The Casualsdetails

When Charles Dickens selected Mr. Luke Fildes to be the illustrator of the never-completed Edwin Drood,” the great novelist was only giving another instance of the marvellous insight he possessed into character. He saw at a glance, doubtless, that in our present subject he would find a genius that jumped precisely with his own. That he was right must be evident to all who have any knowledge of Mr. Fildes’ work. The deep pathos, the dramatic realism, the power of close observation of simple but telling details, the intimate acquaintance with the motives, feelings, and emotions, stirring the heart of every-day common life which it displays, are in the very spirit of Dickens [...] (p. 49)