Il romanzo venne pubblicato nel 1840 sul settimanale Master Humphrey's Clock (in italiano L'orologio di mastro Humphrey), fondato da Dickens nello stesso anno. Il settimanale non ebbe molto successo e venne percio edito soltanto fino al 1842, ma il libro riscosse e riscuote tuttora il favore del pubblico."

A testament to the energy and creativity of a writer and journalist without equal

Throughout his writing career Charles Dickens was a hugely prolific journalist. This volume of his later work is selected from pieces that he wrote after he founded the journal Household Words in 1850, up until his death in 1870. Here subjects as varied as his nocturnal walks around London slums, prisons, theatres and Inns of Court, journeys to the continent and his childhood in Kent and London are captured in remarkable pieces such as 'Night Walks', 'On Strike', 'New Year's Day' and 'Lying Awake'....

'Now, what I want is, Facts. Teach these boys and girls nothing but Facts. Facts alone are wanted in life. Plant nothing else, and root out everything else.'

Coketown is dominated by the figure of Mr Thomas Gradgrind, school owner and model of Utilitarian success. Feeding both his pupils and his family with facts, he bans fancy and wonder from young minds. As a consequence his young daughter Louisa marries the loveless businessman and "bully of humility" Mr Bounderby, and his son Tom rebels to become embroiled in gambling and robbery. And, as their fortunes cross with those of...

A novel of serendipity, of fortunes won and lost, and of the spectre of imprisonment that hangs over all aspects of Victorian society

When Arthur Clennam returns to England after many years abroad, he takes a kindly interest in Amy Dorrit, his mother's seamstress, and in the affairs of Amy's father, William Dorrit, a man of shabby grandeur, long imprisoned for debt in Marshalsea prison. As Arthur soon discovers, the dark shadow of the prison stretches far beyond its walls to affect the lives of many, from the kindly Mr Panks, the reluctant rent-collector of Bleeding Heart Yard,...

This eleventh volume presents 1158 of Charles Dickens's letters, many previously unpublished or published only in part, from 1865 to 1867. Dickens's main work during this period was the completion of the monthly parts of Our Mutual Friend (final part 31 October 1865, for November) which came out in two volumes (January and November 1865) during its run.

This concluding volume covers the final two and a half years of Dickens's life: his reading tours in America and around England, the writing of Edwin Drood (left unfinished on his sudden death), and his characteristic involvement in scores of different interests and in writing to literally hundreds of correspondents.

Dickens's classic morality tale of a starving orphan caught between opposing forces of good and evil is a powerful indictment of Victorian England's Poor Laws. Filled with dark humor and an unforgettable cast of characters Oliver Twist, Fagin, Nancy, Bill Sykes, and the Artful Dodger, to name a few Dickens's second novel is a compelling social satire that has remained popular since it was first serialized in 1837-39.
The text for this Modern Library Paperback Classic is taken from the 1846 New Edition, revised and corrected by the author. It includes new explanatory notes and an appendix,...

"Backgrounds" offers all of Dickens' correspondence aboutBleak House as well as contextual materials that document the Victorian controversy over pollution, a theme central to the novel, and present contemporary attitudes toward the government, the courts, and the police, to enhance the setting of the story. Also featured are several hundred annotations which fully elucidate for today's readers the allusions and topical references in this remarkably allusive Victorian masterpiece Especially helpful is a clear exposition of the nature of law procedures in the Court of Chancery, which...

Dickens' number plans forDavid Copperfield, which reveal his practice both as a serial writer and as a craftsman, are also included. "Backgrounds" focuses on Dickens' personal involvement with and response to the novel's publication. Included are passages from his letters relating toDavid Copperfield, an autobiographical fragment, his preface to the 1869 edition of the novel, and a relevant excerpt from Little Dorrit. "Criticism" is comprised of twelve essays by distinguished Dickensians representing a wide range of judgment and analysis. John Forster, Matthew Arnold, E. K....

"Backgrounds" provides readers with an understanding ofGreat Expectations's inception and internal chronology. A discussion of the public-reading version of the novel is also included. A wonderfully rich "Contexts" section collects thirteen pieces, centering on the novel's major themes: the link between author and hero and, relatedly, Victorian notions of gentility, snobbishness, and social mobility; the often brutal training, at home and at school, of children born around 1800; and the central issues of crime and punishment. "Criticism" gathers twenty-two assessments ofGreat...