Undisputed master of epic storytelling… chock full of issues both social and psychological, vibrant rich vocabulary sketching depictions of love and thunderstorms, mountain ranges and outrageous injustice, delivering a cast of beloved Dickens-style characters possessing of crooked heart—as it writhes and rises from the smoggy docks of London—and the purest of saintly angels waiting patiently by the hedgerows of life’s gardens for the invitation to live.

It’s not the story alone that captures the imagination. No. The story is but half the appeal, possibly less. It’s the craft of pen in descriptive phrasing, unmatched in irony and humour, delightful caricature and the ability to draw the reader into 200-year old settings in a word. This is a masterpiece in Dickens’ teeming gallery of artwork.