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Book Synopsis

The Penguin English Library Edition of Hard Times by Charles Dickens

''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 obedient 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 free-spirited circus girl Sissy Jupe and victimised weaver Stephen Blackpool, Gradgrind is eventually forced to recognise the value of the human heart in an age of materialism and machinery.

The Penguin English Library - 100 editions of the best fiction in the English language, from the eighteen

Hard Times

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    A Paperback / softback by Charles Dickens

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      Book details

      Publisher Penguin Random House Group
      Imprint Penguin Classics
      Published 26 July 2012
      ISBN-13 9780141199566
      978-0141199566
      ISBN-10 0141199563
      Also in:
      Fiction Books by Charles Dickens

      Description

      Book Synopsis

      The Penguin English Library Edition of Hard Times by Charles Dickens

      ''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 obedient 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 free-spirited circus girl Sissy Jupe and victimised weaver Stephen Blackpool, Gradgrind is eventually forced to recognise the value of the human heart in an age of materialism and machinery.

      The Penguin English Library - 100 editions of the best fiction in the English language, from the eighteen

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