Theresa Paolo, Kelley Lynn, Jessica Salyer, Jenny Morris and Suzi Retzlaff
are cohosting a fun bloghop about secondary characters to celebrate the release of their book of Secondary Characters on May 28th.
When I sat down to think about secondary characters, my mind immediately went to Charles Dickens. I read everything Dickens wrote in one fell swoop the summer of 1983. I don’t remember many details about the main characters in those books, but some of the secondary characters remain vivid in my mind.
Miss Havisham in Great Expectations is the personification of embitterment. She was left at the alter as a young woman, so she stopped all the clocks and lived the rest of her miserable life in her wedding gown. Rather than moving on with her life, she adopts a young girl and molds her into a hard, spiteful woman who can’t be touched by love.
Uriah Heep in David Copperfield – When I think about
a hypocrite, I think about Uriah Heep. He is a creepy young guy with long legs and spidery fingers that is always going on about how humble he is and faking appreciation of his employer. All while stabbing people in the back. Even though David Copperfield was written in the 1850’s, Uriah Heep is a character you could encounter today. He’s that waiter you don’t want touching your food or that greasy-haired check-out guy whose line you avoid.
Smike in Nicholas Nickleby still breaks my heart. He is a young mentally and physically disabled man that was abused his entire life. All we wanted in life was love and connection. As soon as he found love, he died. I still tear up when I think about him. I don’t remember what Nicholas Nickleby was about, but I certainly remember Smike.
I wonder if Charles Dickens enjoyed creating his secondary characters as I did when I was writing Overlook. My favorite is the main character’s hard drinking little sister, Rose McSweeney. She can be a bit larger-than-life because she doesn’t need to carry the whole plot.
elizabethhein.com 
So Dickens was your passion in 1983, huh? Did you read one of his books in school and become hooked? Did you ever try and tackle Bleak House? I think that one took me an entire summer to read. I’m another Dickens fan. And I think I was introduced to A Tale of Two Cities in a freshman lit class in college. And, of course, everyone loves A Christmas Carol.
I read Great Expectations in freshman English class and loved it. When my grandmother found out, she gave me a complete set of Dickens’ works. She was a member of The Dickens Society in MA and is always looking for someone to talk to about the books. I did read Bleak House but I can’t say it was my favorite. Perhaps I was too young at the time. I reread A Christmas Carol every few years – every time I see something new.
I loved the character of Miss Havisham, someone so completely frozen in time. What an amazing concept!
All the Dickens books in one summer? That is very impressive. I’ve only read a few, but have many of them on my TBR list. That list continues to grow all the time though, unfortunately, and I don’t think I’ll ever finish. 🙂
I was too sick to get a job or hang out with friends that summer so I read – a lot.