Probably my least favorite by Dickens, but still better than almost anyone else. Had he finished the novel, perhaps he would have reworked some of the weak spots and strengthened it overall. The women were better developed than women in Dickens' earlier novels. Perhaps as a dying man, with an ex-wife, daughters, and a lover, he now observed more of the complexities of women and portrayed them more fully in his story. I didn't find any of the characters to be particularly sympathetic (very unusual for Dickens) and the villain wasn't quite detestable enough to fully hate him. He seemed weak and pathetic, and in the end, manipulative and cruel.

If you never get to this one, oh well. But don't skip any of the others !