The Final Recollections of Charles Dickens: A Novel

As I travel the circle of my life near to its completion, I remember a time when I was young and more idealistic than I am today; when my step was lighter and my hair not so gray. For many of my days, I have been the most public of men. Yet I have kept the most important chapter of my life private and hidden from view. I write now of that time with the wisdom of a life fully lived and with the honesty of one who senses that the grave is near. I write so that, when I pass from this world, the events and people that I am about to describe shall be remembered forever. England, 1870: His health failing, his most important work all but done, Charles Dickens is readying for the final bed. But there is one more story that he must tell. The Final Recollections of Charles Dickens blends a historically-accurate telling of Dickens s life with a gripping portrait of betrayal, murder, corruption, obsession, and love. It s the story of Dickens s coming of age, caught between the worlds of England s ruling elite and the seamy underside of London society. The novel captures a full range of Dickensian characters: Dickens; the hauntingly beautiful Amanda Wingate; Geoffrey Wingate, Amanda s scheming financial-swindler husband; and Florence Spriggs, a mutilated prostitute whose once-lovely face has been carved into a mask of horror. Meticulously researched and masterfully told, The Final Recollections of Charles Dickens captures the voice of the beloved author, the divided city of London, and the uncertain tenor of the times."