Although I can't claim that this is among my absolute favorites of Dickens' works, it indeed encompasses all the characteristic elements of a remarkable Dickensian story.

There are outstanding characters, some noble, some evil, and others comic, all connected by common threads. There is a murder/mystery along with other secrets, a ghost story, and a couple of romantic storylines.

What sets it apart is its historical backdrop of the Gordon Riots of 1780. This event takes the spotlight, with the characters orbiting around it. However, at times, the narrative does seem to drag, especially considering my edition fills up 800 pages.

What impressed me most profoundly - even more so than the riot scenes, which are vividly described with cinematic detail - were the scenes preceding the executions towards the end. The character of the hangman was particularly touching.

As is typical of Dickens, he is making a profound statement about society through this work.

Overall, despite its flaws, it still showcases Dickens' remarkable storytelling abilities and his keen eye for social commentary.

4 stars-

My tenth Dickens!

I must preface this by stating that I would not recommend this novel until you have read several of his other works. This one is extremely different from the majority of his output.

I believe I say this because it is not his most captivating effort. Overall, the characters are less eccentric and more forgettable (except for Barnaby and Simon).

Despite that, it is historically truly fascinating, and the title character is portrayed rather well. It hasn't aged perfectly (such as referring to Barnaby as an idiot - which at the time was a technical term and not an insult), but it provides an interesting account of both the Gordon Riots and Victorian attitudes towards history.

I recently watched a review that discussed how Dickens portrays these riots not as purely religious but as a desperate struggle for power. It's easy to understand how the poor, the sick, or those socially oppressed would turn to these riots as a desperate attempt to seize any power they feel they possess.

Mrs. Rudge is also one of Dickens' more interesting early female characters. It's a pity that Dolly is so silly because clearly the author is demonstrating increased ability in writing interesting female characters.

Because the riots are somewhat confusing, it can be difficult to know who to support and who the "good guys" and "bad guys" are. There are some clearly good characters like Barnaby and Mr. Varden, but really everyone else is in a gray area. I think with the way books are typically structured, we expect "big reveals" and "true colors" to be shown, but overall, everyone in this novel is presented as they are. They're complex and they don't always make the right decisions.

Taking all of that into account, I think that Dickens really touches on some interesting themes in this book, and his writing overall serves his message. It's a bit more difficult to get through than most of his other books, but I think it's worthwhile for a Dickens fan. I've developed a bit of a soft spot for it.

I’ve read this one twice before and always like it more than it deserves.

It’s one of two historical novels by Dickens. A distinction many readers don’t make because all his novels have historical settings for us now.

But A Tale of Two Cities (1859) and Barnaby Rudge were both set before Dickens’ own time and dealt with a similar subject, mob rule.

Barnaby Rudge with the No Popery riots of 1780 and A Tale of Two Cities with the French Revolution.

I say I like Barnaby Rudge “more than it deserves” because while the novel has a complex plot that’s not nearly as episodic as his previous novel (The Old Curiosity Shop), it’s not as well-developed as later novels (Bleak House in particular).

What’s brilliant about the novel is how Dickens follows the rioters. Generally disaffected members of society who are ready enough to believe that they are “held back” because Catholics are doing the 18th century equivalent of “taking all the jobs”.

Barnaby, raised by his mother and befriended by a talking raven, is described as an “idiot” and is clearly somewhat simple.

He’s been described by critics as derived from Wordsworth’s “Idiot Boy”. A child of nature who doesn’t understand the wicked world of men.

His mother knows that his father killed a man just at the time of his birth and attributes Barnaby’s affliction to that event. She dedicates her life to his welfare.

But Barnaby is drawn into the riots on the side of Gordon’s No Popery bunch, not understanding the issues at all, but seeing himself as brave and true and fighting for a good cause.

Dickens makes that believable as he makes the rioting and the violence believable. Clearly he understood crowd psychology and the manipulation of ideas.

George Gordon might have come up with the ideas that spawned the riots, but it was his cohorts who used those ideas and used him to appeal to the disaffected.

