Search results for ""author ,charles dickens""

Charles Dickens's much loved tale of the Christmas spirit is beautifully presented in this deluxe newly illustrated edition. Contemporary artist and illustrator Yelena Bryksenkova has created enchanting watercolour artwork to accompany Dickens's classic story of Ebenezer Scrooge and the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Future-evoking the magic of a Victorian Christmas, while at the same time infusing this timeless text with a touch of modern-day whimsy. With gilded page edges and a satin ribbon marker, this lavish keepsake volume is tomorrow's cherished family heirloom; an essential Christmas treasure to read around the fire, under the tree, or after the plum pudding year after year.

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Little treasures, the FLAME TREE COLLECTABLE CLASSICS are chosen to create a delightful and timeless home library. Each stunning, gift edition features deluxe cover treatments, ribbon markers, luxury endpapers and gilded edges. The unabridged text is accompanied by a Glossary of Victorian and Literary terms produced for the modern reader. Dicken's first novel began as a romp, a series of amusing observations based on the travels of Mr Pickwick and his friends Nathaniel Winkle, Augustus Snodgrass, Tracy Tupman and valet Sam Weller. Their adventures increasingly highlight hypocrisy and avarice in the lives of everyday folk, beset by the doubtful actions of lawyers, politicians and local dignitaries. The reprehensible Alfred Jingle is often encountered in bizarre and awkward scenes, a lightning rod for the ills in society where marriage is not always accompanied by love, the victim not the guilty are imprisoned, and the poor are treated with barely concealed contempt. Pickwick's jovial stature allows Dickens a light touch on his social commentary and Pickwick Papers remains one of his most popular books.

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The most popular of all ghost stories was first published on 17 December 1843, and by Christmas Eve 6, 000 copies had been sold at a published price of five shillings. The story of Scrooge, a miser who becomes a different man when he is presented with visions of past, present and future by Marley's ghost, was an immediate success and has remainded so ever since. It is a book to read on Christmas Eve beside a blazing fire - and the best introduction to Dickens for young readers not quite ready for his longer novels. Arthur Rackham, master of the fantastic, illustrated the story in 1915.

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“In the autumn month of September, eighteen hundred and fifty-seven… two idle apprentices, exhausted by the long, hot summer, and the long, hot work it had brought with it, ran away from their employer.” Under the pseudonyms of Francis Goodchild and Thomas Idle, Charles Dickens and Wilkie Collins set off on a walking tour of the north-west of England, reporting back on their adventures for Dickens’s magazine Household Words. A unique insight into the friendship of two of the towering figures of Victorian literature, and featuring a pair of chilling ghost stories from the leading exponents of the genre, The Lazy Tour of Two Idle Apprentices is a charming evocation of the adventures they experienced on their trip and the gently mocking nature of their relationship.

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The classic novella of the Christmas transformation of Scrooge that has remained in the public imagination for well over a century, now available in an accessible format for all readers. Miserly Ebenezer Scrooge is visited by the ghost of his former business partner, and he learns he will be visited by three spirits – Christmas Past, Christmas Present and Christmas Yet to Come – who reveal to him his miserable existence, the opportunities he squandered in his youth, the current cruelties he visits upon those around him, and the fate that awaits him if he does not change his ways. Scrooge is faced with a choice: death or redemption. Dickens' classic story of the Christmas transformation of Ebenezer Scrooge, now available in an accessible, super-readable format with dyslexia-friendly features, for all readers.

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The 1854 text, edited by Sylvère Monod, is accompanied here by explanatory footnotes. Contextual pieces by critics and theorists of Dickens’ time bring readers examples of their views on industrialism, education and utilitarianism. Included are eight new critical essays.

