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The World of Charles Dickens: Dickens Online

Research guide devoted to the works of Charles Dickens and the Victorian Era from which he derived inspiration and material for most of his work.

Alabama Virtual Library

The Alabama Virtual Library (AVL) provides all students, teachers, and citizens of the State of Alabama with online access to essential library and information resources. It is primarily a group of online databases that have magazine, journal, and newspaper articles for research.  If you enjoy the benefits that AVL brings to your school, college, library or home, please take a few minutes to thank your local legislators for providing this resource for the State of Alabama.

AVL can be accessed through the Huntsville-Madison County Public Library  website by clicking on 'Online Resources' and selecting 'Alabama Virtual Library' from the pulldown menu. The easiest way to see all of your options is to click on 'View All Resources.'

Many of the Alabama Virtual Library databases provide access to full-text magazine, newspaper, and journal articles. To find articles on your topic, you can

  • search by keyword
  • browse by subject
  • browse by journal title.

Once you find an article you need, you can download it to your computer, print it, or e-mail it to yourself.

One of the most useful databases for finding articles on literary figures such as Charles Dickens is Literature Resources from Gale. This database provides multiple options including basic search, advanced search, person search, works search and a Gale literary index. Also included are icons for bookmarking entries, dictionary searching, database title lists, general help, tips and a guided tour.

Got A Question? Ask Us!

      Got a Question? Ask Us!

Biographical information on Alabama Virtual Library

Castieau, John B. "The Fictions of Forster." The Dickensian 12.10 (Oct. 1916): 264-269. Rpt. in Nineteenth-Century Literature Criticism. Ed. Laurie Lanzen Harris and Jay Parini. Vol. 11. Detroit: Gale Research, 1986.Gale Literature; accessed 16 Sept 2021.
 
Hardy, Barbara. "Dickens, Charles (1812–1870)." British Writers. Ed. Ian Scott-Kilvert. Vol. 5. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1979. 41-74. Gale Literature; accessed 16 Sept 2021.
 
Newsom, Robert. "Conclusion: Dickens and the Middle Class" From "Charles Dickens Revisited". Twayne's Authors Series 558. 2000. Gale Literature; accessed 16 Sept 2021.
  
Lee, Hermione. "The Man Who Didn't Sleep." New Republic 204.23 (10 June 1991): 35-38. Rpt. in Contemporary Literary Criticism. Ed. Janet Witalec. Vol. 166. Detroit: Gale, 2003. Gale Literature; accessed 16 Sept 2021.
 
Rubin, Merle. "Revisiting Dickens (and Friend)." Christian Science Monitor (25 Feb. 1991): 13. Rpt. in Contemporary Literary Criticism. Ed. Janet Witalec. Vol. 166. Detroit: Gale, 2003. Gale Literature; accessed 16 Sept 2021.
 

Articles on 'Bleak House' in Alabama Virtual Library

Chorley, Henry Fothergill. "Review of 'Bleak House,'." The Athenaeum 2.1351 (17 Sept. 1853): 1087-1088. Rpt. in Nineteenth-Century Literature Criticism. Ed. Laurie Lanzen Harris. Vol. 8. Detroit: Gale Research, 1985. Gale Literature; accessed 16 Sept 2021.
 
Farrow, Anthony. "The Cosmic Point of View in Bleak House." Cithara: Essays in the Judaeo-Christian Tradition 13.2 (May 1974): 34-45. Rpt. in Nineteenth-Century Literature Criticism. Ed. Russel Whitaker and Kathy D. Darrow. Vol. 187. Detroit: Gale, 2008. Gale Literature; accessed 16 Sept 2021.
 
Heady, Emily. "The polis's different voices: narrating England's progress in Dickens' Bleak House." Texas Studies in Literature and Language Vol 48 Issue 4 2006. Gale Literature; accessed 16 Sept 2021.
 
Jordan, John O. "The ghost in Bleak House." Dickens Quarterly 27.1 (2010): 23+.Gale Literature;accessed 16 Sept 2021.
 
Page, Norman. "Critical Reception." From Bleak House:  A Novel of Connections. Twayne's Masterwork Studies 42. Boston, MA: Twayne Publishers, 1990. 102 pp.1990; Gale Literature; accessed 24 Sept 2021.
 
 

Articles on 'A Christmas Carol' in Alabama Virtual Library

Buckwald, Craig. "Stalking the Figurative Oyster: The Excursive Ideal in A Christmas Carol." Studies in Short Fiction 27.1 (Winter 1990): 1-14. Rpt. in Nineteenth-Century Literature Criticism. Ed. Kathy D. Darrow. Vol. 211. Detroit: Gale, 2009. EBSCO Host; accessed 22 Sept. 2021.
 
