I have read a lot of Dickens and some Trollop too and this is perhaps how Mr. Dickens would write about London today; a lot more vulgar.
The first half of the book may be difficult for some readers as it is very pointed about prostitution. Not sex; but about prostitutes and prostitution. There is nothing erotic here.
The plot and characters are well drawn by Mr. Faber. There are no 'bad' persons in the story to drive the plot, just the characters, their circumstances, their choices and the consequences as they try to improve their situation.
The Narrator in book is an interesting device, but I feel the device either should have been used either more or used less. There were times in the middle of the novel when the story took over and was then interrupted by the re-appearance of the Narrator.
1
