The setting for Great Ambitions is Dickens's London, with its cross section of society, streets, shops, theaters, schools, and famous landmarks such as Covent Garden, the Inns of Court, the Houses of Parliament, and St. Paul's Cathedral. Kyle vividly portrays England's seasons, especially winter, the season that Dickens describes so well and that has become associated with his Christmas Carol. Three different monarchs rule England during the span of years in Great Ambitions, 1824-1839: King George IV, King William IV, and Queen Victoria, who was eighteen years old when she was crowned and from whose reign came the term "Victorian England." During these years occur various changes significant to English history, including the coming of the railways, the House of Commons fire, the increasing popularity of newspapers, and a heightened awareness of the plight of the poor. Within this historical context, the reader sees how Dickens develops as...