Erickson, Lee. "The Primitive Keynesianism of Dickens' 'A Christmas Carol." Studies in the Literary Imagination Spring 97, Vol. 30 Issue 1, p. 51. 16 p. 3 graphs; Academic Search Premier; accessed 22 Sept 2021.
 
Fitzgerald-Hoyt, Mary. "A Christmas Carol: Overview." Reference Guide to English Literature. Ed. D. L. Kirkpatrick. 2nd ed. Chicago: St. James Press, 1991. Gale Literature; accessed 22 Sept 2021.
 
Holderness, Graham. "Imagination in A Christmas Carol." Études Anglaises: Grande-Bretagne, Éts-Unis 32.1 (Jan.-Mar. 1979): 28-45. Rpt. in Nineteenth-Century Literature Criticism. Ed. Kathy D. Darrow. Vol. 211. Detroit: Gale, 2009. Gale Literature; accessed 22 Sept 2021.
 
Kelly, David. "Overview of 'A Christmas Carol'." Novels for Students. Ed. Michael L. LaBlanc and Ira Mark Milne. Vol. 10. Detroit: Gale, 2001.Gale Literature; accessed 22 Sept 2021.
 
 

Articles on 'David Copperfield' in Alabama Virtual Library

Craig, David M. "The Interplay of City and Self in Oliver Twist, David Copperfield, and Great Expectations." Dickens Studies Annual 16 (1987): 17-38. Rpt. in Nineteenth-Century Literature Criticism. Ed. Jessica Bomarito and Russel Whitaker. Vol. 172. Detroit: Gale, 2006. Gale Literature; accessed 24 Sept 2021.
 
Federico, Annette R. "David Copperfield and the Pursuit of Happiness". Victorian Studies Vol 46 Issue 1. Autumn 2003. Indiana University Press. Gale Literature; accessed 24 Sept 2021.
 
Hughes, Felicity. "Narrative Complexity in David Copperfield." ELH 41.1 (Spring 1974): 89-105. Rpt. in Nineteenth-Century Literature Criticism. Ed. Jessica Bomarito and Russel Whitaker. Vol. 161. Detroit: Gale, 2006. Gale Literature; accessed 24 Sept 2021.
 
Oulton, Carolyn. "'My Undisciplined Heart': Romantic Friendship in David Copperfield." Dickens Quarterly 21.3 (Sept. 2004): 157-169. Rpt. in Nineteenth-Century Literature Criticism. Vol. 196. Detroit: Gale, 2008. Gale Literature; accessed 24 Sept 2021.
 
Wilkes, David M. "Dickens's David Copperfield." Explicator 51.3 (Spring 1993): 157-159. Rpt. in Children's Literature Review. Ed. Allison Marion. Vol. 95. Detroit: Gale, 2004.Gale Literature; accessed 24 Sept 2021.
 

Articles on 'Great Expectations' in Alabama Virtual Library

Barnard, Robert. "Imagery and Theme in Great Expectations." Dickens Studies Annual (1970): 238-251. Rpt. in Novels for Students. Ed. Marie Rose Napierkowski. Vol. 4. Detroit: Gale, 1998. Gale Literature; accessed 24 Sept 2021.
 
Leech, Geoffrey. "Style in fiction revisited: the beginning of great expectations." Style Summer 2007: 117+. Gale Literature; accessed 24 Sept 2021.
 
Meckier, Jerome. "Charles Dickens's 'Great Expectations': a defense of the second ending." Studies in the Novel 25.1 (1993): 28+. Gale Literature; accessed 24 Sept 2021.
  
Parkinson, Kirsten L. "'What do you play, boy?': card games in Great Expectations." Dickens Quarterly 27.2 (2010): 119+. Gale Literature; accessed 24 Sept 2021.
 
Scupham, Peter. "Charles Dickens’s Great Expectations." British Writers Classics. Ed. Jay Parini. Vol. 1. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 2003. 87-104. Gale Literature; accessed 24 Sept 2021.

Articles on 'Hard Times' in Alabama Virtual Library

Aubrey, Bryan. "Critical Essay on 'Hard Times'." Novels for Students. Ed. Ira Mark Milne and Timothy Sisler. Vol. 20. Detroit: Gale, 2005. Gale Literature; accessed 24 Sept 2021.
 
Dahmane, Razak. "'A Mere Question of Figures': Measures, Mystery, and Metaphor in Hard Times." Dickens Studies Annual 23 (1994): 137-162. Rpt. in Nineteenth-Century Literature Criticism. Ed. Kathy D. Darrow. Vol. 230. Detroit: Gale, 2011. Gale Literature; accessed 24 Sept 2021.
 
