Bottled babies, wooden legs, walking coffins, corpses, umbrellas, waxworks, locks and living furniture - these are a few of the obsessions the author uncovers while investigating the strange poetry of Dickens' imagination. This book sees Dickens as, essentially, not a moralist or social commentator but as an anarchic comic genius, who was drawn irresistibly to the sinister and grotesque - murderers, frauds and public executions. Separate chapters are devoted to Dickens' interest in violence, sex and children, as well as to his humour and his symbolism. The Violent Effigy includes essays on Bleak House and Little Dorrit, which stress Dickens' imaginative generosity and virtuosity.