molto netto. Ma probabilmente le pagine migliori sono proprio quelle, a volte raggelanti, dove è protagonista la folla. Dickens l’assurdista, piacione nel dipingere caratteri pittoreschi per i suoi lettori che attendevano le puntatine, riesce a far sentire tutta la forza, la crudeltà, l’irrazionalità, la potenza attrattiva e lo sfrenamento della sommossa.

E si dovrebbero ancora ricordare molte cose. Mettiamo due: 1) la presenza gracchiante, a volte un po' inquietante a volte solo comica, di quel «knowing imp» e «dreadful fellow» del corvo Grip, migliore amico dell' "idiota" Barnaby (ispiratore a quanto pare del Raven di Poe). 2) la breve premessa di un capitolo, perfetta nel descrivere i privilegi del "cronista" come narratore onnisciente: «Chroniclers are privileged to enter where they list, to come and go through keyholes, to ride upon the wind, to overcome, in their soarings up and down all obstacle of distance, time, and place.»

Even in a lesser known work, Dickens is a master. I didn't know anything about this novel going into it and had to google things as I went along: who is Lord George Gordon? What are these riots about? etc. I think Dickens' two historical novels are so interesting because both are set in the late 1700s and both are about periods of profound civil unrest, mob violence, and questions of power, religion, and class. Dickens was clearly fascinated by these questions and I love that he explores them through these two novels that were written almost twenty years apart. Though I loved A Tale of Two Cities, in some ways I loved Barnaby Rudge even more. It's longer so Dickens has the leisure to set the stage in the first half of the novel which gives him room for more profound character development.

Spoilers below, beware.

In the introduction, the writer noted that Dickens' original title for the novel was Gabriel Varden instead of Barnaby Rudge, but several years later, the idea for the story had evolved and much for the better. I love Gabriel Varden as a character; he's a new favorite. But having the developmentally disabled, free-spirited, kindly, innocent Barnaby at the heart of the novel is a perfect vehicle for questioning the mob mentality. Barnaby gets swept up by circumstance and by one of the novel's villains, Hugh, into joining the Protestant mob. While Barnaby himself does not commit any violence or destruction of property, he is nevertheless taken up by the authorities and is nearly hanged for his "role" in the riots. His vulnerability is part of the major concern of the novel for Dickens. While a mob may have at its heart real concerns for justice, the correct use of power, etc., it inevitably eats up the vulnerable in its wake and becomes an instrument for destroying its own ends. I think it's Gabriel who has a comment towards the end of the novel that good ends must always be sought by good means. I think both Dickens' historical novels explore these questions profoundly and fit right in with some of the biggest questions of human life across the ages.

I am coming to think more and more that the way to be a good person, the way to be Christlike, the way to counteract the worst in human nature is to care for the vulnerable. And because being human is being vulnerable, it's also learning that even the villains are vulnerable and to mourn for their loss of innocence. Hugh is so fascinating in light of this. He's an undoubted villain and yet his complexity as a character speaks to the heart of the novel. In one sense, who is to blame him for his violence? Abandoned by his father who did not marry his mother and the son of a hanged mother for a crime committed from desperation, Hugh is left on his own as a child. Nature v. nurture: couldn't the vulnerable Hugh have become something so much more if he had been loved and cared for? Absolutely. Even in his final moments, there is a nobility about him. Dickens compares him to a prophet as he calls for vengenance against his father (which comes true in the end). Though his death is a just one, it is also a mourned one. He is contrasted in turn with the hangman, Ned Dennis, who lacks scruples of any kind and stabs Hugh in the back. Dennis joins Sir John Chester as the most villainous characters because of their thorough selfishness, cowardice, and complete lack of care for the wellbeing of others. Indeed, not only that, but their knowing actions that lead directly to the harm of others.

To balance out these characters are a host of others who are comic and lovable, comic and absurd (Miss Miggs and Simon Tappertit), and noble-hearted. I must put in a good word for John Willet. Dickens has such fun in his descriptions of his slow-moving mind and body; he's a great comic character and we feel so much for him too as the Maypole is coming down around his ears (so to speak). His relationship with his son, Joe, is irksome but I love that Joe does what he needs to do to be a man. At first, I thought Joe was going to be a mere comic character, but he actually has a compelling character arc that ends so satisfyingly. He's one of my favorite characters, and I love that we are re-introduced to him in the second half of the novel with some mystery. I am still surprised how small a role Edward Chester and Emma Haredale play. They are definitely secondary to Joe and Dolly's characters and yet their cross-religion romance and how their guardians, Sir John and Mr Haredale, treat it is at the heart of the novel's conflict. England is a Protestant country that sits uneasily surrounded by Catholic countries. England's own history as a Catholic-country-turned-Protestant haunts it.

