The Haunted Man is a novella by Charles Dickens, first published in 1848. It is the fifth and last of Dickens' Christmas novellas. The tale centers on a Professor named Redlaw and those close to him.In this story, Dickens narrates the hair-raising experiences of the professor. As the protagonist dwells on his past sorrows and mistakes, a phantom visits him. It suggests him a bizarre escape from painful recollections of yesteryear by offering to eradicate his memory. On seeing the professor turn into a man devoid of emotions, the reader realizes how empty one becomes without a past. The Haunted Man epitomizes the genius of Charles Dickens. Featuring the breathless suspense, colorful characters, and witty humor that has made Dickens such a beloved author, the story also tackles some of the deepest philosophical and theological questions ever raised in his writings. His answer to 'the problem of evil" is of both literary and religious interest.
About the Author
Charles Dickens, born on February 7, 1812, at Portsmouth, Hampshire, England, was an English novelist, generally considered the greatest of the Victorian era. Dickens left school to work in a factory when his father was incarcerated in a debtors' prison. Despite his lack of formal education, he edited a weekly journal for 20 years, wrote 15 novels, five novellas, hundreds of short stories and non-fiction articles, lectured and performed readings extensively. Dickens enjoyed a great popularity during his lifetime. Much in his work could appeal to the simple and the sophisticated, to the poor and to the queen, and technological developments as well as the qualities of his work enabled his fame to spread worldwide very quickly. The range, compassion, and intelligence of his apprehension of his society and its shortcomings enriched his novels and made him both one of the great forces in the 19th-century literature and an influential spokesman of the conscience of his age.
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