Search results for ""author ,charles dickens""

In the dark, dangerous streets of Victorian London Oliver enters the world of people so poor and desperate that they will take any risk and know no mercy. Relentlessly pursued by the menacing criminal world, who should Oliver trust? Are his true friends strong enough to resist the determined plotting of desperate villains? In this gripping tale of kidnapping, shooting and murder, Charles Dickens shows the threats to a vulnerable boy’s existence and asks the eternal question: which is more powerful, good or evil?

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Bah, humbug! Ebenezer Scrooge is a mean-spirited, miserly old man with no friends. One cold Christmas Eve, he is visited by the ghosts of past, present and future, who will show him the error of his ways. Will the bitter Scrooge be able to change for the better?

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In the dark, dangerous streets of Victorian London Oliver enters the world of people so poor and desperate that they will take any risk and know no mercy. Relentlessly pursued by the menacing criminal world, who should Oliver trust? Are his true friends strong enough to resist the determined plotting of desperate villains? In this gripping tale of kidnapping, shooting and murder, Charles Dickens shows the threats to a vulnerable boy’s existence and asks the eternal question: which is more powerful, good or evil?

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Exam board: AQA, Edexcel, OCRLevel & Subject: GCSE English LiteratureFirst teaching: September 2015Next exam: June 2024 This edition of Great Expectations is perfect for GCSE-level students: it comes complete with the novel, plus an introduction providing context, and a glossary explaining key terms. ‘Hold your noise!’ cried a terrible voice, as a man started up from among the graves at the side of the church porch. ‘Keep still, you little devil, or I’ll cut your throat!’ So begins Charles Dickens’s 1861 bildungsroman, the story of the orphan Pip who is catapulted from the desolate Kent marshes of his childhood to become a young gentleman in London. Who is Pip’s mysterious benefactor? And what role will the troubling figures of escaped convict Magwitch, decaying bride Miss Havisham and the beautiful but aloof Estella play in his prospects? Told through the first-person voice of the older Pip, this story of great expectations suggests gains always come at a price. Dickens depicts both the horrors of the early nineteenth-century penal system and the rapid rise and fall of fortunes that Victorian society permitted.

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Exam board: AQA, Edexcel, Eduqas, WJECLevel & Subject: GCSE English LiteratureFirst teaching: September 2015Next exam: June 2024 This edition of A Christmas Carol is perfect for GCSE-level students: it comes complete with the novel, plus an introduction providing context, and a glossary explaining key terms. ‘If I could work my will,’ said Scrooge, indignantly, ‘every idiot who goes about with “Merry Christmas” on his lips, should be boiled with his own pudding, and buried with a stake of holly through his heart.’ Miser and misanthropist Ebenezer Scrooge hates the festive season. Can the visitations of his dead business partner Jacob Marley and the spirits of Christmas past, present and yet to come shake him from his habits, to show him the true value of Christmas? Dickens’s 1843 story was written in response to the plight of the poor, the hungry, the exploited and the uneducated in Victorian society, suggesting that the true test of a society is the way it treats its children.

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A disappearing father, an unhappy marriage, a handsome suitor and a bank robbery all bring challenges to Louisa’s life. Will she be able to control her powerful emotions, or will they lead her to ruin? Set amongst the noisy, dangerous factories of a northern industrial town, where the workers struggle to survive, Hard Times explores the power that people can have over others, and the suffering that is caused when human emotions are ignored.

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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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'In Little Dorrit, Dickens attacked English institutions with a ferocity that has never since been approached' George OrwellA masterly evocation of the state and psychology of imprisonment, Little Dorrit is one of the supreme works of Dickens's maturity. It follows Arthur Clennam who, returning to England after many years abroad, takes a kindly interest in Amy Dorrit, his mother's seamstress, who was born and raised in the Marshalsea where her father has long been imprisoned for debt. As Arthur soon discovers, the dark shadow of the prison stretches far beyond its walls to affect the lives of many, from the kindly Mr Pancks, the reluctant rent-collector of Bleeding Heart Yard, to the bureaucratic Barnacles in the Circumlocution Office and Merdle, an unscrupulous financier. Edited with an Introduction and Notes by Stephen Wall and Helen Small

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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. Pip doesn't expect much from life...His sister makes it clear that her orphaned little brother is nothing but a burden on her. But suddenly things begin to change. Pip's narrow existence is blown apart when he finds an escaped criminal, is summoned to visit a mysterious old woman and meets the icy beauty Estella. Most astoundingly of all, an anonymous person gives him money to begin a new life in London.Are these events as random as they seem? Or does Pip's fate hang on a series of coincidences he could never have expected?

