“Dickens and Other Essays”Some Information of this book: Since the 1930’s critics and scholars began to take increasingly a new interest in Dickens both as a man and a writer. Facets of his personality,hitherto unknown,were discovered and they shed new light on his writings. Dickens began to be regarded not merely as a humorous writer but a serious artist,deeply preoccupied with the essential issues of life. In course of time,Dickens attracted so much interest from critics and scholars that innumerable number of books,essays and biographies were turned out every year. Soon people began to speak of the Dickens boom or Dickens industry. Of the ten essay,selected for this book from the writings of Professor Amanullah Ahmed,four are devoted to an evaluation of Dickens as a novelist. Professor Ahmed,who has an abiding interest in Dickens’s novels,attempts to present to the readers a balanced view of the author,paying attention to a variety of aspects of his works. In doing so,he depends more on Dickens’s texts than on any other currently popular and modish critical methods. The other essays illustrate Professor Ahmed’s choices and preferences. He is on the side of the catholic and the humane and pleads for a tolerant view of life. Dr. Hilali’s exploration into the roots of Islamic culture fascinates him and he speaks glowingly of Nazrul’s instinctive love for the underdog of society. Professor Ahmed has spent his life in a University,has been a witness to its gradual decline and indirectly registers his protest against the harmful tendencies by drawing a contrasting picture of what a University ideally represents in our social and national life.Contents:1.Development in Dickens’s Art / 2. London in the Novels of Charles Dicknes / 3. Dicknes and Revolutionary Politics / 4. Scenic Description in the Mystery of Edwin Drood / 5. The Early English Novel / 6. Animal Imagery in Women in Love /7. Suggestions for the Reorganization of English Studies in the Universities of Bangladesh / 8. On University Education /9. Poetry,Politics and Nazrul Islam / 10.The Writings of Golam Maksud Hilali / 11. A Portrait of the Intellectual as an Old Man
