PositiveBookreporterWhat gives the book power is, in part, Wilson’s personal impressions, as well as his surefooted analysis of how Dickens translated his life into his art ... whether one has read his extensive oeuvre recently, or at all, is not critical to enjoying this biography, which is also a social history of the Victorian era ... Wilson calls [DIckens] a \'mesmerist\' and a \'visionary,\' and in The Mystery of Charles Dickens he gives ample proof of both.
