An Unofficial 'The Rest Is History' Reading List
Charles Dickens
18 books referenced
Books by Charles Dickens
Referenced in 4 episodes
December 08, 2025
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Referenced when discussing the workhouse system, noting that 'anyone who's read Oliver Twist will know' about Victorian welfare in the form of workhouses
June 19, 2023
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Referenced indirectly through the character Bill Sykes when discussing how Wilde's punishment would be worse for him than 'for a Bill Sykes' - the murderer from the Dickens novel.
July 21, 2022
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Extensively discussed as the hosts visit Saffron Hill, the location of Fagin's lair in the novel. A passage is read aloud describing Oliver's first impressions of the area.
December 20, 2021
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Mentioned as one of Dickens' earlier successful books before A Christmas Carol
Referenced in 2 episodes
September 14, 2025
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Discussed as the novel for which Dickens used Restoration House in Rochester as inspiration for Miss Havisham's 'Satis House.' Dominic mentions winning a school reading competition four years in a row with the opening of this novel.
July 21, 2022
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Referenced when discussing the character Pip visiting Mr. Jaggers' offices near Smithfield - 'And one of them is Pip in Great Expectations by Charles Dickens, who, when he comes to London, goes to the offices of Mr. Jaggers.'
Referenced in 2 episodes
September 14, 2025
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Described as Dickens's 'last novel, which he never completed.' The hosts discuss the plot involving 'the opium addict and cathedral organist, John Jasper' and note that Rochester in the novel is called 'Cloisterham.'
December 20, 2021
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Mentioned as Dickens' last unfinished novel, noting it features a murder on Christmas
Referenced in 3 episodes
August 10, 2025
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Referenced when describing the chaotic scene at Lincoln's inauguration, comparing it to something Dickens would have enjoyed writing about, specifically 'like a scene from Martin Chuzzlewit.'
November 25, 2022
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Mentioned as a novel Dickens was writing: 'he's writing a novel called Martin Chuzzlewit' in which he sends his hero to America, with chapters that caused offense to Americans.
December 20, 2021
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Mentioned as Dickens' most recent book before A Christmas Carol, described as 'a bit of a failure' which motivated him to write something successful
Referenced in 3 episodes
February 03, 2025
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Referenced when Tom compares Caligula's behavior of contorting his face in the mirror to make it more fearsome to 'the malevolent dwarf Quilp in Charles Dickens' old curiosity shop.'
December 20, 2021
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Referenced when discussing the character Little Nell and comparing Tiny Tim to her as a sentimental figure
October 14, 2021
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A passage from this 1841 novel is read aloud describing the industrial landscape of the Black Country, with tall chimneys, smoke, and strange engines. Used to illustrate Victorian literary depictions of industrialization.
Referenced in 10 episodes
October 20, 2024
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The episode opens with a quotation from this novel describing the guillotine. The hosts use it to introduce the topic of the guillotine as a symbol of the French Revolution in the English-speaking world.
August 07, 2024
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Referenced alongside Burke and Carlyle as British writers who told the French Revolution story through the perspective of the aristocracy: 'They love to tell the story through the eyes, you know, with a sense of horror, fascinated horror at the revolution.'
August 01, 2024
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Referenced when discussing stereotypes and caricatures of the French Revolution and the French elite, suggesting that if one had read this book, they might have incorrect assumptions about the aristocracy's response to the crisis.
July 31, 2024
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Described as 'one of the most influential books on our perception of history that has ever been written' regarding the French Revolution
July 14, 2022
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Referenced alongside Pride and Prejudice as having a famous opening and noted as having 'quite a political resonance'
December 20, 2021
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One of the hosts mentions reading it during lockdown, describing being moved to tears by the ending
December 13, 2021
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Briefly referenced as having quotations appear in The Dark Knight Rises Batman film, mentioned in context of discussing the politics of superhero narratives
May 03, 2021
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Mentioned as representing the British/Dickensian view of the French Revolution, and referenced as the book Margaret Thatcher gave to Mitterrand at the bicentenary
January 11, 2021
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Argued to be the single most influential novel on how English-speaking world understands the French Revolution
January 04, 2021
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Tom mentions reading it 'for the first time since school' before Christmas, discussing how Dickens explains the French Revolution as a kind of conspiracy
Referenced in 3 episodes
June 23, 2024
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The hosts read an extended passage from this 1836 novel depicting an election scene in the fictional East Anglian town of Eton Swill (based on Bury St. Edmunds). They use it to introduce their discussion of the history of election campaigns, noting that Dickens had been a parliamentary reporter and held contempt for politicians throughout his life.
