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Girl in a Blue Dress; A Novel Inspired By the Life & Marriage of Charles Dickens

Girl in a Blue Dress; A Novel Inspired By the Life & Marriage of Charles Dickens

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Girl in a Blue Dress; A Novel Inspired By the Life & Marriage of Charles Dickens

by Arnold, Gaynor

  • Used
  • Paperback
  • first
Condition
Very Good
ISBN 10
0307463036
ISBN 13
9780307463036
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About This Item

Three Rivers Press, 2009. First Three Rivers Press Edition, First Printing. Very Good trade paperback.. Softcover. Very Good.

Synopsis

At the end of her life, Catherine, the cast-off wife of Charles Dickens, gave the letters she had received from her husband to their daughter Kate, asking her to donate them to the British Museum, "so the world may know that he loved me once." The incredible vulnerability and heartache evident beneath the surface of this remark inspired Gaynor Arnold to write Girl in a Blue Dress, a dazzling debut novel inspired by the life of this tragic yet devoted woman. Arnold brings the spirit of Catherine Dickens to life in the form of Dorothea "Dodo" Gibson--a woman who is doomed to live in the shadow of her husband, Alfred, the most celebrated author in the Victorian world. The story opens on the day of Alfred's funeral. Dorothea is not among the throngs in attendance when The One and Only is laid to rest. Her mourning must take place within the walls of her modest apartment, a parting gift from Alfred as he ushered her out of their shared home and his life more than a decade earlier. Even her own children, save her outspoken daughter Kitty, are not there to offer her comfort--they were poisoned against her when Alfred publicly declared her an unfit wife and mother. Though she refuses to don the proper mourning attire, Dodo cannot bring herself to demonize her late husband, something that comes all too easily to Kitty. Instead, she reflects on their time together--their clandestine and passionate courtship, when he was a force of nature and she a willing follower; and the salad days of their marriage, before too many children sapped her vitality and his interest. She uncovers the frighteningly hypnotic power of the celebrity author she married. Now liberated from his hold on her, Dodo finds the courage to face her adult children, the sister who betrayed her, and the charming actress who claimed her husband's love and left her heart aching.A sweeping tale of love and loss that was long-listed for both the Man Booker Prize and the Orange Prize, Girl in a Blue Dress is both an intimate peek at the woman who was behind one of literature's most esteemed men and a fascinating rumination on marriage that will resonate across centuries.From the Hardcover edition.

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Details

Bookseller
The Book House - St. Louis US (US)
Bookseller's Inventory #
230726-GR09
Title
Girl in a Blue Dress; A Novel Inspired By the Life & Marriage of Charles Dickens
Author
Arnold, Gaynor
Format/Binding
Paperback
Book Condition
Used - Very Good
Quantity Available
1
ISBN 10
0307463036
ISBN 13
9780307463036
Publisher
Three Rivers Press
Place of Publication
New York
Date Published
2009
Keywords
Fiction, Historical, Writers, Biographical

Terms of Sale

The Book House - St. Louis

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About the Seller

The Book House - St. Louis

Seller rating:
This seller has earned a 5 of 5 Stars rating from Biblio customers.
Biblio member since 2005
Maplewood, Missouri

About The Book House - St. Louis

Booksellers since 1986. We have over 350,000 books in our open shop located in the St. Louis, Missouri area about 45,000 listed online. A portion of all proceeds support Second Chapter Life Center for young adults with special needs.

Glossary

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Trade Paperback
Used to indicate any paperback book that is larger than a mass-market paperback and is often more similar in size to a hardcover...

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