I really enjoyed Mr. Haredale's character. In many ways, he's a tragic figure because of the murder of his brother and the years and years of bitterness that he has endured because of this. Since he is also Catholic, he loses so much in the riots. He finally vanquishes his long-time enemy but the many shadows of his life still linger. In contrast to Mr. Haredale is the lovable Gabriel Varden with his uber-Protestant wife and servant (Miss Miggs), his coquettish, beautiful daughter Dolly, and his rascally apprentice Simon Tappertit. Despite this rather uncomfortable domestic menage, Gabriel is consistently noble-hearted as the family patriarch. 'Patriarch' is such a pariah word today, but when there is a husband and father who looks out for the good of everyone connected to him, including Barnaby and Mrs. Rudge, I am happy to use 'patriarch' to imply all that is best. Gabriel and Dolly have a lovely father-daughter relationship, and Gabriel's refusal to open the lock of Newgate Prison even as he's carried there forcibly by the mob is nothing less than heroic. Similarly heroic are his efforts to secure a pardon for Barnaby so that the reunion of mother and son is one of the most joyful moments in the novel.

After the chaos of the riots (much of which I read through very quickly as it was a bit much for my highly sensitive soul), the return to domestic harmony for the core characters at the end is most welcome and a delightful way to end the novel. I'm so glad I read this and highly recommend it.

Not one of my favorite Dickens novels, but the depiction of anti-Catholic sentiment whipped up in 1780 England made it worthwhile. This novel also inspired Poe's "The Raven"

3.5 stars
I honestly still stand by the statement I said to my best friend when I was about a 100 pages through the book. I felt as if nothing and everything happened at the same time. It was different from my other Dickens reads but I enjoyed it none the less. Not nearly as much as The Pickwick Papers or A Tale of Two Cities but this is Dickens we're talking about. I just LOVE him.

The writing and the scenery were just splendid. I adored it so much. I thought the writing was one of his best and I really wished I had a time machine so I could just transport to 18th century London. The gothic, creepy and scary London during the 'No Popery' riots in 1780 is my jam. And it happened about 9 years before The French Revolution which is my favorite part of history.

The problem I had with this book were the characters and the plot. I do appreciate that my edition of this book had a list of characters before the novel (it really saved me) but I still got lost and it took me about 300 pages to catch up and figure out who was who. I think the problem was that the story was, at least in the beginning, following too many characters and they didn't have anything to do with each other (at least in the first third of the novel). The character's POVs switching constantly confused me as well and the development of some of them was not as I thought. Conclusion - TOO MANY CHARACTERS

The plot was at the same time boring and exciting. As I said above it felt as if everything and nothing was happening at the same time. I couldn't get into it until I was past half of the book and that presented a problem for me. I did love the endings some of the characters got but I got confused by others.

My favorite character - Miss Miggs. My gorgeous, precious and genious Miggs was my favorite. After Barnaby's raven Grip, of course. The only flaw she had was liking Simon Tapperpit. I just loathed him.

All in all, I really enjoyed this but not as much as some of his other novels. I am reading more of him next month and I am really excited for it. BLEAK HOUSE is the perfect Dickens for October. It is just giving me such Halloween vibes. Right?

I liked the characters. I liked the language. But 100 pages in, nothing had happened. I couldn't stay awake reading it.

"Barnaby Rudge" has been damned as "the least loved and the least read" of Dickens’ novels. Yet, his classic wit, his irony and eye for the absurd are what always shines in his writing. And this novel has these in abundance, with the scenes in the second half set amongst the Gordon Riots being especially gripping. There are also some classic Dickensian characters to savour.

The novel was serialized through 1841 and it is the first of Dickens’ two historical novels (A Tale of Two Cities is the other) and was written in conscious emulation of Sir Walter Scott’s historical romances, which Dickens greatly admired. Dickens follows Scott in mixing styles, genres and plots, and combining realism with the conventions of melodrama and romance.
It is set during the anti-Catholic Gordon Riots of 1780, now long forgotten but in Dickens’ day fresh in the public mind. This choice was not as eccentric as it might seem: not only were the riots the largest, deadliest and most protracted urban riots in British history, they would also have been fresh in the mind of his reader, having occurred only two generations before.

