NEW Dickens readalong Dombey and Son - the 2025 Dombeyalong!

[Piggywaspushed]

Join me in the next Dickens readalong, Dombeyalongadingdong! This is probably the last big Dickens we haven't done.
The novel was originally published by Dickens in 19 instalments, all exactly 32 pages long (I do find this obsession with 32 pages intriguing- writing to such an exact brief must have involved quite a lot of editing and , as I recall from Nickleby, much padding at times!) and then published in full in 1848. I know nothing of this one really - except the name Paul Dombey sticks in my head. Apparently , this one is more focused on marriage and is read as marking a change in Dickens' presentation of women. Seafaring is involved but this is also his first book about the arrival of railways which Dickens was not altogether sold on. This period was referred to as 'railway mania'. It's really quite hard to conceptualise the rapid progress and change surrounding Dickens.

This one has not been on TV for a long time. Andrew Davies had been working on a version - but it was ditched because it was felt we had had too many 'bonnet dramas'. I swear we have still had many since but rather heavily 'adapted' and maybe Sarah Phelps hasn't read Dombey...

I propose condensing this to an eight month read, using Dickens' shorter sections as a guide . We begin in May, as follows:
May - Chapters 1 - 7
June- Chapters 8-13
July- Chapters 14-22
August - Chapters 23-31
September - Chapters 32-38
October - Chapters 39-45
November - Chapters 46-51
and finishing for Christmas in
December - Chapters 52 - end

Considerably more chapters in this one, so I am guessing some must be quite short.

I'll link Katie's intro in my next post.

Anyone and everyone welcome!

Or sticking the wife in the asylum...

Yeah, but that’s more of a Wilkie Collins thing…

This really was a sombre section, wasn’t it? Not a great deal of actual plot development, though; more a space to take stock and explore character in more depth. The decline and death of 'Cleopatra' was hard-hitting stuff, I thought.

One thing I’d love to know is how Dickens decided/needed to spin things out according to the number of serial instalments he was committed to writing, as it did feel with this part as though he had some space to fill and had to ease up on the action. There was a similar moment in TOCS as I recall, when Little Nell and her whining old grandfather were being sent pointlessly up and down on journeys that had no plot purpose.

Bit of a side-note, but since the last instalment I’ve read a biography of Dickens's wife Catherine that well and truly opened my eyes to what it must have been like to be married to him (apologies to the 50 Bookers who’ve read my rant review already). It's fascinating to me to see him, in 1848, writing Dombey's pitiless treatment of his wife, demanding her obedience, and to know that a decade later, Dickens would himself be behaving in an almost identical high-handed and pompous fashion in his own marriage. It’s so striking that I can’t help but feel he was, consciously or unconsciously, mirroring his innermost thoughts as his own marriage was beginning to crumble (though I’m pretty sure his wife didn’t have any idea it was, at that point).

(Edited as I got my Hard Times and my TOCS mixed up!)

PS to @FuzzyCaoraDhubh - I hope the studies are going well - looking forward to having you back!

Hello everyone, I'm dropping in to say that I'm starting the October instalment now and I'll catch up with the chat soon!

Hello @FuzzyCaoraDhubh it's good to see you back! I also fell behind due to too much work and missed the November discussion, but I've caught up now. Very belated thanks to everyone for the interesting comments. @Terpsichore , what you said about the parallels between Dombey's treatment of Edith and Dickens' later treatment of his own wife is fascinating and chilling. It's hard to believe that Dickens could have behaved so appallingly (but obviously he did!). His portrait of an unhappy marriage in Dombey and Son is certainly very convincing.

The section we're about to discuss is exciting and much more plot-filled than the last one!

I loved your comment about how Florence is ending up parenting Edith @cassandre So interesting.
I'm also finding Terpsichore's comments about the relationship between Dickens and his mother really interesting. It explains a lot and yes, it's very chilling.

I inadvertently came across a spoiler in chapter 55 when I was looking up a blog about the steam engine in Victorian times, so boo to that! I'm on chapter 39 but will catch up like the proverbial steam engine in due course!

All set to go for tomorrow. Loved this section.

This was a more lively instalment with lots of the long awaited plot developments. Mrs Dombey leaves, strewing jewels and possessions everywhere.. Kudos to the vengeful. Carker turns on Dombey, Intriguing. Mr Dombey reacts very badly and strikes poor benighted Florence. Wicked man. Florence runs away. Oh no! Poor lost Floy again! Walter returns! Of course he does! Florence proposes! Well, there’s a turn up. Good on you, lass.

