(Book Jacket Status: Jacketed) Charles Dickens's first
historical novel-set during the anti-Catholic riots of 1780-is an
unparalleled portrayal of the terror of a rampaging mob, seen
through the eyes of the individuals swept up in the chaos. Those
individuals include Emma, a Catholic, and Edward, a Protestant,
whose forbidden love weaves through the heart of the story; and the
simpleminded Barnaby, one of the riot leaders, whose fate is tied
to a mysterious murder and whose beloved pet raven, Grip, embodies
the mystical power of innocence. The story encompasses both the
rarified aristocratic world and the volatile streets and
nightmarish underbelly of London, which Dickens characteristically
portrays in vivid, pulsating detail. But the real focus of the book
is on the riots themselves, depicted with an extraordinary energy
and redolent of the dangers, the mindlessness, and the
possibilities-both beneficial and brutal-of the mob. One of the
lesser-known novels, "Barnaby Rudge" is nonetheless among the most
brilliant-and most terrifying-in Dickens's oeuvre.