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Carefully graded levels from Starter to Upper Intermediate Eight pages of extra exercises and Audio CDs for selected titles A truly international range of simplified readers with a prestigious list of authors from around the world Free online support material on dedicated resource sites including Worksheets, Answer Keys, Points for Understanding and projects, as well as a revised edition of the free teachers booklet, Using Graded Readers in the Classroom

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'And O, Angelica, what has become of you, this present Sunday morning when I can't attend to the sermon; and, more difficult question than that, what has become of Me as I was when I sat by your side?' At the height of his career, around the time he was working on Great Expectations and Our Mutual Friend, Charles Dickens wrote a series of sketches, mostly set in London, which he collected as The Uncommercial Traveller. In the persona of 'the Uncommercial', Dickens wanders the city streets and brings London, its inhabitants, commerce and entertainment vividly to life. Sometimes autobiographical, as childhood experiences are interwoven with adult memories, the sketches include visits to the Paris Morgue, the Liverpool docks, a workhouse, a school for poor children, and the theatre. They also describe the perils of travel, including seasickness, shipwreck, the coming of the railways, and the wretchedness of dining in English hotels and restaurants. The work is quintessential Dickens, with each piece showcasing his imaginative writing style, his keen observational powers, and his characteristic wit. In this edition Daniel Tyler explores Dickens's fascination with the city and the book's connections with concerns evident in his fiction: social injustice, human mortality, a fascination with death and the passing of time. Often funny, sometimes indignant, always exuberant, The Uncommercial Traveller is a revelatory encounter with Dickens, and the Victorian city he knew so well.

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As the the bicentennary of the French Revolution draws near, Dickens' historical novel serves as a timely reminder of nineteenth-century reactions to that great upheaval. Set between 1757 and 1793, A Tale of Two Cities views the causes and effects of the Revolution from an essentially private point of view, showing how private experience relates to public history. Dickens' characters are fictional, and their political activity is minimal, yet all are drawn towards the Paris of the Terror, and all become caught up in its web of human suffering and human sacrifice. This edition includes extensive explanatory notes giving crucial background information about the Revolution and Dickens' sources. `the best story I have written' Charles Dickens ABOUT THE SERIES: For over 100 years Oxford World's Classics has made available the widest range of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford's commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading authorities, helpful notes to clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies for further study, and much more.

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"The most consistent of all series in terms of language control, length, and quality of story." David R. Hill, Director of the Edinburgh Project on Extensive Reading.

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Part of Penguin's beautiful hardback Clothbound Classics series, designed by the award-winning Coralie Bickford-Smith, these delectable and collectible editions are bound in high-quality colourful, tactile cloth with foil stamped into the design. As the interminable case of Jarndyce and Jarndyce grinds its way through the Court of Chancery, it draws together a disparate group of people: Ada and Richard Clare, whose inheritance is gradually being devoured by legal costs; Esther Summerson, a ward of court, whose parentage is a source of deepening mystery; the menacing lawyer Tulkinghorn; the determined sleuth Inspector Bucket; and even Jo, the destitute little crossing-sweeper. A savage, but often comic, indictment of a society that is rotten to the core, Bleak House is one of Dickens's most ambitious novels, with a range that extends from the drawing rooms of the aristocracy to the poorest of London slums.

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Part of Penguin's beautiful hardback Clothbound Classics series, designed by the award-winning Coralie Bickford-Smith, these delectable and collectible editions are bound in high-quality colourful, tactile cloth with foil stamped into the design. The story of the orphan Oliver, who runs away from the workhouse only to be taken in by a den of thieves, shocked readers when it was first published. Dickens's tale of childhood innocence beset by evil depicts the dark criminal underworld of a London peopled by vivid and memorable characters - the arch-villain Fagin, the artful Dodger, the menacing Bill Sikes and the prostitute Nancy. Combining elements of Gothic Romance, the Newgate Novel and popular melodrama, Dickens created an entirely new kind of fiction, scathing in its indictment of a cruel society, and pervaded by an unforgettable sense of threat and mystery.

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'Dickens's finest work in the genre of the detective story was his last' The TimesEdwin Drood is contracted to marry orphan Rosa when he comes of age, but when they find that duty has gradually replaced affection, they agree to break off the engagement. Shortly afterwards, in the middle of a storm on Christmas Eve, Edwin disappears. Beyond this there are further intrigues: the dark opium underworld of the sleepy cathedral town of Cloisterham, and the sinister double life of choir-master Jasper, whose drug-fuelled fantasy life belies his appearance. Dickens died before completing Edwin Drood, leaving generations of readers to try and solve its tantalizing mystery.Edited with an Introduction and Notes by David Paroissien

