Barnaby Rudge

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Barnaby Rudge: A Tale of the Riots of 'Eighty is a historical novel by the author Charles Dickens.

1 Plot introduction
2 Plot summary
3 Characters in "Barnaby Rudge"
4 Allusions/references from other works
5 External links

Plot introduction

The plot is based on the "no-popery" or Gordon riots of 1780 seen through the eyes of the simple but good-hearted title character. The fanatical anti-Catholic Lord George Gordon is treated with some sympathy in the novel, which concludes with a panoramic description of the riots, which lasted several days.

Barnaby Rudge (along with The Old Curiosity Shop) was one of two novels which Dickens published in his short-lived weekly serial Master Humphrey's Clock, which lasted from 1840 to 1841, when Barnaby Rudge was published. It was Dickens' first attempt at a historical novel, his only other being A Tale of Two Cities.

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Plot summary

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

The first part of the story details the life of the residents of a small village in Epping Forest, just outside London, in the year 1775, the setting for the action being the Maypole Inn, the Warren (the Haredales' stately home) and the countryside around. The tale opens on the nineteenth of March with a sinister recounting of a violent murder that took place exactly twenty-two years before the story begins. During this first part, the book examines life in this village, including interpersonal relationships, in a traditionally Dickensian style. Some of the most important elements in this first section are:

The animosity between Mr Haredale and Sir John Chester
Edward Chester's love for Emma Haredale
Joe Willett's love for Dolly Varden; also Hugh's love for her
The tense relationship between Joe and his father
Barnaby's simpleness and need for his mother's protection

In chapter 35, with the arrival at the Maypole (on the nineteenth of March, five years after the story begins) of Lord Gordon and his followers, the stability of village life is interrupted, echoing the destruction that the riots in Gordon's name will cause in London itself, and the themes and characters that Dickens has built up become essential to the reader's understanding of the effects of the riots on society. Another tactic for subtly drawing attention to the way the story is unfolding is Grip the raven and his seemingly nonsensical comments, which often reveal greater truths to the reader than to the characters.

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Characters in "Barnaby Rudge"

The Rudges – Barnaby, a simple man, his loving mother Mary and Grip the raven
The Willetts – Old John, the keeper of the Maypole Inn, and his kindly son Joe
The Vardens – Gabriel, the locksmith, his intemperate wife, and his beautiful daughter Dolly
The Chesters – Sir John and his son Edward
The Haredales – Mr Haredale and his niece Emma
Hugh – the Maypole's sinister handyman
Lord George Gordon
Simon Tappertit – Gabriel Varden's apprentice, and Miggs, Mrs. Varden's lady's maid