January 26, 2023
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Tom compares the staccato style of Goebbels' diary entry to the character Alfred Jingle from this Dickens novel
December 20, 2021
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Mentioned as one of Dickens' earlier successful books before A Christmas Carol
Referenced in 1 episode
February 01, 2024
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Mentioned when discussing the Marshalsea prison in Southwark, noting that 'Dickens' father ends up being in prison there' - the novel Little Dorrit features this prison prominently.
Referenced in 5 episodes
December 18, 2023
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Mentioned in comparison to the lengthy court case, with reference to 'Jandice and Jandice' (Jarndyce and Jarndyce). The hosts ask if Dickens had already written Bleak House at this point, noting it was published about 20 years before the Tichborne trial.
July 21, 2022
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Referenced in connection with the character Mr. Turvey Drop and the dancing school that once operated in the Lady Chapel space - 'And then, Mr. Turvey Drop, isn't it? Yeah, that's right. From Bleak House.'
May 16, 2022
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Mentioned for Inspector Bucket as an example of Dickens being a progenitor of detective fiction
October 18, 2021
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Referenced when discussing how dinosaurs were cutting-edge in Victorian times. Tom notes that 'in Bleak House, in the opening paragraph, Dickens fixes on... the mists that are kind of filling London. And he says that it wouldn't be a surprise to see a megalosaurus walking up Hoban Hill' - described as a 'cutting edge reference' for the time.
August 12, 2021
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Mentioned for introducing Inspector Bucket as a prototype for later detective characters
Referenced in 1 episode
November 25, 2022
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Explicitly mentioned as one of the books Dickens wrote after his American trip that 'cause immense upset in America,' described as 'basically a description of his journey' with 'a vituperative attack on the institution of slavery.'
Referenced in 1 episode
August 18, 2022
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Referenced at the beginning of the episode as Dickens' 'brilliant account of a travel across the continent' describing his impressions of Rome and Italy.
Referenced in 1 episode
January 20, 2022
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Tom mentions 'one of the other famous passages from Victorian literature describing this process is at the beginning of Dombey and Son, where Dickens describes the railway going through Camden and the kind of process of destruction.'
Referenced in 1 episode
January 06, 2022
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Briefly mentioned in connection with discussion of the Gordon Riots as a comparison point for religious violence in London
Referenced in 3 episodes
December 23, 2021
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Extensively discussed as one of the most beloved Victorian ghost stories, with details about its publication history, adaptation count, and the church locations featured in the story
December 20, 2021
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The main subject of the entire podcast episode - they are discussing the book, its origins, characters, and locations in London associated with it
December 21, 2020
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Extensively discussed as crucial to the modern understanding of Christmas, published in 1843. The hosts discuss how it created the template for Christmas celebrations, the Cratchit family scenes, Scrooge's transformation, and note the Muppet version as the best adaptation
Referenced in 1 episode
December 20, 2021
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Mentioned as one of Dickens' earlier successful books before A Christmas Carol
Referenced in 1 episode
December 20, 2021
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Mentioned as Dickens' very first work, noting it included a sketch about Christmas
Referenced in 1 episode
November 23, 2021
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Referenced when discussing Henry VIII - Dickens is quoted calling Henry VIII 'a most intolerable ruffian, a disgrace to human nature, and a blot of blood and grease upon the history of England.'
Referenced in 1 episode
February 18, 2021
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Referenced in discussion of Little Emily as an example of the 'fallen woman' who 'still remains pure' - used to discuss Victorian attitudes toward sexuality and fallen women