This was a fun-to-read book, partly because of Dickens’ way of storytelling with humor and gore mixed. The story can be divided into two parts. The time during 1775 where the author and 1780 when the riots began. The riots are important to the story and as such, they take up more than half of the novel, and as such, the novel’s original title is, Barnaby Rudge: A Tale of the Riots of Eighty.

The time during 1775 begins in the Maypole Inn, a pub which is in Cambridge and has been open to today but may close in August 2020. In this first part, many characters are introduced together with tensions between families, beginning romances and a hint of disharmony together with an unresolved mystery of murder and intrigue.

As an aside, the many characters in this whole book make its reading a bit of a conundrum. As much I enjoyed the story and Dickens’ ways with words, I had a difficult time with remembering who’s who especially in relation to others. It is said that Dickens based some of the characters here in the actual characters of his time, especially those in high places. So, compared to me, a better student of English history will get more out of this novel.

In the first part, Solomon Daisy, an old-timer, is the one talking as a group of people gather around a pub fire in the middle of winter, in a moody and atmospheric scene, while two mysterious travelers arrive one after the other. Talking more about the story would ruin it for the other readers, but this is where the action begins to be followed by horse-chases and feuds and such.

The second part of the story where the narration jumps a few years, gains many more new characters as eccentrics, villains, and heroes, plus riots of the worst kind, the enmity between Protestants and Catholics, and other frictions, all told with humor and energy that lead to an end that’s satisfactory enough. Dickens describes the rioting mob as, "sprinkled doubtless here and there with honest zealots, but composed for the most part of the very scum and refuse of London."

The story is told in third person, with the narrator addressing the reader at times and turning the narration’s POV into first person.

Then, when we look closely at the story, we see many metaphors that may have some repercussions in today’s life, as some situations are so ridiculous that they are comical. Plus, there is that my favorite Dickens asset of characterization and his tongue-in-cheek way of talking about his characters. For example, in describing Edward Chester: “of the world most worldly, who never compromised himself by an ungentlemanly action and was never guilty of a manly one"

Then, one doubts the relevance of Barnaby to the story as the main protagonist and the character who gave this book his name. Barnaby Rudge is a simpler person, silly and a bit idiotic, but physically strong, and he has a pet raven named Grip. He lives with his mother who tries to protect him. Still, he is chased (or rather visited) by a strange mysterious man who turns out to be his father, and at one point, Barnaby ends up in jail during the riots and is later rescued. Still, the author wrote Barnaby as being noble, independent, and decisive, especially during the second part. I think maybe Dickens had the astuteness of not underestimating a human being due to his being intellectually challenged.

Strangely enough, the basic theme of the book has to do with the conflict of Protestants versus Catholics, and secondary themes point to the life in towns such as the village of Chigwell, distrust of politicians, the need for prison reform, and mob behavior.

As I read the book, I realized that the author borrowed from other authors such as Poe’s Raven and Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, in which the children of the warring families fall in love.

As one of two historical novels of Dickens Barnaby Rudge’s tone doesn’t have the high universal volume of The Tale of Two Cities, but Barnaby Rudge was written first and Dickens probably stepped up from it, as an earlier exercise.

Inside this book, many interesting characters, ideas, and behaviors abound, as well as exciting action and historical significance. In short, I liked this novel a lot.

appreciating Dickens's talent that shows how something serious can also be toned down with humor.

the historical events and convictions of the day that seem ridiculous to us.

is Charles Dickens,(1812 - 1870), an author, journalist, editor, illustrator and social commentator. His most famous books include Great Expectations, Oliver Twist, A Christmas Carol, Nicholas Nickleby, David Copperfield, A Tale of Two Cities.

It is entertaining and it shows the ins and outs of the era and the British society with its ills and pluses.

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Created Aug 30, 2020 at 12:41pm • Submit your own review...