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'Every idiot who goes about with "Merry Christmas" on his lips, should be boiled with his own pudding'Dickens's story of solitary miser Ebenezer Scrooge, who is taught the true meaning of Christmas by a series of ghostly visitors, has had an enduring influence on the way we think about the season. Dickens's other Christmas writings collected here include 'The Story of the Goblins who Stole a Sexton'; 'The Haunted Man'; and shorter pieces, some drawn from the 'Christmas Stories' that Dickens wrote annually for his weekly journals. In all of them Dickens celebrates Christmas as a time of geniality, charity and remembrance.Edited with an introduction by MICHAEL SLATER

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A spine-chilling play by Hugh Janes, based on several original ghost stories by Charles Dickens. In an ancient, crumbling mansion, sheltering from the howling winds that tear across the surrounding desolate moorland, two men stumble across a dark and terrifying secret that will change both of their lives. When a young book dealer, David Filde, is employed by a former associate of his uncle to catalogue a private library, he finds an incredible array of rare and antiquated books. But as a series of strange and unexplained events conspires to keep Filde from his work, he realises that if he is to convince his sceptical employer that the mysterious phenomena he is experiencing are real, they must journey together to the very edge of terror, and beyond... Hugh Janes' play The Haunting was first performed at the Theatre Royal, Windsor, in 2010. The play offers rich material for amateur theatre companies or student groups who want to introduce their audiences to another side of Dickens' work - and have them jump out of their seats at the same time.

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Little treasures, the FLAME TREE COLLECTABLE CLASSICS are chosen to create a delightful and timeless home library. Each stunning, gift edition features deluxe cover treatments, ribbon markers, luxury endpapers and gilded edges. The unabridged text is accompanied by a Glossary of Victorian and Literary terms produced for the modern reader. David Copperfield is the story of a hard life endured is ultimately rewarded because of perseverance, kindness and common sense. Copperfield loses his father as a child, his mother then marries Murdstone, a cruel man who oppresses her and sends the boy away from home to a hostel. His mother dies, then Copperfield is sent to a factory, before running away to his Aunt Betsey Trotwood who protects him and whose relationship he maintains throughout his life. Further suffering follows though when Copperfield's first wife dies in childbirth, but by the end of the novel he too marries once more, finally to live towards a happy end, with Agnes and their three children. Throughout, Dickens highlights the systemic abuse of the weak, the ill, and, often, the female, eager to show that society is at fault for poverty, not the individual, so the poor should be helped, not victimised.

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This unsparing tale of a young Victorian orphan is now available in an unabridged hardcover edition that’s a perfect gift for today’s young readers. ​Oliver Twist, a poor orphan, escapes the miserable workhouse, only to fall into the clutches of a band of pickpockets led by the odious Fagin. Can he remain the pure and good-hearted boy that he is, or will he fall into a life of crime? This gritty portrayal of Victorian London is now available in a collectible hardcover edition, complete with black-and-white interior illustrations that bring the story to life.

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An evocative picture book retelling the Charles Dickens classic for younger children. Ebenezer Scrooge is a mean-spirited old man who hates everything - even Christmas! But when three spirits visit him one Christmas Eve, Scrooge is taken on a journey into the past, present and future that will change him forever. The simple and engaging text is accompanied by atmospheric illustrations by Alan Marks. Beautifully presented, this is an ideal gift for younger children.

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"The most consistent of all series in terms of language control, length, and quality of story." David R. Hill, Director of the Edinburgh Project on Extensive Reading.

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"The most consistent of all series in terms of language control, length, and quality of story." David R. Hill, Director of the Edinburgh Project on Extensive Reading.

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"The most consistent of all series in terms of language control, length, and quality of story." David R. Hill, Director of the Edinburgh Project on Extensive Reading.

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A Christmas Carol – The Complete Text contains the full text of the novel, with helpful annotations to explain characters, themes, context and more! Plus, we've included Knowledge Organiser pages, where all the key info is laid out in one handy place. And there are discussion questions to help students dig deeper into the novel. The CGP range for English Literature also includes a matching Text Guide (9781782943099), which contains all the notes and practice you need to really master A Christmas Carol!