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'His characters are marvellous, his insights wonderful ... You don't expect reality but you get something bigger and better' Ruth RendellThe Old Curiosity Shop was an instant bestseller that, even while it was criticized for its sentimentality, captured the hearts of the nation with its portrayal of little Nell Trent, who is thrown into a terrifying world when her beloved grandfather is unable to pay his debts to the loathsome Quilp. Alongside the pathos of the innocent, tragic Nell are some of Dickens's greatest characters: the ne'er-do'well Dick Swiveller, the mannish lawyer Sally Brass, the half-starved 'Marchioness' and the lustful Quilp himself, a creation of demonic power and cruelty. Edited with an Introduction and Notes by Norman Page

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A disappearing father, an unhappy marriage, a handsome suitor and a bank robbery all bring challenges to Louisa’s life. Will she be able to control her powerful emotions, or will they lead her to ruin? Set amongst the noisy, dangerous factories of a northern industrial town, where the workers struggle to survive, Hard Times explores the power that people can have over others, and the suffering that is caused when human emotions are ignored.

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Dickens' timeless novel transports young readers to a colorful Victorian England filled with mistreated orphans, grim workhouses and gangs of thieving children. The hero finds himself in dire circumstances but escapes to London, where he becomes involved with criminals...and finally finds a real home. Abridged for easier reading and carefully rewritten, with "Classic Starts[trademark]", young readers can experience the wonder of timeless stories from an early age.

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Exam board: AQA B, Edexcel, CXCLevel & Subject: AS and A Level English Literature, CAPE LiteratureFirst teaching: September 2015Next exams: 2024

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Original by Charles Dickens Adapted for the stage by Charles Way Dominated by Gradgrind and Bounderby, Coketown's prosperity is built on the cotton mills where thousands of men and women slave away for long hours and little pay. Gradgrind's obsession with material progress damages his children Louisa and Tom, leading to scandal and disaster. Hard Times celebrates the importance of the human heart in an age obsessed with materialism. Circus, music, and dark comedy all go into the rich mix of this truly Dickensian theatrical tale.

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Introduction and Notes by Dinny Thorold, University of Westminster. Illustrated by F. Walker and Maurice Greiffenhagen. Unusually for Dickens, Hard Times is set, not in London, but in the imaginary mid-Victorian Northern industrial town of Coketown with its blackened factories, downtrodden workers and polluted environment. This is the soulless domain of the strict utilitarian Thomas Gradgrind and the heartless factory owner Josiah Bounderby. However human joy is not excluded thanks to 'Mr Sleary's Horse-Riding' circus, a gin-soaked and hilarious troupe of open-hearted and affectionate people who act as an antidote to all the drudgery and misery endured by the ordinary citizens of Coketown. Macaulay attacked Hard Times for its ‘sullen socialism’, but 20th-century critics such as George Bernard Shaw and F.R. Leavis have praised this book in the highest terms, while readers the world over have found inspiration and enjoyment from what is both Dickens’ shortest completed novel and also one of his important statements on Victorian society.

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Thrilling full-cast radio dramatisations of three of Charles Dickens' classic novels. Charles Dickens is one of the most renowned novelists of all time, and this second volume of the dramatised canon of his work includes the gripping historical novel Barnaby Rudge, picaresque comedy Martin Chuzzlewit and bittersweet tale of family relationships Dombey and Son. Barnaby Rudge Against the background of the anti-Catholic riots of the 1780s, young Barnaby Rudge becomes entangled with the fanatical George Gordon and his campaign for 'No Popery'. But mob violence, the burning of Newgate Prison and the shadow of murder put his life in danger... Martin Chuzzlewit Disinherited by his wealthy grandfather because of his love for the beautiful Mary, Martin Chuzzlewit sets sail for America to seek his fortune. Dombey and Son Wealthy Paul Dombey is desperate for a male heir to continue the family business, and neglects his six-year-old daughter Florence. Then, at last, the longed-for son is born – but Dombey's hopes for him go unfulfilled... With a star cast including Simon Cadell, Bill Nighy, Alex Jennings, Robert Glenister, Geraldine James and Pam Ferris, these BBC radio adaptations bring out all the suspense, adventure, satire and social realism of Dickens' three classic masterpieces. Duration: 19 hours approx.