There’s the usual compliment of interesting characters. Among them a hangman who takes pride in his noble profession, the backbone of the English legal system in his view. And thinks he does the job so expertly that those who are hanged are grateful to him. But who joins the rioters, is caught himself and dragged kicking and screaming to be hanged himself, not at all grateful to the new hangman.

There are a couple of pairs of crossed lovers who get together in the end and well as parents and children who are estranged and reunited.

Overall, Barnaby Rudge is a fascinating novel that offers a unique perspective on a historical event and the people who were involved in it.

Not among my favorites.

Mr. Dickens attempts to venture into the realm of historical fiction with this work. However, from a storytelling point of view, it doesn't achieve the same level of success as A Tale of Two Cities. There are simply an overwhelming number of villains! This makes the reading experience rather bleak, which perhaps is understandable considering the subject matter is The Gordon Riots. But it also results in a slow-paced narrative. I firmly believe that Dickens should have trusted his instincts and named the book after Gabriel Varden, the Locksmith. Although Barnaby is charming, his heroism lies solely in his innocence, and he isn't central enough to the various threads of the story.

That being said, as an experiment in historical fiction, the story has its merits. It effectively conveys the horrors of a mob running amok. It exposes the corruption and the evils brought about by both physical force and malicious words. The author does manage to introduce some glimmers of light in the darkness (just enough to keep the audience engaged). But one must not approach this work expecting a typical "Dickens novel." Instead, one needs to engage with it while acknowledging the right of every artist to explore and expand their creative wings, and view the tale for what it is truly intended to be.

I also want to give a special mention and commend the outstanding recording done by Mil Nicholson for Librivox. She is truly excellent in her interpretation of Mr. Dickens' novels. In this particular work, she was especially skilled in creating distinct voices and personas for each of the numerous bad guys that are scattered throughout the story.

Her performance adds an extra layer of depth and authenticity to the already complex narrative.

For my review of this book, please link here.

This book has truly captured my attention and left a lasting impression. The story unfolds in a captivating manner, with well-developed characters that I found myself easily connecting with. The author's writing style is engaging and draws the reader in from the very beginning.

The plot is filled with twists and turns that keep you on the edge of your seat, constantly guessing what will happen next. I also appreciate the depth of the themes explored in the book, which add an extra layer of meaning and make it a thought-provoking read.

Overall, I highly recommend this book to anyone looking for an exciting and engaging read. It's a book that I will definitely be thinking about for a long time to come.

So, don't miss out on this amazing book and click on the link above to read my full review.

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. Firstly, as many Goodreads reviewers have pointed out, it is considered the least read of Dickens' novels. Secondly, it is one of only two historical novels in his body of work (along with A Tale of Two Cities).

The plot of Barnaby Rudge 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. It also tells 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, and the same characters become players 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 for their own political ambitions. The riots were destructive and bloody. Dickens' portrayal of the Protestant Association leaders and their supporters reveals 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, but he didn't do so with this novel. The plot builds over the first hundred pages before the reader becomes pleasantly entwined with the characters like Emma, Joe Willet, the widow, Gabriel Varden, Geoffrey Haredale, Dolly Varden, Barnaby himself, and Grip, his raven. Likewise, the villainous characters take a while to show their true colors. The comic figures in Barnaby Rudge are not in the same comic class as those of Dickens' other works. It lacks the deep and abiding humor of The Pickwick Papers and David Copperfield. Instead, Dickens created a cocktail of history mixed with drama, a love story, a touch of the supernatural, and a splash of Gothic horror.

Two elements of Dickens' novel jumped out as portents of the works of Edgar Allan Poe. A little research disclosed that 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 the novel in February 1842, praising the characterizations. He also noted Dickens' failure to fully exploit the potential of Grip, the talking raven. Poe's own talking raven in his most famous poem, written three years after Barnaby Rudge, discloses a gift of prophecy. There seems to be little doubt that 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' description of Rudge'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. The most interesting part, however, is the 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.

