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.

Girl in a Blue Dress: A Novel Inspired by the Life and Marriage of Charles Dickens

Literature & Fiction

Arnold, Gaynor

Literary

Crown

This dazzling debut novel brings the spirit of Catherine Dickens--the cast-off wife of Charles 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. Girl in a Blue Dress 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.

United States

The celebrated debut novel inspired by the life and marriage of Charles Dickens Alfred Gibson’s funeral is taking place at Westminster Abbey, and his wife of twenty years, Dorothea, has not been invited. The Great Man’s will favours his children and a clandestine mistress over the woman he sent away when their youngest child was still an infant. Dorothea hasn’t left her small apartment for years, and accepts her exclusion — until an invitation to a private audience with Queen Victoria arrives. The exhilaration of finding that she has much in common with the most powerful woman in England spurs Dorothea to examine her own life more closely. Her recollections uncover deviousness and the frighteningly hypnotic power of the genius she married, but also raise questions about her own complicity in her unhappiness. Questions that finally compel her to face her grown-up children and the two women she has long felt stole her husband: her own younger sister, Sissy, and the charming actress, Miss Ricketts. This remarkable debut is as wise in the ways of the human heart as it is witty and vivid in its depiction of the charismatic Alfred Gibson, and the habits, mores, and personalities of Victorian London.

Girl in a Blue Dress

Genre Fiction

MCCLELLAND STEWART

The celebrated debut novel inspired by the life and marriage of Charles Dickens Alfred Gibson’s funeral is taking place at Westminster Abbey, and his wife of twenty years, Dorothea, has not been invited. The Great Man’s will favours his children and a clandestine mistress over the woman he sent away when their youngest child was still an infant. Dorothea hasn’t left her small apartment for years, and accepts her exclusion — until an invitation to a private audience with Queen Victoria arrives. The exhilaration of finding that she has much in common with the most powerful woman in England spurs Dorothea to examine her own life more closely. Her recollections uncover deviousness and the frighteningly hypnotic power of the genius she married, but also raise questions about her own complicity in her unhappiness. Questions that finally compel her to face her grown-up children and the two women she has long felt stole her husband: her own younger sister, Sissy, and the charming actress, Miss Ricketts. This remarkable debut is as wise in the ways of the human heart as it is witty and vivid in its depiction of the charismatic Alfred Gibson, and the habits, mores, and personalities of Victorian London. From the Hardcover edition.

Emblem Editions

In Alfred Gibson the fierce energy and brilliance of the most famous of the Victorian novelists is recreated, in a heart-warming story of first love—of a cocky young writer smitten by a pretty girl in a blue dress
Alfred Gibson's funeral has taken place at Westminster Abbey, and his wife of twenty years, Dorothea, has not been invited. Her younger daughter Kitty comforts her, until an invitation for a private audience with Queen Victoria arrives, and she begins to examine her own life more closely. Uncovering the true deviousness and hypnotic power of her celebrity author husband, she'll now need to face her grown-up children—and worse—her redoubtable younger sister, Sissy and the charming actress, Miss Ricketts.

Tindal st Pr Ltd

From the author of Girl in a Blue Dresslonglisted for the Man Booker Prize in 2008comes a collection of stories on the problems, secrets, and lies that effect every relationship Drawing on the experiences of people as they struggle with the day to day issues, prize-listed author Gaynor Arnold explores relationships in unflinching detailbut with a light romance and ironic observation of character, with humor and hope as well as sadness. Bringing the problematic lives of her lively cast of characters an unparalleled level of empathy and insight, story lines include: a wartime waitress attracted to a mysterious customer, admiring his skin and studious ways, but wonders why he is not in uniform. Two volatile drinkers form an unlikely partnership to escape a secure institution. A teenage girl is dominated by her strident mother, whom she nicknames The Mouth” and who drives her out of the family home. A dance teacher is unexpectedly remembered by a journalist admirer. A commuter buying flowers for his wife is waylaid by a voice from his past. With a sharp understanding of social issues and skill with the short story form, the literary tact involved in these engaging reads merit comparison with Carol Shields and Alice Munro.

Lying Together

Inspired by the tender and troubling friendship between Lewis Carroll and Alice Liddell, this novel brings to scintillating life an idiosyncractic genius and his timeless muse When the writer, Oxford scholar, and photographer John Jameson visits the home of his vicar friend, Daniel Baxter, he is entranced by his youngest daughter, Daisy. Jameson charms her with his wit and childlike imagination, teasing her with riddles and inventing humorous stories as they enjoy afternoons alone by the river and in his rooms. The shocking impact of this unusual friendship is only brought to light when, years later, Daisy, unsettled in her marriage, rediscovers her childhood diaries hidden in an old toy chest. Will reading the secrets held in those gilt-edged pages help fill the gaps in her memory and explain why the touch of her kind, considerate husband fills her with such revulsion? With the same assured feel for the Victorian period displayed in her prize-listed debut, this book demonstrates Gaynor Arnold's extraordinary capacity to imagine the truth behind the facts.

After Such Kindness

British & Irish

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Books by Arnold, Gaynor

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Arnold, Gaynor. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Girl in a Blue Dress: A Novel Inspired by the Life and Marriage of Charles Dickens

Girl in a Blue Dress: A Novel Inspired by the Life and Marriage of Charles Dickens

Girl in a Blue Dress

Girl in a Blue Dress

Girl in a Blue Dress

Lying Together

After Such Kindness