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Tom Baker reads Charles Dickens' timeless seasonal story. Charles Dickens' story of solitary miser Ebenezer Scrooge, who is taught the true meaning of Christmas by the three ghosts of Christmas past, present, and future, has become one of the timeless classics of English literature. First published in 1843, it introduces us not only to Scrooge himself, but also to the memorable characters of underpaid desk clerk Bob Cratchit and his poor family, the poorest amongst whom is the ailing and crippled Tiny Tim. In this captivating recording, Tom Baker delivers a tour-de-force performance as he narrates the story. The listener joins Scrooge on Christmas Eve, witnesses the visitation of Marley's ghost, and is given a glimpse of the many homes and lives which Scrooge has touched in his wretched life to date. With atmospheric sound design, this ultimately uplifting tale is a festive delight to be treasured and listened to again and again. Duration: 3 hours approx

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'This is no dusty relic, but instead something sparkling and modern' Armando IannucciIn a wildly eventful life, David Copperfield moves from the cruelty of his stepfather's care to the heights of success as a beloved and respected novelist. On his journey through Victorian society, he endures bitter treatment as a labourer, wins the approval of his formidable aunt, finds himself an education - and a career, falls in love, and expands his circle of acquaintance to include true, false and marvellously eccentric friends. Dickens's own favourite among his novels, The Personal History of David Copperfield is a classic of comedy and tragedy that never ceases to surprise and delight.

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Charles Dickens' classic story of a young boy who seeks his fortune on the streets of London.After Oliver Twist asks nasty Mr Bumble for more food, he has to flee the workhouse for the streets of London. Here he meets the Artful Dodger, who leads him to Fagin and his gang of pickpockets. When a thieving mission goes wrong, Oliver narrowly avoids prison and finds himself in the care of kind Mr Brownlow. But Fagin and the brutal Bill Sikes go in search of the young orphan, determined to drag him back . . .With an inspirational and light-hearted introduction by Garth Nix.

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Our hero confronts a large and varied cast, including Wackford Squeers, the fantastic ogre of a schoolmaster, and Vincent Crummles, the grandiloquent ham actor, on his comic and satirical adventures up and down the country. Punishing wickedness, befriending the helpless, strutting the stage, and falling in love, Nicholas shares some of his creator's energy and earnestness as he faces the pressing issues of early Victorian society. ABOUT THE SERIES: For over 100 years Oxford World's Classics has made available the widest range of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford's commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading authorities, helpful notes to clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies for further study, and much more.

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Following his father's death John Harmon returns to London to claim his inheritance, but he finds he is eligible only if he marries Bella Wilfur. To observe her character he assumes another identity and secures work with his father's foreman, Mr Boffin, who is also Bella's guardian. Disguise and concealment play an important role in the novel and individual identity is examined within the wider setting of London life: in the 1860s the city was aflame with spiralling financial speculation while thousands of homeless scratched a living from the detritus of the more fortunate-indeed John Harmon's father has amassed his wealth by recycling waste. This edition includes extensive explanatory notes and significant manuscript variants. ABOUT THE SERIES: For over 100 years Oxford World's Classics has made available the widest range of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford's commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading authorities, helpful notes to clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies for further study, and much more.

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In 1836 the 23-year-old Dickens was invited by his publishers to write `a monthly something' illustrated by sporting plates. Thus the Pickwick Club was born: its supposed `papers' soom outgrew their origins and became a brilliantly comic novel, still among Dicken's most popular works. ABOUT THE SERIES: For over 100 years Oxford World's Classics has made available the widest range of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford's commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading authorities, helpful notes to clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies for further study, and much more.

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Dominoes is a full-colour, interactive readers series that offers students a fun reading experience while building their language skills. With integrated activities and on-page glossaries the new edition of the series makes reading motivating for learners. Each reader is carefully graded to ensure each student reads from the right level from the very beginning.

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Introduced by bestselling author Roddy Doyle.Charles Darnay and Sydney Carton are alike in appearance, different in character and in love with the same woman. In the midst of the French Revolution, Darnay, who has fled to London to escape the cruelty of the French nobility, must return to Paris to rescue his servant from death. But he endangers his own life and is captured. Carton may be able to help, but will his resemblance be enough to save Darnay's life?Specially abridged for Puffin Classics.Also abridged for Puffin Classics David CopperfieldGreat Expectations

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'One of Dickens's most neglected, but most rewarding, novels' Peter AckroydSet against the backdrop of the Gordon Riots of 1780, Barnaby Rudge is a story of mystery and suspense which begins with an unsolved double murder and goes on to involve conspiracy, blackmail, abduction and retribution. Through the course of the novel fathers and sons become opposed, apprentices plot against their masters and anti-Catholic mobs rampage through the streets. With its dramatic descriptions of public violence and private horror, its strange secrets and ghostly doublings, Barnaby Rudge is a powerful, disturbing blend of historical realism and Gothic melodrama.Edited with an Introduction and Notes by John Bowen