Barnaby Rudge is, without a doubt, the worst Dickens novel by a long shot. I make this claim as someone who has delved into every single one of his works, including Martin Chuzzlewit and The Old Curiosity Shop. It's more like Barnaby Trudge, isn't it?

The story lacks the charm and depth that we have come to expect from Dickens. The characters are not as vividly drawn as in his other masterpieces. The plot seems to plod along rather than engaging the reader from start to finish.

There are moments in the novel that do show glimpses of Dickens' talent, but they are few and far between. Overall, it's a disappointment compared to his other works. It's a novel that I would not recommend to someone who is new to Dickens or looking for a great read.

However, it's important to note that even a lesser Dickens novel is still better than many other works of literature. So, while Barnaby Rudge may not be his best, it still has some value and is worth reading for die-hard Dickens fans.

Barnaby Rudge brings to mind both Bleak House and Diane Setterfield's Once Upon A River. In fact, I can't help but wonder if the latter was inspired by Barnaby Rudge. There is a captivating family mystery here, similar to that of Bleak House, told in Dickens' typically magnificent writing style. Combined with eternal political truths and the usual memorable characters, I'm astonished that this isn't more widely read. Just like in 'Once Upon A River', a local tavern and its regulars create a scene of timelessness.

Our hero, Barnaby, is a young man who is loved by his community, especially by his devoted mother. However, he is isolated due to his neurodivergence and vulnerable in the wider world. His innocence gives him an insight that surpasses that of the other characters, who are trapped in the narrow prejudices of their world. Barnaby has some of the book's most poetic lines and is the only truly flawless character. He is adored by the animal kingdom - the local dogs love him, and his loyal friend is a charming raven named Grip (modeled naturalistically on Dickens' own two ravens).

Disability is represented in a great variety of ways in this book, in contrast to the two characters who consider themselves the most invulnerable - a narcissist and an authority figure.

The historical context of the anti-Catholic riots makes for a fascinating read in today's culture of duality. The message is clear: bigotry always stems from ignorance. For example, rioters throw a child's doll from the window of a Catholic home, mistakenly believing it to be a sacred idol. Dickens portrays the anti-papist mob as drunkards who rarely set foot in a church. They are a group of angry men united by disenfranchisement and a need to vent. The quiet-living local Catholic families are simply convenient targets for their rage.

This is a wonderful novel. If you have enjoyed Dickens' other books, you'll find this one not so different, despite it being an historical novel. It's well worth a read for Barnaby and his mischievous raven alone.

I firmly believe that this must be an extremely enjoyable experience for those individuals who have a profound love for reading Dickens, and I am most definitely one of them.

At the conclusion of act one, many of the principal characters simply seem to - depart. It's rather strange! However, the second act is truly brilliant, owing to its vivid description of the riots, and it is really exciting.

I am on a resolute mission to read one Dickens novel every January until I have read them all. I have no regrets whatsoever about picking this particular one up! It has been a captivating journey so far, and I look forward to delving deeper into the world of Dickens with each subsequent novel.

The rich characters, the intricate plots, and the masterful storytelling of Dickens never fail to engage and enthrall me. I can't wait to see what adventures and revelations await me in the remaining novels.

I truly enjoyed every single page of the work. It was an absolute delight to immerse myself in the words and stories. Dickens was without a doubt a genius. His ability to create vivid characters and complex plots was simply remarkable.

Each sentence he wrote seemed to be carefully crafted, filled with depth and emotion. The way he described the settings and the events made me feel as if I was right there in the story, experiencing everything along with the characters.

Dickens' works have stood the test of time and continue to be beloved by readers all over the world. His contributions to literature are immeasurable, and I feel privileged to have had the opportunity to read his masterpieces.

I will always cherish the memories of reading his books and will continue to explore his works in the future.

After a series of lackluster reviews for other books, I'm truly glad to be back on solid ground with Dickens. And from here on, my reviews are all uphill (climbing out of a review hole, as usual). I really liked Barnaby Rudge. A great deal, in fact. I should preface this by stating that Dickens is my favorite author. Even when he's just mediocre, he still manages to be fabulous. And that's precisely what this book is. It is quite far removed from his best works. And yet, there are moments of sheer brilliance, there are moments that are quintessentially Dickens. And at its worst, it was still a great and enjoyable read.