Dickens’ sympathies may have been with the working class poor, but he had an inveterate horror of political violence. He clearly had no sympathy with the Protestant anti-Catholic rioters, portrayed as a mindless mob swept along by opportunist leaders from the upper class in a movement that was part attempted coup d’etat, part popular uprising, which became a religious pogrom. His breath-taking riot scenes reflect his great fear of the ‘mob’, a fear he shared in common with his readers.

Another unusual, perhaps risky feature of the book is Dickens’ decision to make Barnaby Rudge his central character. Barnaby is a young man who has been mentally handicapped since birth, portrayed as something of a caricatured fool and idiot who wanders around with his pet raven, Grip, which is a gift of a character to an absurdist like Dickens. The reader may well find themselves laughing out loud at the inappropriate contributions Grip makes. Grip was also the inspiration for Edgar Allan Poe's most famous poem, "The Raven". Poe admired Dickens, and paid tribute to Grip in a review of Barnaby Rudge which he wrote for a magazine, saying that a raven should have served "a more symbolic prophetic purpose".

The novel has Gothic and melodramatic elements, but it also has plenty of typical Dickensian comic interludes. Some of the funniest scenes are centred on Miggs, the maid in the household of Gabriel Varden, the honest locksmith to whom Simon Tappertit, a leading agitator in the riots, is apprenticed. These scenes invariably involve Miggs in comical alliance with Martha Varden against her husband, for both servant and wife are ardent supporters of the Protestant cause.

Although Dickens does not sympathise with the cause of the rioters, his is a sympathetic portrayal of the way in which poor and frustrated, ill-educated or illiterate individuals are drawn into participating in the disturbances. The novel is also marked by several passages highly critical of the English ruling class. One of the most captivating aspects in Dickens' prose are certainly his descriptive passages, usually painting a vivid, often dark and gloomy portrait of London. "Barnaby Rudge" in this sense is a very dark and nightly novel.

There’s no doubt, though, that the most powerful scenes are those depicting the riots. But as usual Dickens goes beyond. The story opens with a tale of a double murder related round the fire in a cosy pub to a mysterious stranger - the perfect Gothic setting! Throughout the book this murder and its repercussions seem to haunt certain characters. Real or imagined ghostly figures appear throughout and play on the conscience and secrecy of those involved. The idea of guilt and conscience is thus examined and the experience of men labouring under suspicion whether real or imagined, deserved or not, is cleverly contrasted.

There are some interesting characters throughout, and their morality and behaviour is often affected by their surroundings and upbringing, however there are also instances when certain characters react in opposition to their familial background. The question of personal conscience or morality in contrast with inherited values and expectations is quite a gripping one.

As in many other Dickens novels, rural or country life is portrayed as an aspirational, wholesome idyll, in contrast with the chaos of a city such as London. Barnaby and his mother seek refuge and anonymity in quiet country life. Animal companions are also interesting. Barnaby has his cantankerous and characterful Raven, Grip, at his side throughout and Grip is often portrayed as keenly insightful.

Perhaps some of the most powerful aspects of this book are those that deal with people’s motivations for “good” or “bad” behaviour. Dickens does well to highlight the prejudice behind the riots and questions any “true” religious motivations. The discussion of the motivations for and the behaviour of the rioters is, unfortunately, still relevant to much of what is happening in the world today when ignorance and intolerance prevail. Personal responsibility for moral behaviour is also a prevalent theme.

Although it might not be Dickens' best achievement, also because of its strange structure, with that sharp break in the narrative that occurs when the story moves abruptly forward five years in chapter 34 and the lives of characters begin to intertwine with the events of the Gordon riots. "Barnaby Rudge" is a brilliant read - very atmospheric, with some great Dickensian characters. Barnaby and Grip were a delightful duo. The portrayal of the riots was all immersing and makes the heart racing as well as creating disgust for such horrific and hypocrite behaviour. In true Dickens style it all works out in the end but there’s perhaps a more sober ending for some than others. His novels are nonetheless worthwhile and thought-provoking reads and sadly still relevant in our times.

I designated 2015 as a Year of Dickens with a challenge to read six works by the master of the 19th century English novel. I chose Barnaby Rudge as the fifth book of the year for two reasons – one, as many Goodreads reviewers have pointed out, it is considered the least read of Dickens' novels; and two, it is one of only two historical novels in his body of work (along with A Tale of Two Cities).

