THE DICKENS BOY | THOMAS KENEALLY | 2020

As I had just finished reading The Invisible Woman by Claire Tomalin, about Nellie Ternan, the actress and Charles Dickens’ lover, I grabbed the opportunity to read a fictionalised account of one of his sons sent to Australia.

What a contradiction Charles Dickens is. He can bring us to tears with accounts of hard done by boys but was himself either embarrassed or reluctant to admit that some of his children were under-achievers. So he sent two of his sons to Australia.

At just sixteen, Edward Bulwer Lytton Dickens nick-named Plorn by his father is sent first to Melbourne but ends up in outback New South Wales in the late 1860s. Apparently he failed to “apply himself” at school and he has a secret: he’s never read any of his father’s books. Plorn is to become a gentleman stockman and is treated with respect as the famous writer’s son. Abounding with Australianisms, bushrangers, sheep drovers, cricket and his first lovers, the book depicts Plorn’s curious adventures as he grows into a successful man on the land.

This was another book I put down. Written as a simple narrative, I think as I had recently read a few challenging books, this one seemed a little too simple and ultimately lacked depth. But after a short while persisting with it, I fell in love with Plorn and his self-deprecatory nature. There’s nothing new here for Australians but for lovers of Charles Dickens’ works and history it’s a great addition to the bookshelf.