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The new Oxford World's Classics edition of Oliver Twist is based on the authoritative Clarendon edition, which uses Dickens's revised text of 1846. It includes his preface of 1841 in which he defended himself against hostile criticism, and includes all 24 original illustrations by George Cruikshank. Stephen Gill's groundbreaking Introduction gives a fascinating new account of the novel. He also provides appendices on Dickens and Cruikshank, on Dickens's Preface and the Newgate Novel Controversy, on Oliver Twist and the New Poor Law and on thieves' slang. 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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David Copperfield tells of the life of the unlucky David Copperfield. When his mother marries the cruel Mr Murdstone, David is sent away to boarding school. As he grows up, David meets many people - but who are his true friends and will his fortunes ever change? Exciting and powerful classic stories to enrich and extend your children's reading experiences. TreeTops Classics are carefully adapted versions of must-read stories which introduce your readers to significant authors, powerful plots and characters that have stood the test of time. These abridged versions of classics have been sensitively adapted by top children's authors to ensure that language and content is appropriate, but remain faithful to the original. These enchanting stories will appeal to all your junior readers and introduce them to a rich literary heritage. Each book includes author biographies and notes to help with historical and social context and any challenging vocabulary, ensuring the books are easily accessible. Books contain inside cover notes to support children in their reading. Help with children's reading development also available at www.oxfordowl.co.uk. The books are finely levelled, making it easy to match every child to the right book.

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Project X Origins Graphic Texts can help children to reach higher standards in comprehension. This graphic retelling of Oliver Twist brings a fresh look to a well-loved classic. Victorian England is not a kind place for a poor orphan like Oliver. After running away from an undertaker's where he's been forced to work, he hopes he'll have better luck in London. However, after he meets the Artful Dodger, he soon learns life in the big city can be very dangerous indeed. Can Oliver ever escape the murky world he finds himself in? This book also contains notes on the inside front and back covers with advice on supporting older children with their reading, ideas for follow-up activities and higher-level comprehension questions.

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'Sets out the London of the 1830s before you, streets, people, pleasures, low life, prisons' Claire TomalinCharles Dickens's first published book, Sketches by Boz is a funny and touching collection of observation, fancy and fiction showing the London he knew in all its complexity - its streets, theatres, inns, pawnshops, law courts, prisons and, of course, the river Thames. His descriptions of everyday life and people seem to anticipate characters from his great novels - garrulous matrons, vulgar young clerks, Scrooge-like bachelors - while his powers of social critique shine in his unflinching depictions of the city's forgotten citizens, from child workers to prostitutes. This edition includes the original illustrations by George Cruikshank.Edited with an Introduction and Notes by Dennis Walder

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This Norton Critical Edition includes: The first edition of the novel (1859) accompanied by twenty-seven illustrations, from original images by Halbot Knight Browne (“Phiz”) to cartoons from The Simpsons. An expansive introduction and detailed explanatory annotations by Robert Douglas-Fairhurst. Thematically organised contextual materials designed to promote classroom discussion. Topics include “Dickens on France and the French”, “Revolution and Aftermath”, “Living Graves”, “Learning French”, “The Composition of A Tale of Two Cities” and “Theatrical Versions”. Fourteen major critical assessments of A Tale of Two Cities: five contemporary reviews and nine modern essays. A chronology and a selected bibliography.

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Charles Dickens is a much-loved author for his vast and important contributions to English literature. This collection brings together his supernatural short stories, some of which were included in his longer works, and others that originally featured in magazines, including ‘The Bagman’s Story’, ‘The Ghost in the Bride’s Chamber’ and ‘To Be Read at Dusk’, among others. They are all fantastically gripping stories from one of the greatest writers of all-time. Essential collaborations with his acolytes Wilkie Collins and Elizabeth Gaskell are also included.

