A TIMES BOOK OF THE YEAR The year is 1851. Its a time of radical change in Britain when industrial miracles and artistic innovations rub shoulders with political unrest poverty and disease. Its also a turbulent time in the life of Charles Dickens as he copes with a double bereavement and early signs that his marriage is falling apart. But this year will become the turning point in Dickenss career as he embraces his calling as a chronicler of ordinary peoples lives. The Turning Point transports us into the foggy streets of Dickenss London closely following the twists and turns of a year that would come to define him and forever alter Britains relationship with the world.Sparklingly informative GuardianWonderfully entertaining ObserverIt is hard to imagine a better book on Dickens New Statesman