Although not as widely known as some of his other works, Dombey and Son is nevertheless one of the greatest novels by Charles Dickens. It was published in installments between 1847 and 1848, when Dickens was at the height of his powers, and it marks a transition into a more mature style from his early period of success.Mr. Dombey is an arrogant, wealthy, self-centered London merchant. His one abiding concern is the continuation of the family name in connection with his firm. As a result, he cruelly neglects his wife and two children, Florence and Paul. Though Florence is devoted to him, Dombey ignores her and devotes his austere attentions to Paul, albeit only with an eye toward the child's being groomed to become the eventual owner of Dombey & Son, not as a human being. As this splendid novel progresses, we see Mr. Dombey allowing himself to be flattered by his villainous manager, Mr. Carker, and other assorted hangers-on to men of fortune, like Major Bagstock. The results are tragic for Dombey and for his family. Dickens's complex, eloquent prose was never better than in Dombey and Son.
In Volume 1 we are introduced to the members of the Dombey household. Mr. Dombey struggles to cope with the death of his wife and the care of his infant son. He hires a nurse to bring up little Paul. Meanwhile, other new characters are brought into the story, including Captain Cuttle, Sol Gills, and Walter Gay. As their lives come into contact with the Dombey household, complications arise. When Dombey discovers that Walter, a lowly clerk in his office, is infatuated with Florence, he sends him to the West Indies to prevent any possibility of a romance developing, and, with the disappearance of the lad in a storm, his purpose is apparently fulfilled. Volume 1 ends on a tragic note as destiny deals Mr. Dombey a fatal blow in his quest to glorify the firm Dombey & Son.
