Author:Charles Dickens

One of the BBC's '100 Novels That Shaped Our World'
"Yours is a 'spectable calling. To save your 'spectability, it's worth your while to pawn every article of clothes you've got, sell every stick in your house, and beg and borrow every penny you can get trusted with. When you've done that and handed over, I'll leave you. Not afore"
Our Mutual Friend centres on an inheritance - Old Harmon's profitable dust heaps - and its legatees, young John Harmon, presumed drowned when a body is pulled out of the River Thames, and kindly dustman Mr Boffin, to whom the fortune defaults.
With brilliant satire, Dickens portrays a dark, macabre London, inhabited by such disparate characters as Gaffer Hexam, scavenging the river for corpses; enchanting, mercenary Bella Wilfer; the social climbing Veneerings; and the unscrupulous street-trader Silas Wegg. The novel is richly symbolic in its vision of death and renewal in a city dominated by the fetid Thames, and the corrupting power of money.
The Penguin English Library - 100 editions of the best fiction in English, from the eighteenth century and the very first novels to the beginning of the First World War.
'Masterful...a cheerful whodunnit'
—— The Times'Mystery and intrigue set in 18th century London...colourful and wildly entertaining. A wonderful read'
—— Guardian'An auspicious fiction début...engaging and enjoyable'
—— Observer'Brings alive the clatter of carriages and the seedy, unsanitary alleys and thoroughfares of London...the research is impeccable...utterly convincing...the faultless historical perspective carries the reader willingly to the end'
—— Good Book Guide'Full of energy and inventiveness.'
—— Sunday Mirror'After cutting her teeth on two highly acclaimed factual books, art and antiques expert Janet Gleeson has put her specialist knowledge to good use in her first work of fiction...A fascinating tale of murder and intrigue'
—— Yorkshire Post'A compulsive page-turner...will appeal especially to anyone who was spellbound by Charles Palliser's The Quincunx'
—— Daily Mail'A delicious five-course banquet...a richly flavoured, full-bodied, 18th-century whodunnit ...You'll be kept guessing right up until the last page in this splendid novel'
—— Harpers & Queen'Gleeson's first novel is a supremely juicy - a nd gory - murder mystery centring on the 18th-century workshops of Thomas Chippendale.'
—— The TimesDodger is a hero who Dickens would love . . . You can't help loving Dodger as he ducks, dives, falls in love and rises in the Victorian world. This is a hero I can't wait to meet again.
—— Amanda Craig , The TimesMuch as I love the Discworld series I also enjoy it when Terry Pratchett takes a break and gives his readers something else . . . Pratchett has the ambience of 1840s London spot on
—— Rachel Hyde , www.myshelf.comFine plot, excellent characters, and fun to read.
—— Irish Inn Book Club blogDodger is an amazing book . . . It creates a great display of historical London, contrasting the above ground cleanliness against the below ground filthy and often-times rotten sewers. Add in a lively set of support characters, funny dialogue, great action, and finish it all off with Dodger, one of the most lovable characters that I have read about.
—— Fantasybookreview.co.ukCompulsively readable
—— Washington PostEscape into Pratchett’s humorous and mysterious world and follow Dodger’s infamous trail through a tale where history and fantasy are entwined.
—— Independent School Parent MagazineTerry Pratchett fans should not miss Dodger, his sassy take on Oliver Twist
—— The Sunday TimesA rollicking good yarn
—— Magpies MagazineDodger’s descriptions of the capital, from its slums and sewers to the homes of the middle classes and the bolt holes of the elite, paint a vivid, immersive picture. The attention to detail in both the break-neck storytelling and historical veracity are mightily impressive . . . characters remain as compelling and three dimensional as ever . . . Dodger feels fresh, vibrant and full of energy, a triumph that should be celebrated as yet another glorious gift from Narrativia.
—— SFX