Victorian
literature, in general, truthfully represents the reality & spirit of the age. The high-spirited vitality, the down-to-earth earnestness, the good-natured humor and unbounded imagination are all unprecedented 空前的. In almost every genre it paved the way for the coming century, where its spirits, values & experiments are to witness their harvest.
. Charles Dickens (1812-1870)
the
greatest representive of English critical realism Born at Portsmouth, his father was put into the prison for debt when he was only 12 Worked in underground shoeblacking then lawyer’s office as a junior clerk In 1835, became a reporter, later an editor, manager
Chapter II the Victorian Literature
magnitude众多
& diversity: Great writers and great works abounded It was many-sided, complex, reflected both romantically and realistically the great changes that were going on in people's life and thought.