Most Popular Books by Charles Dickens

Young John Harmon is supposedly killed on a journey back to England. Very much alive, this heir to a dust merchant''s fortune goes to work under an assumed name for his father''s current heirs.

In the early days of the French Revolution, a young Englishman determines to do his utmost to save the husband of the woman he loves from the guillotine.

Charles Dickens''s "Great Expectations" is a seminal work that delves into the themes of social class, ambition, and moral development in Victorian England. The novel follows the life of Pip, an orphaned boy who aspires to elevate himself from his humble beginnings, exploring the intricacies of personal and societal expectations. Dickens employs a rich, descriptive style characterized by his keen observations and complex characterizations, ensuring that each character serves as a representation of broader social issues. This bildungsroman captures the turbulent journey of self-discovery, framed within the constraints of a rigid social hierarchy and imbued with Dickens''s trademark wit and pathos. Dickens, born into modest circumstances, experienced firsthand the stark realities of poverty and social injustice, which heavily influenced his literary voice. His early experiences working in a factory, followed by his rise as one of the most celebrated authors of his time, provided him with a nuanced understanding of human nature and societal structures. "Great Expectations," published in 1860, reflects Dickens''s mastery in portraying the struggles of the individual against a backdrop of societal challenges, allowing readers to empathize with Pip''s journey. I highly recommend "Great Expectations" to those seeking not only a compelling narrative but also a profound exploration of ambition and morality. Dickens''s timeless tale resonates with readers across generations, inviting them to reflect on their own aspirations and ethical dilemmas, thus making it an essential reading for anyone interested in the complexities of human existence.

Featuring an appendix of discussion questions, the Diversion Classics edition is ideal for use in book groups and classrooms. Charles Dickens''s second novel tells the tale of an orphan''s rise from poverty to prosperity. Oliver''s adventures on the streets of London will enchant modern readers, whether or not they are familiar with his story. A sharp satire of Victorian values as well as a heartwarming coming-of-age narrative, OLIVER TWIST is one of the most loved and enduring classics of Western literature.

Dombey and Son, Charles Dickens’s story of a powerful man whose callous neglect of his family triggers his professional and personal downfall, showcases the author’s gift for vivid characterization and unfailingly realistic description. As Jonathan Lethem contends in his Introduction, Dickens’s “genius . . . is at one with the genius of the form of the novel itself: Dickens willed into existence the most capacious and elastic and versatile kind of novel that could be, one big enough for his vast sentimental yearnings and for every impulse and fear and hesitation in him that countervailed those yearnings too. Never parsimonious and frequently contradictory, he always gives us everything he can, everything he’s planned to give, and then more.” This Modern Library Paperback Classic was set from the 1867 “Charles Dickens” edition.

"This is not the republic of my imagination," Charles Dickens noted ruefully of his 1842 visit to the United States. His American Notes forms a stinging reproof of the country''s embrace of slavery, its corrupt press and woeful sanitary conditions, and its citizens'' offensive manners. Written with the author''s customary observational powers and incisive wit, this volume offers a fascinating glimpse of 19th-century America. Dickens was not entirely hostile toward his hosts, and as a dedicated social reformer he took particular interest in whether American democracy constituted an advance over the class divisions of Victorian England. The author toured jails, hospitals, and courts of law, which he praised heartily. Traveling by steamship, coach, and rail, he visited New York, Philadelphia, Boston, and Washington, D. C., among other cities, and his utter astonishment at the natural grandeur of Niagara Falls marks a highlight of his travelogue. This trenchant satire of America and Americans is certain to delight both Dickens enthusiasts and history buffs.

" Like so many fond parents I have in my heart of hearts a favourite child," wrote Charles Dickens. "And his name is David Copperfield." Of all of Dickens''s novels, David Copperfield most closely reflects the events of his own life. The story of an abandoned waif who discovers life and love in an indifferent world, this classic tale of childhood is populated with a cast of eccentrics, innocents, and villains who number among the author''s greatest creations. "David Copperfield is filled with characters of the most astonishing variety, vividness, and originality," noted Somerset Maugham. "They are not realistic and yet they abound with life. There never were such people as the Micawbers, Pegotty and Barkis, Traddles, Betsey Trotwood and Mr. Dick, Uriah Heep and his mother. They are fantastic inventions of Dickens''s exultant imagination, but they have so much vigor, they are so consistent, they are presented with so much conviction, that you believe in them. They are extravagant, but not unreal, and when you have once to know them you can never quite forget them." T. S. Eliot agreed: "Dickens excelled in character; in the creation of characters of greater intensity than human beings." And Virginia Woolf concluded: "In David Copperfield, though char- acters swarm and life flows into every creek and cranny, some common feelings--youth, gaiety, hope--envelops the tumult, brings the scattered parts together, and invests the most perfect of all the Dickens novels with an atmosphere of beauty." The Modern Library has played a significant role in American cultural life for the better part of a century. The series was founded in 1917 by the publishers Boni and Liveright andeight years later acquired by Bennett Cerf and Donald Klopfer. It provided the foun- dation for their next publishing venture, Random House. The Modern Library has been a staple of the American book trade, providing readers with affordable hardbound editions of important works of literature and thought. For the Modern Library''s seventy-fifth anniversary, Random House redesigned the series, restoring as its emblem the running torchbearer created by Lucian Bernhard in 1925 and refurbishing jackets, bindings, and type, as well as inaugurating a new program of selecting titles. The Modern Library continues to provide the world''s best books, at the best prices.

A Christmas Carol. In Prose. Being a Ghost Story of Christmas, commonly known as A Christmas Carol, is a novella by Charles Dickens, first published in London by Chapman & Hall in 1843 and illustrated by John Leech. A Christmas Carol recounts the story of Ebenezer Scrooge, an elderly miser who is visited by the ghost of his former business partner Jacob Marley and the spirits of Christmas Past, Present and Yet to Come. After their visits, Scrooge is transformed into a kinder, gentler man.Dickens wrote A Christmas Carol during a period when the British were exploring and re-evaluating past Christmas traditions, including carols and newer customs such as Christmas trees. He was influenced by the experiences of his own youth and by the Christmas stories of other authors including Washington Irving and Douglas Jerrold.

Oliver Twist; or, the Parish Boy''s Progress is Charles Dickens''s second novel, and was published as a serial from 1837 to 1839 and released as a three-volume book in 1838, before the serialization ended. The story centres on orphan Oliver Twist, born during a workhouse and sold into apprenticeship with an undertaker.

One of the best books of all time, Dickens''s Oliver Twist. If you haven''t read this classic already, then you''re missing out - read Oliver Twist by Dickens today!

A Message from the Sea" was a short story by Charles Dickens and Wilkie Collins written in 1860 for the Christmas issue of All the Year Round.Charles John Huffam Dickens (7 February 1812 - 9 June 1870) was an English writer and social critic. He created some of the world''s best-known fictional characters and is regarded as the greatest novelist of the Victorian era. His works enjoyed unprecedented popularity during his lifetime, and by the twentieth century critics and scholars had recognised him as a literary genius. His novels and short stories enjoy lasting popularity