What would he make of modern London now? Would the child poverty and wealth differentials seem familiar? The air pollution? The venal politicians and capitalist monopolies? Or would he have rejected our re world characters as too grotesque even for him, and written science fiction instead?

Oh no wyot - that talent is eternal. He'd be going on about superficialisation, about Covid panic and most of all about the False Allegations Industry. My first lawyer in 2001 was pure Voles.

JK2006 wrote:
Oh no wyot - that talent is eternal. He'd be going on about superficialisation, about Covid panic and most of all about the False Allegations Industry. My first lawyer in 2001 was pure Voles.

He would sound a lot like you then!?
I do think we lack many contemporary writers who take on the modern world and certainly with the comic genius (or any real comedy) of Dickens. I know we both love the Wolf Hall series and there is some great historic fiction. There is endless sci-fi and fantasy set elsewhere. But why so little contemporary comic literary writing?

I sometimes daydream about what Kingsley Amis would make about the snowflake generation and cancel culture...

You did a lot of “Dickens” in your day Wyot !