“...Trollope would agree with you better than Dickens . . .”
Good idea. I’d forgotten about Trollope. The last thing I remember reading is The Eustace(sp?) Diamond.
Dickens is so delightfully florid.
I will say that Lizzie Eustace is about the best characterization of a certain type of wicked woman that I've ever seen. She makes Beckie Sharp look like a cardboard cutout.
The problem I have with Dickens (and I know this is heresy, but . . . ) is that his characters are all exaggerations of a single personality quirk. I would not be surprised to meet Archdeacon Grantley or even Rev. Mr. Crawley on the street . . . but I would never expect to meet Mr. Micawber or Magwitch.