Overview

Dickens enthusiast Gina Dalfonzo presents short, readable excerpts that contain the essence of the great novelist's prodigious output, teasing out dozens of the most memorable scenes to reveal the Christian vision and values that suffuse all his work. Dickens can certainly entertain, but his legacy endures because of his power to stir consciences with the humanity of his characters and their predicaments. While he could be ruthless in his characterisation of greed, injustice, and religious hypocrisy, again and again the hope of redemption shines through. In spite of - or perhaps because of - his own failings, Dickens never stopped exploring the themes of sin, guilt, repentance, redemption, and restoration found in the gospel. In some passages the Christian elements are explicit, in others implicit, but, as Dickens himself said, they all reflect his understanding of and reverence for the gospel. The Gospel in Dickens includes selections from Oliver Twist, David Copperfield, A Tale of Two Cities, Great Expectations, A Christmas Carol, Nicholas Nickleby, The Old Curiosity Shop, Martin Chuzzlewit, Dombey and Son, Bleak House, Hard Times, Little Dorrit, Our Mutual Friend, The Mystery of Edwin Drood, and Sketches by Boz.

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9780874868418

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In The Gospel in Dickens, Gina Dalfonzo has given us a marvelous glimpse into the mind and soul of Charles Dickens. Smartly conceived and engagingly written, this volume follows Dickens's Christian thought through his oeuvre like no other book available. Dalfonzo's observations and assessments of the varied selections, based on her careful contextual reading, are astute and right on target-because she has a great sense of how Dickens thought, especially about his faith and how his faith came to bear on his life. Whether you've walked with Dickens for some time or you are just beginning to get to know him, you will want to own this delightful volume. -Gary Colledge, PhD, author of God and Charles Dickens (Brazos, 2012) and Dickens, Christianity and The Life of Our Lord (Continuum, 2009) Though students of Dickens continue to debate whether he was a Christian, no one can debate that he relies upon Jesus Christ as the standard for humanity. Less an evangelist than a prophet, Dickens painted word pictures of common behavior with which the Victorian world would have been familiar to portray what it means to fall short of the glory of God. As these passages from his many novels make clear, Dickens never confused social and financial respectability with faithfulness to Christ. These passages reveal how closely Dickens had read the Gospels. -Dr. Harry Lee Poe, Charles Colson Professor of Faith and Culture, Union University

Author Information

Charles Dickens (1812–1870) was the most popular author of his day and is still widely considered the greatest novelist of the Victorian era. His books include Oliver Twist, David Copperfield, A Tale of Two Cities, Great Expectations, and A Christmas Carol. Gina Dalfonzo is editor of the popular Dickensblog, a blog about all things Charles Dickens. The author of Dorothy and Jack: The Transforming Friendship of Dorothy L. Sayers and C. S. Lewis and One by One: Welcoming the Singles in Your Church, she has been an editor at Breakpoint and Christianity Today and a columnist at Christ and Pop Culture. Her writing has appeared in the Atlantic, National Review, Gospel Coalition, First Things, and Guideposts.

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