Pictures from Italy

Resumen del libro

A delightful travelogue in the unique style of one of the greatest writers in the English language, the "Penguin Classics" edition of Charles Dickens' "Pictures from Italy" is edited with notes and an introduction by and notes by Kate Flint. In 1844, Charles Dickens took a break from novel writing to travel through Italy for almost a year and "Pictures from Italy" is an illuminating account of his experiences there. He presents the country like a magic-lantern show, as vivid images ceaselessly appear before his - and his readers' - eyes.

Italy's most famous sights are all to be found here - St Peter's in Rome, Naples with Vesuvius smouldering in the background, the fairytale buildings and canals of Venice - but Dickens' chronicle is not simply that of a tourist. Avoiding preconceptions and stereotypes, he portrays a nation of great contrasts: between grandiose buildings and squalid poverty, and between past and present, as he observes everyday life beside ancient monuments. Combining thrilling travelogue with piercing social commentary, "Pictures from Italy" is a revealing depiction of an exciting and disquieting journey.

In her introduction, Kate Flint discusses nineteenth-century travel writing, and Dickens' ideas about perception, memory and Italian politics. This edition also includes a chronology, further reading, notes and an appendix. Charles Dickens is one of the best-loved novelists in the English language, whose 200th anniversary was celebrated in 2012.

His most famous books, including "Oliver Twist", "Great Expectations", "A Tale of Two Cities", "David Copperfield" and "The Pickwick Papers", have been adapted for stage and screen and read by millions. If you enjoyed "Pictures from Italy", you might like Dickens' "American Notes", also available in "Penguin Classics".

Biografía del autor

Charles Dickens (Portsmuth, 1812 Gadshill, 1870) ha llegado hasta nosotros como el autor más importante e influyente de la literatura victoriana. Sus obras y su peripecia personal, íntimamente relacionadas, plasmaron no sólo el pulso social de su época, también el terrible estado moral de una sociedad atrapada en la desigualdad y las convenciones. Dickens experimentó la miseria, el éxito popular, la cárcel, el hambre... sólo logró cumplir con el más íntimo de sus anhelos, la libertad, entregándose a la literatura. Aunque muchas de sus obras gozaron de un extraordinario favor popular, baste decir que muchas de ellas fueron publicadas por entregas, en formato folletín; serían las críticas entusiastas de George Gissing y G. K. Chesterton las que encumbrarían a Dickens como el autor más importante de la literatura inglesa del siglo XIX.