Dickens and Switzerland

Book excerpt: Dickens and Switzerland brings to light the many surprising connections between the country, which Dickens visited on several occasions, and the author's life and work. The close links between Dickens's biography, his writing and Switzerland have never before been examined so thoroughly. Rather than offering a mere chronology of travel, this volume explores Dickens's deep personal investment in the country and its people, which manifests itself in numerous and often the most unexpected places in his fictional and personal texts. It looks both at and beyond the period of the author's journeys to Switzerland during the 1840s and early 50s and considers both earlier and later references as well. The tome renders visible how Dickens's experience of Switzerland was more than merely episodic and is deeply connected to the rest of his life and literary work. As a significant and integral part of his imagination and his identity, Switzerland deserves a prominent pla ce in Dickensian scholarship.