Many people will have seen the article about my new book, Charles Dickens, in The Sunday Times on 2 October. It was great publicity, but rather inaccurate. Not least because, in the interview, I stated at least twice that Catherine Dickens was NOT an alcoholic. I explained that the ridiculous rumours of her alleged “drink problem” were started by supporters of Dickens who were trying to justify his decision to separate from her.
The article also implies that I believe Dickens slept with one or both of his sisters-in-law, in fact I said the opposite, that, yes, there have been rumours, but I don’t believe them. Another inaccuracy to correct is that the wrong publisher was credited; the real publisher of my book is Andre Deutsch (part of Carlton Books). Having said which, the article is great publicity, but anyone buying the book and thinking it’s going to be a sex-scandal-filled expos?âé is going to be rather disappointed. It’s a great book though!