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....
Dickens' number plans forDavid Copperfield, which reveal his practice both as a serial writer and as a craftsman, are also included. "Backgro...
"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...
"Backgrounds" provides readers with an understanding ofGreat Expectations's inception and internal chronology. A discussion of the public-rea...
Three illustrations by George Cruikshank and a map of Oliver's London accompany the text "Backgrounds and Sources" focuses on The Poor Law Amendment Act of 1834, central both to Dickens and to the characters in Oliver Twist. The act's far-reaching implications are considered in source materials that include parlimentary debates on The Poor Laws, a harrowing account of an 1835 Bedfordshire riot, and "An Appeal to Fallen Women," Dickens' 1847 open letter to London's prostitutes urging them to turn their backs on "debauchery and neglect. Ten letters onOliver Twist, written between 1837...
Three illustrations by George Cruikshank and a map of Oliver's London accompany the text "Backgrounds and Sources" focuses on The Poor Law Amendment A...
One of the great novelist's most popular works, Oliver Twist is also the purest distillation of Dickens's genius. This tale of the orphan who is reared in a workhouse and runs away to London is a novel of social protest, a morality tale, and a detective story. Oliver Twist presents some of the most sinister characters in Dickens: the master thief, Fagin; the leering Artful Dodger; the murderer, Bill Sikes...along with some of his most sentimental and comical characters. Only Dickens can give us nightmare and daydream together. According to George Orwell, "in...
One of the great novelist's most popular works, Oliver Twist is also the purest distillation of Dickens's genius. This tale of the o...
Among the most-read novels of all time, this classic tale showcases memorable characters, skillful plotting, and Dickens's passionate concern with social issues making this book one of his finest achievements. Revised reissue.
Among the most-read novels of all time, this classic tale showcases memorable characters, skillful plotting, and Dickens's passionate concern with soc...
The French Revolution comes to vivid life in Charles Dickens's famous novel about the best of times and the worst of times... The storming of the Bastille...the death carts with their doomed human cargo...the swift drop of the guillotine blade--this is the French Revolution that Charles Dickens vividly captures in his famous work A Tale of Two Cities. With dramatic eloquence, he brings to life a time of terror and treason, a starving people rising in frenzy and hate to overthrow a corrupt and decadent regime. With insight and compassion, Dickens casts his novel of...
The French Revolution comes to vivid life in Charles Dickens's famous novel about the best of times and the worst of times... The storming ...
It was the time of the French Revolution -- a time of great change and great danger. It was a time when injustice was met by a lust for vengeance, and rarely was a distinction made between the innocent and the guilty. Against this tumultuous historical backdrop, Dickens' great story of unsurpassed adventure and courage unfolds. Unjustly imprisoned for 18 years in the Bastille, Dr. Alexandre Manette is reunited with his daughter, Lucie, and safely transported from France to England. It would seem that they could take up the threads of their lives in peace. As fate would have it though,...
It was the time of the French Revolution -- a time of great change and great danger. It was a time when injustice was met by a lust for vengeance, ...
In this unflaggingly suspenseful story of aspirations and moral redemption, humble, orphaned Pip, a ward of his short-tempered older sister and her husband, Joe, is apprenticed to the dirty work of the forge but dares to dream of becoming a gentleman. And, indeed, it seems as though that dream is destined to come to pass -- because one day, under sudden and enigmatic circumstances, he finds himself in possession of "great expectations." In telling Pip's story, Dickens traces a boy's path from a hardscrabble rural life to the teeming streets of 19th-century London, unfolding a gripping tale...
In this unflaggingly suspenseful story of aspirations and moral redemption, humble, orphaned Pip, a ward of his short-tempered older sister and her...
Oliver Twist's famous cry of the heart -- "Please, sir, I want some more" -- has resounded with generations of readers of all ages. Teh author poured his own youthful experience of Victorian London's unspeakable squalor into this realistic depiction of a spirited young innocent's unwilling but inevitable recruitment into a scabrous gang of thieves. Mastermineded by the loathsome Fagin, the underworld crew features some of Dickens' most memorable characters, including the vicious Bill Sikes, gentle Nancy, and the juvenile pickpocket. Reprint of a standard edition.
Oliver Twist's famous cry of the heart -- "Please, sir, I want some more" -- has resounded with generations of readers of all ages. Teh author poured ...
Rich in the imagery of nineteenth-century England, this literary classic celebrates a return to old-fashioned Christmas festivities while examining the crisis in one man's personal life. One of the most famous characters in literary history, Ebenezer Scrooge is the "grasping old sinner" who finds redemption after witnessing scenes from his life in which his greed, self-interest, and lack of compassion are revealed. Complementing the master storyteller's wise and witty prose are the timeless illustrations of Arthur Rackham, whose evocative artwork finds humor in Scrooge's miserly ways,...
Rich in the imagery of nineteenth-century England, this literary classic celebrates a return to old-fashioned Christmas festivities while examining th...