Horne, Lewis B. "Hope and Memory in Hard Times." Dickensian 75.3 (Autumn 1979): 167-174. Rpt. in Novels for Students. Ed. Ira Mark Milne and Timothy Sisler. Vol. 20. Detroit: Gale, 2005. Gale Literature; accessed 24 Sept 2021.
 
Humpherys, Anne. "Louisa Gradgrind's Secret: Marriage and Divorce in Hard Times." Dickens Studies Annual 25 (1996): 177-195. Rpt. in Novels for Students. Ed. Ira Mark Milne and Timothy Sisler. Vol. 20. Detroit: Gale, 2005. Gale Literature; accessed 24 Sept 2021.
 
Levy, Eric P. "Dickens' Pathology of Time in Hard Times." Philological Quarterly 74.2 (Spring 1995): 189-207. Rpt. in Nineteenth-Century Literature Criticism. Ed. Kathy D. Darrow. Vol. 230. Detroit: Gale, 2011. Gale Literature; accessed 24 Sept 2021.
 

Articles on 'Oliver Twist' in Alabama Virtual Library

 Baldridge, Cates. "The Instabilities of Inheritance in Oliver Twist." Studies in the Novel 25.2 (Summer 1993): 184-195. Rpt. in Children's Literature Review. Ed. Allison Marion. Vol. 95. Detroit: Gale, 2004. Gale Literature; accessed 24 Sept 2021.
 
Howe, Irving. "The Spell of Fagin--Reconsideration: Oliver Twist." New Republic 188 (20 June 1983): 27-32. Rpt. in Children's Literature Review. Ed. Allison Marion. Vol. 95. Detroit: Gale, 2004. Gale Literature; accessed 24 Sept 2021.
 
Priley, Angela Marie. "An Analysis of Oliver Twist." Children's Literature Association Quarterly 18.4 (Winter 1993): 189. Rpt. in Children's Literature Review. Ed. Allison Marion. Vol. 95. Detroit: Gale, 2004. Gale Literature; accessed 24 Sept 2021.
 
Sawicki, Joseph. "Oliver (Un)Twisted: Narrative Strategies in Oliver Twist." Victorian Newsletter 73 (Spring 1988): 23-27. Rpt. in Nineteenth-Century Literature Criticism. Vol. 203. Detroit: Gale, 2009.Gale Literature; accessed 24 Sept 2021.
 
Wheeler, Burton M. "The Text and Plan of Oliver Twist." Dickens Studies Annual: Essays on Victorian Fiction 12 (1983): 41-61. Rpt. in Nineteenth-Century Literature Criticism. Vol. 203. Detroit: Gale, 2009. Gale Literature; accessed 24 Sept 2021.
 

Articles on 'A Tale of Two Cities' in Alabama Virtual Library

Friedman, Barton R. "Antihistory: Dickens' A Tale of Two Cities." Fabricating History: English Writers on the French Revolution. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1988. 145-171. Rpt. in Nineteenth-Century Literature Criticism. Ed. Kathy D. Darrow. Vol. 239. Detroit: Gale, 2011.Gale Literature; accessed 24 Sept 2021.
 
Hollington, Michael. "The Losing Game: Exile and Threshold in A Tale of Two Cities." Cahiers Victoriens et Edouardiens 51 (Apr. 2000): 189-205. Rpt. in Nineteenth-Century Literature Criticism. Ed. Jessica Bomarito and Russel Whitaker. Vol. 172. Detroit: Gale, 2006. Gale Literature; accessed 24 Sept 2021.
 
Monod, Sylvère. "Dickens's Attitudes in A Tale of Two Cities." Nineteenth-Century Fiction 24.4 (Mar. 1970): 488-505. Rpt. in Nineteenth-Century Literature Criticism. Ed. Kathy D. Darrow. Vol. 239. Detroit: Gale, 2011. Gale Literature; accessed 24 Sept 2021.
 
Stange, G. Robert. "Dickens and the Fiery Past: A Tale of Two Cities Reconsidered." English Journal (Oct. 1957): 381-390. Rpt. in Literature Resource Center. Detroit: Gale, 2013. Gale Literature; accessed 24 Sept 2021..
 
Woodcock, George. "A Tale of Two Cities: Overview." Reference Guide to English Literature. Ed. D. L. Kirkpatrick. 2nd ed. Chicago: St. James Press, 1991. Gale Literature; accessed 24 Sept 2021.