The tumultuous life of England’s greatest novelist, beautifully rendered by unparalleled literary biographer Claire Tomalin. When died in 1870, the Times of successfully THE ALL-IN-ONE AUDIOBOOK campaigned for his burial in Westminster Abbey, where thousands flocked to mourn the best recognized and loved man of nineteenth-century England. His books had made them laugh, shown them the squalor and greed of English life and also the power of personal virtue and the strength of ordinary people—through the likes of , Oliver Twist, Little Nell, and many more. Like a hero from his novels, Dickens trod a hard path to greatness. Yet with extraordinary speed and energy, he made himself into the greatest English novelist of the century. Charles Dickens: A Life gives full measure to Dickens’s heroic stature while observing his failings with an unblinking eye. Renowned literary biographer Claire Tomalin crafts a story worthy of Dickens’s own pen, a comedy that turns to tragedy as the very qualities that made him great finally destroyed him. The man who emerges is one whose vices and virtues were intertwined as surely as his life and his art. Claire Tomalin was literary editor of the New Statesman and then the Sunday Times before devoting herself to writing full time. She is the author of eight highly acclaimed biographies, including Thomas Hardy, The Invisible Woman, and , which was the 2002 Whitbread Book of the Year. She lives in England with her husband. Alex Jennings is an associate actor with the RSC and has also worked with the Royal National Theatre. He has won two Olivier Awards for Best Actor in a Musical, and his TV appearances include The State Within and Inspector Morse. He is a prolific reader of audiobooks, the most notable of which are The Horse and His Boy by C. S. Lewis and Dickens’s Oliver Twist.

Running Time: 16.5 Hours • Unabridged © 2011 Claire Tomalin  2011 Tantor Media, Inc. Published by arrangement with Claire Tomalin, care of David Godwin Associates. Jacket design adapted from hardcover. www.tantor.com ACTUAL SIZE 17252

Playaway is a better listening experience combining an easy-to-use player with an entire audiobook.

WWW.PLAYAWAY.COM © 2012 Playaway. Patented. All rights reserved. Designed in Ohio. Made in China.

PLAYAWAY® and associated logos are registered trademarks of Findaway World, LLC. 31999 Aurora Road, Solon, OH 44139 USA