On Books: Girl in a Blue Dress

When Borders closed in Buckhead a few months ago, I went and stocked up on some random titles that I had never heard of. Mostly because these were the ones that were 70% off. I am finally starting to work my way through them, and I started with Girl in a Blue Dress by Gaynor Arnold.

 
Told from the perspective of Charles' Dickens forgotten wife Dorothea, the novel chronicles the couple's marriage from its romantic beginnings to its tumultuous demise. From the onset the reader is privy to the fact that not only has Charles (called Alfred) ditched his wife, but has found a solstice in both his sister-in-law and a mistress. I was hoping for a romantic love story turned sour, but what I found were a few disappointing and rather disturbing facts about Charles Dickens that made me judge (and somewhat despise) this literary great. Arnold says that she was careful to choose different names for her characters to give them some freedoms in the novel, but that the basic plot is very much based on the famous couple. While interesting and educational, the novel falls short in its story-telling. I found myself having to push through it several times.

Overall, not my favorite book ever, but it was worth the read to learn a little more about Dickens' life.

Read this if you liked: The Other Boleyn Girl

If you enjoyed it try: The Paris Wife