Was Dickens a little in love with his angel by the hearth? He certainly offers her many protectors. Walter, Captain Cuttle, the adorable Tonks and the very loyal Diogenes. When Tonks and Diogenes are in the same chapter , I know I am in for a comedic treat. Walters’ return was helpfully excessively foreshadowed but was still lovely.
My favourite bit was Cuttle patiently allowing himself to be called Captain Gills and Walters’ sudden promotion to Lieutenant. I hope actual Gills returns, and Susan and that someone claims Tonks as their love, and that Dombey ends up miserable with Miss Tox.

I have found this book very useful in lessons recently to teach about patrilineage, must say. It must have been written a little earlier than Engels’ critique of capitalism and its privatised patrilineage for the benefit of the bourgeoisie but it treats the same themes with added drama (and fewer French words).
Dombey and Son is John Mullan's favourite Dickens. No spoilers in the article. I like his description of Dombey as ‘emotionally cauterised’.
https://www.theguardian.com/books/2011/sep/23/charles-dickens-favourite-dombey-son

Yes, much more lively this time. I really did not foresee Edith running off with Mr Carker. I thought that Dombey had given Carker a means of getting too close to her by making him an intermediary in their marital quarrels, and that he would use this to manipulate Edith - but not that she would voluntarily lower herself to absconding with him. It would have been good to see this from Edith’s point of view - but I guess the constraints of the time prevented Dickens from showing this ‘seduction’ actually play out.

Walter coming back - that I could have predicted. It was pleasantly timely in Florence’s hour of need, but she moved very quickly from ‘you’re just like a brother to me’ to ‘of course I’ll marry you.’ Was Dickens running out of instalments and suddenly had to get it moving after plodding along sedately in earlier sections? Sort your pacing out, mate.

Toots should marry Susan. Sorted.

I was so busy thinking what strong women Edith and Florence were and how they might run off together that I did not see Edith running off with Mr. Carker. I wonder if Mr. Carker has something on Edith, he is such a slippery toad!

I got a bit ahead and accidentally finished it, I'm not very good at readalongs!
I will avoid spoilers though.

Also didn't see the running off with Carker business coming.

It did get me thinking about how if someone went off on a boat like Walter you'd just have to wait and assume they'd got there or not and the huge timescales involved. Although convenient for the plot this probably happened at times?

Oh yes, Toots and Susan! Great idea, LadybirdD!

Big chunk of action here. I hadn’t thought of the Communist Manifesto being contemporary with D & S but yes, amazingly, they were published only two months apart! I’d love to know whether Dickens read Marx and Engels….and 1848 was also the big Year of Revolution…

Robinson Crusoe is basically true isn't it? Alexander Selkirk was a real person.

I find it astonishing that folks were able to communicate overseas at all back in days of yore.

AI 'reliably' informs me that Marx was an avid reader of Dickens and often quoted him. The opposite is not known.

Poor Edith. Talk about terrible taste in men. I can't believe Dombey blamed Florence. Am so pleased she escaped him!

So true CutFlowers.
I’ve also read (listened) ahead so I’m not sure what plot points not to discuss so won’t say anything.
Other than Toots is my favourite character by far and Susan Nipper should definitely be his consolation prize, although not nice for ‘the Nipper’ to know that she was second best, maybe she’ll think it’s of no consequence.

I was slightly behind and only finished the November chapters last night. Another one here who didn’t see Edith and Carker coming. I was very pleased Walter turned up again though (although as others have said that was predictable) and hopefully Florence will now finally get some happiness! Although there’s still several chapters to go so who knows.

Not much to add other than shock at Edith and Carker and elation at the return of Wal'r (am listening to an audio version and love the Captain's 'pirate' voice - although it was a bit predictable!

Oh, I do hope he sounds exactly like a pirate/ salty seadog

If the narrator is anything to go by, he has a definite "Aarrr me hearties!" accent 😂

I've finished the book and read the thread from the start. I think this is one of the saddest of Dickens's books that I have ever read. There was so much unnecessary suffering due to one man's pride and arrogance. His emotional withdrawal and cruelty were staggering. Also, Mrs. Skewton/Cleopatra and Mrs. Brown belonged to the awful parents category. There were lots of interesting parallels in the book between parent or parental figures and children.

I thought the pace slowed down too after the midpoint before picking up again. I'm glad I read this one. Definitely worthwhile.

I haven't even started reading this part yet!

I’ve finished it too! Just wanted to get it out of the way, as it were, before the festivities took over….

I had to catch up so it made sense to keep going!
I'm looking forward to our discussion.