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Interest in supernatural phenomena was high during Charles Dickens’ lifetime. He had always loved a good ghost story himself, particularly at Christmas time, and was open-minded, willing to accept, and indeed put to the test, the existence of spirits. His natural inclinations toward drama and the macabre made him a brilliant teller of ghost tales, and in the twenty stories presented here, which include his celebrated A Christmas Carol, the full range of his gothic talents can be seen. Chilling as some of these stories are, Dickens has managed to inject characteristically grotesque comedy as he writes of revenge, insanity, pre-cognition and dream visions, he indulges also in some debunking of contemporary credulity.

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The editor has made necessary typographical corrections and carefully introduced and annotated the text for the student reader. Dickens’ number plans for David 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 to David 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. Brown, Gwendolyn B. Needham, Monroe Engel, J. Hillis Miller, Mark Spilka, Harry Stone, Bert G. Hornback, Garrett Stewart, Robert L. Patten, and Alexander Walsh provide a variety of perspectives. A Chronology of Dickens’ Life and Works and a Selected Bibliography are also included.

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Introduction and Notes by Dr T.C.B. Cook Illustrations by Hablot K. Browne (Phiz). Following the success of Pickwick Papers and Oliver Twist, Nicholas Nickleby was hailed as a comic triumph and firmly established Dickens as a 'literary gentleman'. It has a full supporting cast of delectable characters that range from the iniquitous Wackford Squeers and his family, to the delightful Mrs Nickleby, taking in the eccentric Crummles and his travelling players, the Mantalinis, the Kenwigs and many more. Combining these with typically Dickensian elements of burlesque and farce, the novel is eminently suited to dramatic adaptation. So great was the impact as it left Dickens' pen that many pirated versions appeared in print before the original was even finished. Often neglected by critics, Nicholas Nickleby has never ceased to delight readers and is widely regarded as one of the greatest comic masterpieces of nineteenth-centure literature.

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One Christmas Eve, after being particularly cruel to his employee, the miserly Ebenezer Scrooge is visited by the ghost of his dead business partner, Jacob Marley, who tells him that he will be visited by the ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, Future. Each ghost shows him things that rekindle the joy and spirit of Christmas within his heart and awaken his goodwill toward his fellow man. In typical fashion, Dickens deals with social injustice in a way that transcends the 19th century. This illustrated version of the classic holiday tale is brough to life with an illustrated Character List (like a Dramatis Personae), 134 pages of color story artwork, and fascinating support material that details the life and work of Charles Dickens as well as information on Victorian England.

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After years as a prisoner in the Bastille, Dr. Manette is reunited with his daughter in England. There, two men – an exiled French aristocrat and a disreputable but brilliant English lawyer – are joined through their love for Lucie Manette. From tranquil London, the action moves to the bloodstained streets of Paris at the height of the Reign of Terror, and soon all fall under the lethal shadow of La Guillotine.

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An illustrated adaptation of Charles Dickens's Victorian classic – at an easy-to-read level for readers of all ages! After surviving fourteen long years with her horrible aunt, and nothing but a doll and an old handkerchief for company, Esther Summerson’s life is finally looking a little brighter. She’s going to school and making friends, real friends! The only thing Esther’s missing now is a mother. But long-lost parents don’t just turn up out of the blue on a rainy afternoon … do they? About The Charles Dickens Children's Collection: Bah humbug! Who says the classics are just for adults? Join Ebenezer Scrooge on his ghostly Christmas adventure, or follow orphaned Oliver Twist from rags to riches in some of literature's most famous tales from the foggy streets of Victorian London.

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An illustrated adaptation of Charles Dickens's Victorian classic – at an easy-to-read level for readers of all ages! With daily beheadings and famous buildings being burnt to the ground, Paris during the Revolution is not the safest place to be. When Dr Manette is released from prison and reunited with his daughter, everything seems to finally be getting better. But his daughter’s boyfriend is keeping some dangerous secrets that lead the family on a deadly adventure. How long can ‘happy ever after’ really last? About The Charles Dickens Children's Collection: Bah humbug! Who says the classics are just for adults? Join Ebenezer Scrooge on his ghostly Christmas adventure, or follow orphaned Oliver Twist from rags to riches in some of literature's most famous tales from the foggy streets of Victorian London.