Dickens had no clear idea of what novel he wanted to write. It is at least 3 novels in one, and you really can't tell which novel he's going to be writing from one chapter to the next. It is a dark mystery of murder and intrigue. It is a comic love story. It is a historical account of the Gordon Riots (and an account of how individuals can get swept up in the tides of that history). It didn't hang together very well. However, as with Chuzzlewit, one of my favorite aspects of the book was the fact that it didn't hang together. But you could see the way that Dickens was working his threads, you could see how he would eventually be able to more effortlessly weave complex and seemingly unrelated narratives into a structured whole, as he did with his later novels. And this book - when it wanted to be dark, it was truly dark. And at times, it was funny. His villains were brilliant, as usual. Tappertit! He's fantastic. Such a little toad, and a great comic villain. And there are also some seriously, straight-up, not-funny bad guys. There is a decent love story, and, in a bit of a surprise, the endings are happy, but not necessarily clean or neat. There's a hint of Tale of Two Cities here too. And Barnaby was a fascinating main character, I thought. He had a bit of Nell about him, but he wasn't nearly as irritating as Nell, largely because he wasn't aware of his goodness. And he was both faulty and good.
The novel has many faults. I understand why it is the least read and least favorite. It was messy and chaotic, and some of the characters were not well developed. But when it was brilliant, it truly shone. It shone most powerfully in the back third of the book, when several of the characters - both friend and villain alike - were on death row, awaiting execution, in the aftermath of the Gordon Riots. Perhaps the best part was when Dickens followed Dennis, the hangman-turned-prisoner. It was the very unquestioned nature of his badness, and the unquestioned nature of the badness of Hugh's deeds, that made this part of the book so wrenching. I don't know if I've ever read a better account of execution, and what it means to put even the true villains to death. It was one thing to have Barnaby there; we as readers knew it was an injustice, and could hold onto that. But with Hugh and Dennis, they were actually bad guys - and so we had to look, unflinchingly, at the humanity of our villains as they faced the last hours of their lives. He laid bare their humanity and our own, humanity at its worst and most unforgiving. It was terrible to read, and Dickens took it straight on, but quietly - it read personally, troubling, but not moralistically. His focus was on his characters, and he was utterly perfect during these scenes. And if the novel as a whole is (for all that I enjoyed it) one of my least favorite Dickens, these passages will stand out in my mind as some of Dickens' best.
And then, of course, because he is Dickens, he [spoilers!] gives us Joe and Dolly, who actually grew. He gives us Barnaby and his raven. He gives us the happy, if life-worn ending. I know I gripe about Austen's easy endings, and I'll be honest that Dickens doesn't hide the ball either, on who will end up with who. I don't know why I don't mind it with him. But I don't. Perhaps it is because of the path he takes us on to get us there. We know the ending, but it always feels earned.

For two hundred pages, this was not Barnaby Rudge, but Barnaby Trudge, and I was Barnaby Drudge, yet Barnaby would not budge. I had uncovered the reason why this is The Most Unpopular Dickens Novel. He burdens himself with a horde of low-class comedy characters, a couple of tiresome and feeble pairs of young thwarted lovers, a dastardly villain to hiss at, and two lurid murders that occurred 22 years before the story commences. If it were anyone but Dickens, this book would have crashed, blammo! But I knew there would be some enjoyment to be had because of the title: Barnaby Rudge: A Tale of the Riots of ‘Eighty. So, there was going to be some rioting.

WORTH THE WAIT

Well, I'm extremely glad I endured the Barnaby trudge because suddenly this novel springs to life, a horrendous, fraught, and frightening life of death, maiming, and destruction. It's worth the wait. This part of the novel is magnificent.

NO POPERY!

