Dickenss Favourite Blacking Factory is the extraordinary story of Charles Day, a self-made nineteenth-century boot-blacking entrepreneur, the dispute over whose Will led Charles Dickens to create the apparently endless case of Jarndyce and Jarndyce in his novel Bleak House. In this remarkable and highly imaginative telling of a true story, after a decades-long search for information on his ancestor, the author makes a fluke discovery, revealing a sweeping story of Regency and early-Victorian London. An actual 170,000-word document uncovered in the National Archives exposes the tragic last two months of the life of Charles Day. This includes his deteriorating mental faculties resulting from tertiary syphilis, his remarkable philanthropy, blackmail by a dodgy solicitor, the inertia of the contemporary legal system and the shame of illegitimacy, particularly in the wealthy classes. Perhaps the plot of Dickenss Bleak House even reflects aspects of Charles Days own life?
Illustrations 11
Family Trees 13
Maps 17
Preface 23
I. Prologue 29
II. Life 39
1. Small beginnings to big success 40
2. Introductions in Regency times 55
3. Competition and intellectual property 71
4. Edgware and the Peake sisters 84
5. The Peakes of Stafford, a likeness and
lavish living 95
6. Births, deaths and almshouses 111
7. The troublesome daughter and
making provisions 132
8. Towards the end 147
III. Death 167
The diary of William Foote 168
Preface 169
Dramatis Personae 171
Introduction 173
The Diary 187
IV. Aftermath 285
1. The beginnings of legal proceedings 286
2. Dufaur 300
3. The Price boys and a census 306
4. The Court of Chancery 316
5. Caterham 331
6. The destination of Charles Days fortune 339
7. The Dickens connection 354
V. Epilogue 371
The Unmasking of John (or Charles) Price 372
Appendix One
The responses of Susannah Peake in PC53 402
Appendix Two
The Will and Codicils of Charles Day 414
Sources, notes and references 440
Bibliography 453
Acknowledgements 455
Table of Contents
Preface 3
Chapter 1: On Optimism, Hope, and False Hope 9
Chapter 2: On People and Human Nature 19
Chapter 3: On Negotiation and Cooperation 37
Chapter 4: On Stupidity 45
Chapter 5: On Creation of Artifacts and Things 49
Chapter 6: On Futility and Exasperation 59
Chapter 7: On Acceptance 79
Chapter 8: On Being Poor 85
Chapter 9: On the Value of Discipline 91
Chapter 10: On the False Promise of First Impressions 101
Chapter 11: On Wisdom 105
Chapter 12: On Competition 113
Chapter 13: On Trying to be Something Youre Not 125
Chapter 14: On Caution, Omens, and Sympathy 131
Chapter 15: On Leaders & Leadership 137
Chapter 16: On Patience 143
Chapter 17: On Making the Best of a Bad Situation 147
Chapter 18: On Accepting Consequences 151
Chapter 19: On Burdens, Luck & Fate 157
Glossary 165
Gloss: On Optimism, Hope, and False Hope 167
Gloss: On People and Human Nature 173
Gloss: On Negotiation and Cooperation 185
Gloss: On Stupidity 191
Gloss: On Creation of Artifacts and Things 195
Gloss: On Futility and Exasperation 201
Gloss: On Acceptance 215
Gloss: On Being Poor 219
Gloss: On the Value of Discipline 223
Gloss: On the False Promise of First Impressions 229
Gloss: On Wisdom 231
Gloss: On Competition 237
Gloss: On Trying to be Something Youre not 245
Gloss: On Caution, Omens, and Sympathy 249
Gloss: On Leaders & Leadership 253
Gloss: On Patience 257
Gloss: On Making Best of a Bad Situation 261
Gloss: On Accepting Consequences 263
Gloss: On Burdens, Luck & Fate 267
About the authors 272
Neil Price enjoys a busy retirement, fulfilling many objectives he could not achieve during his career as a practising chartered accountant in Orkney. His lifelong obsession with family history has inspired this, his first book. He hopes that another ancestor, as well as other colourful people he has known, will result in further writings. He now lives in Midlothian, where his time is also taken up playing golf, singing and conducting choirs.