The plot revolves around an unsolved murder involving the people of the small hamlet of Chigwell and the local manor house “the Warren.” The first two-thirds of the novel take place in 1775 and develop the aftermath of the murder and its impact on the characters, as well as the story of the stifled love affair between Edward Chester and Emma Haredale – a Protestant and a Catholic – whose fathers are longtime enemies. The story then moves forward to 1780. The same characters then become players -- some willing, others not -- in the drama of London's Gordon Riots. The Gordon Riots were incited in opposition to the government's efforts to reduce discrimination against the Catholic subjects of King George III. The Papists Act of 1778 eased Catholic liabilities, but unscrupulous Protestant politicians used the act to arouse credulous elements of the population in order to advance their own political ambitions. The riots were destructive and bloody. Dickens' portrayal of the Protestant Association leaders and their supporters reveals plainly his disdain for them. He described the riots as a “moral plague” on London. His appealing characters in Barnaby Rudge are straightforward and honorable Catholics and Protestants alike.

Barnaby Rudge grew on me. One of Dickens' strengths as a novelist is his skill in quickly capturing the reader with his characters. He didn't do so with Barnaby Rudge. The plot builds over the first hundred pages before the reader becomes pleasantly entwined with Emma, Joe Willet, the widow, the stalwart Gabriel Varden, steadfast Geoffrey Haredale, the adorable Dolly Varden, Barnaby himself and Grip, his roguish raven. Likewise the villainous characters – John Chester, Hugh, the unknown robber, and Simon Tappertit -- take a while to show their true colors. The comic figures -- the cowardly Solomon Daisy, the witless Miss Miggs, and the foolish but manipulative Mrs. Varden -- are not in a comic class with those of Dickens' other works. Barnaby Rudge lacks the deep and abiding humor of The Pickwick Papers and David Copperfield. While it is often amusing, it's rarely funny. Instead, Dickens created a cocktail of history mixed with drama, a love story, a dash of the supernatural, and a splash of Gothic horror.

Thinking I had made a startling discovery, two elements of Dickens' novel jumped out as portents of the works of Edgar Allan Poe. A little research disclosed, that while a revelation to me, critics and literary scholars have long noted Poe's debt to Dickens. When Barnaby Rudge was serialized in 1840-41, Poe was working for Graham's Magazine in Philadelphia. He wrote a twelve column review of Dickens' novel in February of 1842 heaping praise upon the characterizations. He went on to note Dickens' failure to fully exploit the potential of Grip, the talking raven, going so far as to say Grip's “croakings might have been prophetically heard in the course of the drama” (the italics are Poe's). Poe's own talking raven discloses a gift of prophecy in his most famous poem written three years after Barnaby Rudge. There seems to be little doubt Poe borrowed his raven from Barnaby's Grip. Another presentiment is the description of the criminal Rudge's reaction to the alarm bell pealing after the riot at the Maypole Inn. Dickens wrote of Rudge clasping his ears and wailing at the bell: “...speaking the language of the dead – the Bell – the Bell!” and then “...still the remorseless crying of that awful voice – the Bell – the Bell!” The robber's insanity presages the terror of Poe's own poem The Bells from six years after Barnaby Rudge.

My book was an older Penguin Classics (2003) edition with a fine introduction and descriptive notes by Dickens scholar John Bowen. This edition contains a glossary of terms, a map of London, and six appendices -- including a brief history of the Gordon Riots. Most interesting, however, are copies of the original illustrations which appear throughout the book. They were drawn by Dickens' colleague, Hablot Browne (better known as Phiz), and augment the text perfectly. Barnaby Rudge, while a shade behind David Copperfield, still earns Four Stars from me. If you want a novel of Dickens' earlier period, I recommend it.

Here's a link to Poe's review of Barnaby Rudge:

http://www.eapoe.org/works/criticsm/g...

This is John Bowen's book, Other Dickens: Pickwick to Chuzzlewit, on the early novels of Dickens.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3...

As Dicken's goes, this was about the worst that I've read. I ended up caring about none of the "heroes,' and found myself rooting for a couple of the villains towards the end, because they were the only ones who were even remotely interesting. Lots of the main action, especially at the end, occurred offstage. We then heard about it in a second hand fashion and not in much detail.

Lots of people say that even the worst Dickens is great. I feel pretty much the opposite. Except for Great Expectations, I tend to think that even the very best in Dickens has terrible, and overwrought, moments. Here the balance tipped fairly strongly in that direction. There were things in this book that I thought were really great, and I'm not sorry that I read it. But if it were the only thing he wrote, I don't think anyone would even know who he was.

If you’d asked me what I remembered from my first read of this likely least-read of Dickens’s works, I would’ve said Grip, young Barnaby’s pet raven (and the inspiration for Poe’s “Nevermore”-intoning bird), as well as amorphous impressions of the fantastic mob scenes. During my reread, at the first introduction of Hugh, a stablehand at the Maypole inn, my memory leaped to slot him with Barnaby and Grip. I was then surprised by Hugh’s subsequent action, knowing it had nothing to do with the innocent Barnaby. (Later chapters reassured me as to why my memory grouped the trio.)

