{"product_id":"barnaby-rudge-9780140437287","title":"Barnaby Rudge","description":"\u003cb\u003e'One of Dickens' most neglected, but most rewarding, novels' Peter Ackroyd\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eCharles Dickens's \u003ci\u003eBarnaby Rudge\u003c\/i\u003e is a vivid portrait of London's descent into anarchy, where 'King Mob' rules the streets, and innocent lives are swept up in the chaos. Set against the backdrop of the Gordon Riots of 1780, \u003ci\u003eBarnaby Rudge\u003c\/i\u003e is a story of mystery and suspense which begins with an unsolved double murder and goes on to involve conspiracy, blackmail, abduction and retribution. Through the course of the novel fathers and sons become opposed, apprentices plot against their masters and Protestants clash with Catholics on the streets. And, as London erupts into riot, Barnaby Rudge himself struggles to escape the curse of his own past. With its dramatic descriptions of public violence and private horror, its strange secrets and ghostly doublings, \u003ci\u003eBarnaby Rudge\u003c\/i\u003e is a powerful, disturbing blend of historical realism and Gothic melodrama. This edition is based on the one-volume publication of \u003ci\u003eBarnaby Rudge\u003c\/i\u003e, reproducing all the original illustrations by 'Phiz' and George Cattermole. Appendices include a map of London at the time of the Gordon Riots and the preface to the 1868 edition. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eFor more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eCharles Dickens\u003c\/b\u003e was born on February 7, 1812, in Landport, Portsea, England. He died in Kent on June 9, 1870. The second of eight children of a family continually plagued by debt, the young Dickens came to know not only hunger and privation, but also the horror of the infamous debtors' prison and the evils of child labor. A turn of fortune in the shape of a legacy brought release from the nightmare of prison and \"slave\" factories and afforded Dickens the opportunity of two years' formal schooling at Wellington House Academy. He worked as an attorney's clerk and newspaper reporter until his \u003ci\u003eSketches by Boz\u003c\/i\u003e (1836) and \u003ci\u003eThe Pickwick Papers\u003c\/i\u003e (1837) brought him the amazing and instant success that was to be his for the remainder of his life. In later years, the pressure of serial writing, editorial duties, lectures, and social commitments led to his separation from Catherine Hogarth after twenty-three years of marriage. It also hastened his death at the age of fifty-eight, when he was characteristically engaged in a multitude of work. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003eJohn Bowen\u003c\/b\u003e teaches English at the University of Keele. He has written widely on Charles Dickens and is the author of \u003ci\u003eOther Dickens: Pickwick to Dombey\u003c\/i\u003e (OUP, 2000).\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Penguin Classics","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50409649144082,"sku":"9780140437287","price":10.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_ea9a1a0b-f6d3-4fb0-b5e8-b467d6110ab7.jpg?v=1761735384","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/barnaby-rudge-9780140437287","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}