Description

Book Synopsis

The shortest of Charles Dickens’s novels, Hard Times is also his most pointed and impassioned satire of social injustice.

Set in Coketown, a fictional industrial town in the north of England, Hard Times was born of its author’s indignation at the soul-crushing conditions of the industrial age, and yet it vibrantly transcends the stock situations and polemical weaknesses typical of social protest fiction of the time. The indelible characters—Mr. Gradgrind, whose utilitarian educational philosophy emotionally cripples his own children; the hypocritical factory owner Josiah Bounderby; Stephen Blackpool, an honest worker wrongly accused of a crime; and Sissy Jupe, a circus performer whose father abandons her to what he hopes is a better life—all come alive in classic Dickensian fashion, and contribute to a satiric vision of society tempered equally by righteous anger and compassionate humanity.

Hard Times Vintage Classics

    Product form

    £8.99

    Includes FREE delivery

    Order before 4pm today for delivery by Mon 17 Aug 2026.

    A Paperback by Charles Dickens, Phil Collins

    10 in stock

      Trusted by thousands of customers. See 2,385+ Customer Reviews

      View other formats and editions of Hard Times Vintage Classics by Charles Dickens

      Publisher: Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group
      Publication Date: Publication Date: 1/10/2012 12:00:00 AM
      ISBN13: 9780307947208, 978-0307947208
      ISBN10: 0307947203
      Also in:
      Literary studies: c 1800 to c 1900 Books by Charles Dickens

      Description

      Book Synopsis

      The shortest of Charles Dickens’s novels, Hard Times is also his most pointed and impassioned satire of social injustice.

      Set in Coketown, a fictional industrial town in the north of England, Hard Times was born of its author’s indignation at the soul-crushing conditions of the industrial age, and yet it vibrantly transcends the stock situations and polemical weaknesses typical of social protest fiction of the time. The indelible characters—Mr. Gradgrind, whose utilitarian educational philosophy emotionally cripples his own children; the hypocritical factory owner Josiah Bounderby; Stephen Blackpool, an honest worker wrongly accused of a crime; and Sissy Jupe, a circus performer whose father abandons her to what he hopes is a better life—all come alive in classic Dickensian fashion, and contribute to a satiric vision of society tempered equally by righteous anger and compassionate humanity.

      Recently viewed products

      © 2026 Book Curl

        • American Express
        • Apple Pay
        • Diners Club
        • Discover
        • Google Pay
        • Maestro
        • Mastercard
        • PayPal
        • Shop Pay
        • Union Pay
        • Visa

        Login

        Forgot your password?

        Don't have an account yet?
        Create account