Barnaby Rudge: A Tale of the Riots of 'Eighty is a historical novel by the author Charles Dickens. The plot is based on the "no-popery" or Gordon riots of 1780 seen through the eyes of the simple but good-hearted title character. The fanatical anti-Catholic Lord George Gordon is treated with some sympathy in the novel, which concludes with a panoramic description of the riots, which lasted several days.
Barnaby Rudge (along with The Old Curiosity Shop) was one of two novels which Dickens published in his short-lived weekly serial Master Humphrey's Clock, which lasted from 1840 to 1841, when Barnaby Rudge was published. It was Dickens' first attempt at a historical novel, his only other being A Tale of Two Cities.
The title character is accompanied throughout by a talking raven whose vocalizations, though seemingly random, are usually comments on the action. It is said that Edgar Allan Poe was inspired by Barnaby Rudge in writing The Raven.
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Last updated: 07-30-2005 04:12:30
