What would you say is the most accessible and interesting Dickens book, besides A Christmas Carol?
A Tale of Two Cities is the easiest read, I think.
Bleak House is not difficult, and I think it is perhaps the most interesting, alongside Little Dorrit, Our Mutual Friend and Edwin Drood. The last two will probably appeal to you more if you have already read some Dickens, although I don't know. I tend to recommend Tale and Bleak House or Little Dorrit.
I second the high praise for Bleak House and Our Mutual Friend, the second of which I only finished about a month ago. I found OMF tougher to get into - the first few chapters didn't really grip me - but ultimately a tad more rewarding than Bleak House or the other Dickens I've read.
I've never read Little Dorrit but seem to remember that Oscar Wilde didn't think too highly of it.
You may be confusing it with The Old Curiosity Shop. Wilde said that "one must have a heart of stone to read the death of Little Nell without laughing".
If anyone knows of other Dickens comparable in tone and/or complexity to Bleak House or OMF, I would definitely consider picking it up.
Little Dorrit is probably the closest. They are the three really panoramic novels, the ones that cover all layers of society and does it with plot.
But if you are looking for something darker, along the Bradley Headstone route, Edwin Drood may appeal to you (though unfinished).
*MySmiley*
structured procrastinator
structured procrastinator
Dickens Bicentennial
- 07/02/2012 10:02:22 AM
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Tempting.
- 07/02/2012 05:38:22 PM
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Re: Tempting.
- 07/02/2012 05:49:34 PM
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I think I can safely say I'll read at least one "new" Dickens novel this year. Hopefully more.
- 07/02/2012 07:47:30 PM
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I'm engaged in Jarndyce v. Jarndyce, for all intents and purposes, and cannot spare time.
- 07/02/2012 09:39:59 PM
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I want to read Bleak House one day. Mainly so I can feel superior about Scots law. *NM*
- 08/02/2012 08:28:43 PM
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Yeah, sheep aren't considered "persons" for purposes of English law, are they? 
*NM*
- 09/02/2012 01:26:46 AM
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*NM*
- 09/02/2012 01:26:46 AM
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Don't forget that the southerly jurisdiction is actually "England and Wales".
- 09/02/2012 08:21:31 AM
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But you have more of them than Wales does, even if Wales has a higher human to sheep density. *NM*
- 09/02/2012 04:44:37 PM
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Are you telling me you've actually researched the sheep populations of Scotland and Wales?
- 09/02/2012 09:45:34 PM
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