Several years ago, a friend commented that the reader
shouldn’t have to suffer because the author did research.
Unfortunately, too many authors take too long to learn that just
because they learned an interested fact doesn’t mean it needs to be
included in their latest novel. Terry
Pratchett is a major enough author that he has managed to successfully
figure out how to share his research with his readers without including
pointless diversions in his novels. Following
the publication of his Dickensian novel Dodger, Pratchett has collated all of his research and published it
as an entertaining stand-alone book, Dodger’s
Guide to London.
Dodger provides a sort of gazetteer, exploring the
people and places that made up the Victorian era and allowing Pratchett to
share many of the interesting pieces of trivia he came across in his
research for the novel. However,
because Dodger’s Guide to London’s
entire raison d'être is to
present Pratchett’s research, it doesn’t suffer from the effect of
bogging down the plot as it might have had Pratchett tried to cram all the
information into his novel.
The book spans most of nineteenth century London, which
means that while everything it discusses occurred during the reign of Queen
Victoria, it does have a tendency to blur the lines between things that
happened in the 1840s, the 1860s, and the 1880s, which were all distinct
times. This is, perhaps, the biggest disservice the book does, although with
a little work, the reader can generally figure out which time period
Pratchett is describing.
The layout of the book, modeled after publications from
the Victorian period, also means that it isn’t always easy to read,
providing a dated look, both in layout and writing style, right down to mock
ink blotches on some of the pages.
Topics are set apart by various curlicues and line illustrations, much as
one would have found in the illustrated papers of the Victorian period, with
an occasional map interspersed to give some idea of how a particular area of
London was laid out. Similarly period style cartoons add not only to the
feel Pratchett is going for, but also impart further information about the
era.
One of the strongest points of The Dodger’s Guide to London is that it completely stands
on its own. Pratchett knows the
Dodger’s voice and personality from writing about him in the novel Dodger, and can use that background to good effect in this guide
book. The narrator has a
character distinct from Pratchett’s own, which makes the information being
presented more interesting than a dry recital of facts would be.
Instead, the reader gets an intriguing look at the
Victorian period, allowing them to dig into the background without worrying
about it getting in the way of the plot or characterizations of the
novel. At the same time, it does bring in Pratchett's sense of humor
and the absurd, presenting the information through a lens which makes it
more interesting and a wonderful addendum to his novel.
