The Shorter Novels of Charles Dickens: Oliver Twist / Hard Times / A Tale of Two Cities / Great Expectations
by Charles Dickens
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This collection brings together perhaps the finest of Dickens' shorter novels, filled with event, character, and the unsurpassed brilliance of his story-telling. Oliver Twist enhanced and strengthened Dickens' reputation and contains classic Dickensian themes - grinding poverty, desperation, fear, temptation and the eventual triumph of good in the face of great adversity. Hard Times was attacked by Macaulay for its 'sullen socialism', but 20th-century critics - George Bernard Shaw and F.R. show more Leavis praised it in the highest terms. A Tale of Two Cities, Dickens' greatest historical novel, traces the lives of a group of people caught up in the cataclysm of the French Revolution and the Terror. A fascinating range of characters and Dickens' usual superb command of language combine to make this an exciting and tantalising story. Great Expectations traces the life of Philip Pirrip (Pip), from a boy of shallow dreams to a man of character. From its dramatic opening on the bleak Kentish marshes, the story abounds with memorable characters - the blacksmith Joe Gargery, the mysterious convict Abel Magwitch, the eccentric Miss Havisham and the beautiful Estella. show lessTags
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This collection brings together perhaps the finest of Dickens' shorter novels, filled with event, character, and the unsurpassed brilliance of his story-telling.
Oliver Twist enhanced and strengthened Dickens' reputation and contains classic Dickensian themes - grinding poverty, desperation, fear, temptation and the eventual triumph of good in the face of great adversity.
Hard Times was attacked by Macaulay for its 'sullen socialism', but 20th-century critics - George Bernard Shaw and F.R. Leavis praised it in the highest terms.
A Tale of Two Cities (1859), Dickens' greatest historical novel, traces the lives of a group of people caught up in ther cataclysm of the French Revolution and the Terror. A fascinating range of characters and show more Dickens' usual superb command of language combine to make an exciting and tantalising story.
Great Expectations traces the life of Philip Pirrip (Pip), from a boy of shallow dreams to a man of character. From its dramatic opening on the bleak Kentish marshes, the story abounds with memorable characters - the blacksmith Joe Gargery, the mysterious convict Abel Magwitch, the eccentric Mis Havisham and the beautiful Estella. show less
Oliver Twist enhanced and strengthened Dickens' reputation and contains classic Dickensian themes - grinding poverty, desperation, fear, temptation and the eventual triumph of good in the face of great adversity.
Hard Times was attacked by Macaulay for its 'sullen socialism', but 20th-century critics - George Bernard Shaw and F.R. Leavis praised it in the highest terms.
A Tale of Two Cities (1859), Dickens' greatest historical novel, traces the lives of a group of people caught up in ther cataclysm of the French Revolution and the Terror. A fascinating range of characters and show more Dickens' usual superb command of language combine to make an exciting and tantalising story.
Great Expectations traces the life of Philip Pirrip (Pip), from a boy of shallow dreams to a man of character. From its dramatic opening on the bleak Kentish marshes, the story abounds with memorable characters - the blacksmith Joe Gargery, the mysterious convict Abel Magwitch, the eccentric Mis Havisham and the beautiful Estella. show less
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Charles Dickens, perhaps the best British novelist of the Victorian era, was born in Portsmouth, Hampshire, England on February 7, 1812. His happy early childhood was interrupted when his father was sent to debtors' prison, and young Dickens had to go to work in a factory at age twelve. Later, he took jobs as an office boy and journalist before show more publishing essays and stories in the 1830s. His first novel, The Pickwick Papers, made him a famous and popular author at the age of twenty-five. Subsequent works were published serially in periodicals and cemented his reputation as a master of colorful characterization, and as a harsh critic of social evils and corrupt institutions. His many books include Oliver Twist, David Copperfield, Bleak House, Great Expectations, Little Dorrit, A Christmas Carol, and A Tale of Two Cities. Dickens married Catherine Hogarth in 1836, and the couple had nine children before separating in 1858 when he began a long affair with Ellen Ternan, a young actress. Despite the scandal, Dickens remained a public figure, appearing often to read his fiction. He died in 1870, leaving his final novel, The Mystery of Edwin Drood, unfinished. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
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- The Shorter Novels of Charles Dickens: Oliver Twist / Hard Times / A Tale of Two Cities / Great Expectations
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- Oliver Twist / Hard Times / A Tale of Two Cities / Great Expectations
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