When this study first appeared in 1898 it was praised as the first piece of thorough and level-headed criticism of Charles Dickens and his works. Published at a time when Dickens' literary reputation was at its lowest ebb, it helped to instigate a revival of appreciation for the novelist which has continued unabated ever since. The book offers a complete exploration of Dickens as a writer, from detailed studies of his literary style and techniques in chapters that focus on his characterisation, satiric portraiture and use of humour and pathos, to his impact as a 'Radical' and as a man who wrote with a true moral purpose. The author of this acclaimed critical work, George Gissing, became known as an authority on Dickens, and went on to produce a series of celebrated introductions to many of his novels. Charles Dickens: a Critical Study remains one of themost important critical appreciations of perhaps the most popular English novelist of all time. This edition also contains an essay on 'Dickens-Land' and a dictionary of characters and places in Dickens' novels.