Hard Times

I have just finished reading “Hard Times” by Charles Dickens. Why you may ask? Well not for pleasure exactly. It was for research for my next book. I need to explore what life would have been like in 1850’s England and reading fiction written in that time period is one way to do that.

Charles Dickens's "Hard Times" is a literary classic renowned for its social commentary and vivid characterisations. There is no doubt that one of Dickens’s greatest strengths is his ability to create realistic and diverse characters. This work by Dickens, definitely brings the social fabric of Victorian England to life. However, the novel's use of distinctive speech patterns and accents presents a unique challenge for some readers. I must say that I found it particularly challenging. The phonetic spelling used by Dickens to denote the accent of Stephen Blackpool and the lisp of Mr Sleary were quite off putting for me and took me out of the story as I tried to understand the dialogue.

"Hard Times" is a powerful literary work that tackles significant social issues and presents memorable characters. The use of distinctive speech patterns and accents adds a layer of authenticity and reflects the linguistic diversity of the era. I found it very valuable for my research.  However, it did pose challenges to the readability and definitely took me out of the story.

Does phonetic spelling to denote speech patterns take you out of the story?