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'One of my life's greatest tragedies is to have already read Pickwick Papers - I can't go back and read it for the first time' Fernando PessoaFew first novels have created as much popular excitement as The Pickwick Papers - a comic masterpiece that catapulted its twenty-four-year-old author to immediate fame. Readers were captivated by the adventures of the poet Snodgrass, the sportsman Winkle and, above all, by that quintessentially English Quixote, Mr Pickwick, and his cockney Sancho Panza, Sam Weller. From the hallowed turf of Dingley Dell Cricket Club to the unholy fracas of the Eatanswill election, characters and incidents sprang to life from Dickens's pen, to form an enduringly popular work of ebullient humour and literary invention. Edited with an Introduction and Notes by Mark Wormald

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'There's no writing against such power as this - one has no chance' William Makepeace ThackerayA compelling depiction of a man imprisoned by his own pride, Dombey and Son explores the devastating effects of emotional deprivation on a dysfunctional family. Paul Dombey runs his household as he runs his business: coldly, calculatingly and commercially. The only person he cares for is his little son, while his motherless daughter Florence is merely a 'base coin that couldn't be invested'. As Dombey's callousness extends to others, including his defiant second wife Edith, he sows the seeds of his own destruction.Edited with an Introduction and Notes by Andrew Sanders

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Esther, at fourteen, has never known love. Determined to live well, earn some love and overcome the shadow of her birth, she takes her first steps into an unknown world. A family curse, a manipulating lawyer, poverty and secrets threaten to destroy Esther’s world. Are the walls of Bleak House strong enough to protect her and her new friends from such powerful forces? The reader will be caught up in an unfolding mystery, full of surprises. Perhaps the biggest mystery of all is: Who is Nemo?

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Miserable old miser Ebenezer Scrooge hates Christmas. Can somebody so selfish, so harsh and so horribly lonely ever change his ways? In one terrifying night, poor Scrooge is haunted by four ghosts. Why do they show him visions of his past? Why do they show him other people enjoying Christmas? Why do they show him the deaths of a young boy and of a miserable old miser? Weep and laugh as you read this much-loved Christmas story. Will Scrooge always think that Christmas is ‘Humbug’, or will he learn to shout ‘Merry Christmas, one and all’?

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Pride, humility, love, loyalty and shame compete for Pip’s emotions. Will his quest to become a gentleman enable him to melt the cold heart of the beautiful Estella, or will it destroy his happiness? Pip’s tale is full of mystery and surprises. What is the nature of Miss Havisham’s interest in him? Why does Estella want to break his heart? Why does the dangerous convict return? Most importantly, who has given Pip his great expectations?

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Exam board: AQA B, Cambridge Assessment International EducationLevel & Subject: AS and A Level English LiteratureFirst teaching: September 2015Next exams: 2024 This edition of Oliver Twist provides depth and context for A Level students, with the complete novel in an easy to read format, and a detailed introduction and bespoke glossary written by an experienced A Level teacher with academic expertise in the area. · Affordable high quality complete text of Charles Dickens Oliver Twist· Perfectly pitched introductions provide the depth and demand required by AS and A Level English· Explore the contemporary context, Charles Dickens’ writing, the novel’s critical reception and subsequent interpretations for a deeper reading of the text· Expand your further reading with a list of key articles and critical and theoretical texts· Improve your understanding of the novel with unfamiliar concepts and culturally-specific terms defined in the glossary

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Sydney Carton is a lawyer who has wasted his abilities and his life. Now he has to make a difficult choice about what is really important to him, which could be a matter of life or death. The French Revolution is running its violent course; lives are ruined as a new France is created. How did the gentle Doctor Manette and his daughter Lucie become caught up in France’s struggles? What is the real identity of the handsome Charles Darnay, who wins Lucie’s hand in marriage? And why does the shadow of La Bastille Prison hang over them all? The best of times and the worst of times. London and Paris. Sydney Carton and Charles Darnay. A story of contrasts and chaos. Can peace ever be restored in France? Can it ever be restored in the hearts of the people involved?

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