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An illustrated adaptation of Charles Dickens's Victorian classic – at an easy-to-read level for readers of all ages! Pip’s just your average boy. He has no parents, lives with his scary sister and once met an escaped criminal on Christmas Eve – in the middle of a graveyard. Totally normal. And things get even stranger when a mysterious stranger starts paying him loads of money. Sure, Pip’s loving his new life of luxury, but will he ever find out who’s paying the bills, and what they want from him in return? About The Charles Dickens Children's Collection: Bah humbug! Who says the classics are just for adults? Join Ebenezer Scrooge on his ghostly Christmas adventure, or follow orphaned Oliver Twist from rags to riches in some of literature's most famous tales from the foggy streets of Victorian London.

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Designed to appeal to the booklover, the Macmillan Collector's Library is a series of beautiful gift editions of much loved classic titles. Macmillan Collector's Library are books to love and treasure. Chosen and introduced by the playwright J. B. Priestley, these twelve marvellous sketches are accompanied by George Cruikshank’s evocative illustrations.Charles Dickens was one of the great chroniclers of London life. From the colourful chaos of dances and gin-shops to the sparse destitution of the pawnshop and the penitentiary, he captured the grime and the glory of the English capital with singular brilliance.Orphans and beggars, lord mayors and murderers, actors, criminals, cab drivers and prostitutes; all rub shoulders in this wonderful selection from Sketches by Boz.

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This is the classic novel brought to life in full colour! 'I will honour Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year. I will live in the Past, the Present, and the Future'. Classical Comics' first Dickens title is probably his best-loved story. Scrooge gets a rude awakening to how his life is, and how it should be. Full of Christmas Spirit(s), this is a book that you'll want to read all year round!

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Complete and unabridged.One of BBC's 100 Novels That Shaped Our World.Dickens exposes the corrupting power of money in his last complete novel, Our Mutual Friend, with its expansive cast of characters and interweaving plots.Part of the Macmillan Collector’s Library; a series of stunning, clothbound, pocket sized classics with gold foiled edges and ribbon markers. These beautiful books make perfect gifts or a treat for any book lover. This edition has an afterword by Lucinda Dickens Hawksley and original illustrations by Marcus Stone.John Harmon made his fortune collecting ‘dust’. On his death his estranged son is due to inherit his wealth on the condition that he marry Bella Wilfer, a young woman who he has never even met. But when his son is presumed dead, John’s riches pass to his servants Mr. and Mrs. Boffin and they in turn take Bella into their own home. They hire a secretive young man, John Rokesmith, to be Mr. Boffin’s secretary – but what is this man’s real identity and what is his interest in Bella?

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A thrilling, fast-paced adaptation of the classic novel, considered by Dickens 'the best story I have ever written'. An epic story of love, sacrifice and redemption, interweaving one family's intensely personal drama with the terror and chaos of the French Revolution. This version of A Tale of Two Cities premiered at Royal & Derngate, Northampton, in February 2014, featuring a large community ensemble alongside the main cast. Mike Poulton's adaptation is ideal for any amateur theatre companies, schools or youth theatres looking to stage a bold and dramatic version of Dickens' classic.

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One of Dickens's best-loved and most autobiographical stories, brilliantly and faithfully dramatised by Alastair Cording. All Dickens's marvellous creations are here: Mr Micawber, Uriah Heep, Mrs Peggotty, Murdstone, Steerforth and Betsey Trotwood. Weaving through the colourful maze of the storyline is David's hopeless infatuation with Emily – and eventual salvation in the arms of the long-suffering Agnes. Alastair Cording's stage adaptation of Dickens's David Copperfield was first performed by Eastern Angles in 1995. It skilfully concentrates on the essentials of the story while maintaining the colour, humour and drama of the book. Most notable is its fluidity, with each scene flowing into the next without the need for cumbersome scene changes – or much scenery at all. Performable by a cast of eight, if necessary, but equally offering good roles to thirty or more.

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