This, Dickens second historical novel is set between 1757 and 1793, and looks at the causes and effects of the French Revolution from an essentially private point of view. He attempts to show that individuals, given moral choices, can choose mercy over justice, sacrifice over selfishness and that such choices may prove the more perfect human way. Private experience and public history are seen in parallel in this examination of human suffering and human sacrifice. Andrew Sanders has edited W.C. Thackerays Barry Lyndon, Mrs. Gaskells Sylvias Lovers and is honorary editor of The Dickensian. The chronology of Charles Dickens was compiled by Kathleen Tillotson.