Paul Schlicke je medzinárodne uznávaný odborník na dielo Charlesa Dickensa. Vo svojej práci sa zameriava na život a dielo jedného z najväčších britských spisovateľov, pričom čerpá z mimoriadne rozmanitých informácií. Schlicke vrhá nové a často nečakané svetlo na najznámejšie Dickensove diela a skúma zážitky, udalosti a literatúru, ktoré ho formovali. Jeho prístup ponúka hlbšie pochopenie majstra románu.
Following the success of Pickwick Papers and Oliver Twist, Nicholas Nickleby was hailed as a comic triumph and firmly established Dickens as a 'literary gentleman'. It has a full supporting cast of delectable characters that range from the iniquitous Wackford Squeers and his family, to the delightful Mrs Nickleby, taking in the eccentric Crummles and his travelling players, the Mantalinis, the Kenwigs and many more.
In Hard Times, Dickens illustrates the condition of England through the fictional city of Coketown. Among its inhabitants are Thomas Gradgrind, the utilitarian headmaster who attempts to impose his rigid worldview on his family circle, and the uncaring businessman Mr Bounderby. Their materialist philosophies, as opposed to the world of fancy or imagination, are tested throughout the novel, which also explores workers’ conditions, trade unions and the spurious use of statistics. Perhaps the most polemical of his novels – in which hard-biting satire, moving drama and exuberant comedy find a very succinct and powerful expression – Hard Times is the ideal introduction to the world of Dickens.