The background for those not familiar with the politics of England in the late 18th century is easy to outline: there was a despised minority – the Catholics. They were prohibited from inheriting property, voting, and obtaining any job with the government. This was all because they took their orders from the Pope, and he was considered the AntiChrist. As time progressed, some progressives believed it was time to free the Catholics from these oppressions since it turned out they weren't bad people after all. So, there was going to be a Catholic Emancipation Bill heard in the House of Commons, and that ignited a kind of mass hysteria that led to a week of疯狂的 rioting, which was a pogrom against Catholics. Many people died, and many houses were set on fire.

I wormed my way into the heart of the crowd
I was shocked to find what was allowed

- Howard DeVoto

EERIE PARALLELS

The riots began with an assault on the House of Commons, and as I read these chapters, a cold shiver ran down my spine because I realized I was reading a very close version of what happened at the Capitol Building in Washington on 6 January 2021. The sequence of events is almost identical. Whether in London in 1780 or Washington in 2021, the hysterical mob behaves in the same way. Also, Lord George Gordon, the person who sparked the riots, is like a modern individual who invents a conspiracy theory like Pizzagate and then orchestrates its malevolent manifestation in the real world.

DICKENSIAN HUMOUR

When you least expect it, he will come up with something like:

”This,” he added, putting his hand into his waistcoat-pocket, and taking out a large tooth, at the sight of which both Miggs and Mrs Varden screamed, “this was a bishop’s. Beware, G. Varden!”

or

I’d sooner kill a man than a dog any day. I’ve never been sorry for a man’s death in all my life, and I have for a dog’s.

SOME PROBLEMS WITH DICKENS : 1. THE LACHRYMOSE FEMALE

In Barnaby Rudge, women, when not being battleaxes, are overcome by strong emotions. They are turning on the waterworks.

‘Yes!’ cried Mrs Varden, bursting into tears

Miggs, whose tears were always ready, for large or small parties, on the shortest notice and the most reasonable terms, fell a crying violently

Dolly hesitated again, and not being able to decide upon any other course of action, burst into tears.

Emma’s heart, for the first time, sunk within her. She turned away and burst into tears.

‘You needn’t cry, Miggs,’ said Mrs Varden, herself in tears

Miss Miggs, from mere habit, and not because weeping was at all appropriate to the occasion, which was one of triumph, concluded by bursting into a flood of tears

Emma kissed her cheek a hundred times, and covered it with tears

This becomes tiresome very quickly. The reader is supposed to find all this weeping vastly amusing.

2. THE CLOCKWORK CHARACTERS

The characters are fixed – the serious young lovers, the comic young lovers, the old prating fool, the conniving treacherous secretary, the haughty spoiled yet essentially good-hearted princess, the comical old maid, the hypocrite, the good old man. And the plot is therefore predictable – we know that the young lovers will be united at the end, the hissable villain will die with a curse on his lips, the good old man’s fortunes will be restored, the hypocrite will be exposed, the old maid will be found something ridiculous to do with her unmarried life. In this novel of twisting and surprising plots, there are absolutely no surprises.

3. THE INTERMINABLE WRAP-UP

After the brilliant and lengthy riot section, unfortunately, Dickens spends far too many pages dispensing justice to his cast. Everyone gets their turn, either getting married off or being restored to their happy home or exiled to a distant monastery or dying. When Dickens tells us all about how his goodly-hearted characters end up, it is more than a little nauseating:

the locksmith sat himself down at the tea-table in the little back-parlour: the rosiest, cosiest, merriest, heartiest, best-contented old buck, in Great Britain or out of it. There he sat, with his beaming eye on Mrs V., and his shining face suffused with gladness, and his capacious waistcoat smiling in every wrinkle, and his jovial humour peeping from under the table in the very plumpness of his legs; a sight to turn the vinegar of misanthropy into purest milk of human kindness.

Talk about piling it on with a trowel.

THREE STARS

The first part is 2.5, the middle section is a ferocious FIVE STARS, but the long wind-down is a frankly aggravating 2 stars, so three it is overall. Like the dinosaur that is thin at one end, thick in the middle, then thin again at the other end.