"Few writers have captured the essence of 19th-century London the way Charles Dickens has. A master of extreme situations, Dickens is known for his colorful and often seedy characters and the elaborate settings of his works. This volume from the new Bloom's "Classic Critical Views" series features a remarkable collection of critical essays from the 19th and early 20th centuries that paint a clear historical portrait of this legendary writer."--Publisher website (November 2008).