"What did they say?"
Speaking of the criticisms from Fleet Street over the years, Dickens almost had them memorized: "In recent years, a group of writers have appeared in the London publishing market, calling themselves 'friends of the people.' The misery and misfortune they write about are merely to please middle-class readers who relish peeking into the lives of the poor. The suffering of the impoverished is portrayed by them as an exotic landscape, rather than a social issue worth addressing. This is said about me."
However, compared to the criticisms of Eld, what Fleet Street said about Dickens was mild.
According to Blackwood's: "Eld Carter always strives to imitate Scotland's Walter Scott, yet he fails to inherit Scott's national spirit, learning only Scott's ostentatious embellishments. His England seems forever stormy, with peasants perpetually chanting slogans and nobles eternally drawing swords. Without blood and intrigue, his novels are like hearts hollowed out."
