Dickens and the sentimental tradition: Fielding, Richardson, Sterne, Goldsmith, Sheridan, Lamb

A timely rereading of Dickens' novels in the light of the sentimetnal trasdtion he inherited from the eighteenth century, suggesting ways in which this tradtion was reread and sometimes misread as it evolved into nineteenth century sentimentality. Dickens is shown to be writing as part of a strong and important literary tradition which has often been undervalued or dismissed out of hand by twentieth-century critics.