The Letters of Charles Dickens The Pilgrim Edition, Volume 8: 1856-1858

This eighth volume presents roughly 1,500 letters, many unpublished, from 1856 to 1858. One of the most interesting in Dickens's life, the period includes several major changes in the writer's public and private life, including his separation from his wife, the beginning of his new career of paid readings from his works, the writing of his monthly serial Little Dorrit , and his involvement with the young actress Ellen Ternan. Throughout, there is new material, both in the letters and in the editors' annotation, with some fresh interpretation of controversial matters.