For the penultimate meeting of the Dickens Fellowship of New Orleans this season, we were treated to a virtual guest lecture by Dr. Christian Lehmann on Greco-Roman mythology in Barnaby Rudge. In the novel Hugh is described a few times as a centaur and I figured that was due to his animalistic nature, but I hadn’t reasoned beyond that. Lehmann brought the centaur symbolism to a logical conclusion for us with something else that’s a spoiler. Reinforced by illustrations, that’s only one mythological layering Lehmann finds in the novel.

Set during the Gordon riots, Barnaby Rudge is usually described as historical fiction, though Lehmann sees it as mythological, as he does some of Dickens’s later novels. I look forward to reading more on the topic when Lehmann’s book is published one day. (And now I need to reread Dombey and Son and Little Dorrit with the myth of the Labyrinth in mind.)

I originally rated Barnaby Rudge 5 stars (based on my memory) and I’m sure that was due to the high I experienced from the prose, especially that of the riots. Though I now waver between four and five stars, my feelings about the prose haven't wavered. (An interesting tidbit from the Q&A with Lehmann is Dickens’s use of performative, and not grammatical, punctuation in the sections describing the movements of the mobs.) Whether instinctively or based on his research, Dickens knew the psychological and social reasons that lead to mobs getting violently out of hand. Some of the content is eerily similar to recent events in the U.S.

It was interesting to finish this the same day I finished The Books of Jacob, another novel of arguably historical-fiction about a group of people being led and manipulated.

When a witless young man and his witty pet raven get swept into the furor of the Gordon "no-Popery" riots in the London of 1780, you can be sure you're reading Dickens. This is his first historical novel, and I can see how it leads the way to the other one, _A Tale of Two Cities_. Grip, the raven, caught the attention of Edgar Alan Poe and probably inspired his poem "The Raven." I suspect that _Barnaby Rudge_ also inspired Poe's "The Bells."

This was Dickens first historical novel - so it came before Tale of Two Cities - and is a cracking good read. Dickens, of course, is a consumate story-teller, but this piece is very finely crafted, with many layers and plots tightly woven together. It starts slow, but when you look back you realise that is by fore of necessity: the groundwork is needed for the plot to come, he needs to introduce the characters, set them in their place, and lay the foundations for their interactions with each other as well as the historical events he will portray: the 'Gordon Riots' of London, 1780.

Dickens sense of character, of being able to clearly define a character in terms of attitude and even speech patterns, is legendary and it does not fail us here. Even though 'Barnaby Rudge' gives his name to the book he is not the lead, but merely one of several characters who are equally as important to the story, and all are fully drawn (except, perhaps, Elizabeth Haredale), though some more than others.

The story falls into two 'halves' or parts, that are interconnected, but at some times seperate: that of the star-crossed loves and their families, and that of the underclass of London, both genteel and common, who will all have their hands in fomenting the riots. Of those, Hugh and Sir Chester stand out as fantastically drawn characters - the detail, the clear vision he draws of them both is outstanding. So too with 'Dennis the Hangman' and Gashford - all distinct characters with their own vices and voices.

The riots in particular are fantastically well described, near horrifically so. For all he was writing for a nineteenth century audience, he does not pull his punches, and some of the details of the horrors the mob inflicted (usually on themselves in their frenzy, it has to be said) are really appalling, and do much to summon up the scene of horror he is trying to portray. To say we have two 'would-be rapists' clearly presented as such would tell you much, and there is a genuine fear on more than one occasion that he is going to come dangerously close to describing such a thing - certainly the threat is very real.

The heroes are heroic and dashing, the villains are drawn so well as to be believable, not caricature in the least (not like Fagin of 'Oliver Twist', for example, who is close to caricature) - Hugh is a truly terrible, charismatic beast.

A very good read that I can highly recommend.

Oh, and Grip, the raven, is just fantastic. Interesting that he was very possibly the inspiration for Poe's poem.

As an avid reader of Dicken's Novels, this Novel was not an enjoyable read. It was difficult to follow and even more difficult to understand the entire plot. The underlined plot, however, was the Gordon Riots in Newgate in 1780. These riots at the time were labeled 'No Popery' riots. In other words, anti-Catholics.

Barnaby Rudge was one of the main protagonists, but I never understood his role in the story.

According to one critic, the Novel attained a "Hogarthian" spirit. But for this reader, I was disappointed.