Search results for ""author charles dickens""

This is a collection of five of Dickens' best-known novels: "Oliver Twist", "A Christmas Carol", "David Copperfield", "Great Expectations" and "A Tale of Two Cities". This volume of fiction that truly captures the Victorian era will make an artful addition to any home library. Many readers know Victorian England through the writings of Charles Dickens. Not only did Dickens put a face to the era through his memorable characters, he also captured the spirit of his age in entertaining fiction spun from its social concerns and historical events. Prolific, energetic and committed to social change, no other novelist of the time did as much as Charles Dickens to rally his readers to action and no other writer at any time has created such an extraordinary collection of well-loved novels. This exquisitely designed leatherbound edition has distinctive gilt edging and an attractive silk-ribbon bookmark.

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Scholastic Children's Books are proud to publish this beautiful edition of the classic tale, Oliver Twist. The story of orphaned Oliver, who runs away from the workhouse only to be taken in by a den of thieves. Plunged into a dark criminal underworld of vivid and memorable characters - the arch-villain Fagin, the artful Dodger, the menacing Bill Sikes and kind-hearted Nancy - Oliver struggles to survive and find his real family. A rich, powerful look at Victorian London poverty from master storyteller, Charles Dickens. SCHOLASTIC "INK DOT" CLASSICS - COLLECT THEM ALL! A Christmas Carol A Little Princess Alice's Adventures in Wonderland Anne Of Green Gables Black Beauty Five Children and It Just So Stories Kidnapped Little Women Moonfleet Oliver Twist Pollyanna The Happy Prince and Other Stories The Jungle Book The Railway Children The Secret Garden The Wind in the Willows The Wonderful Wizard of Oz Treasure Island What Katy Did

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Complete and unabridged.When A Christmas Carol was first published in 1843 it was an overnight success. A celebration of Christmas, a tale of redemption, and a critique on Victorian society, Charles Dickens' atmospheric novella follows the miserly, penny-pinching Ebenezer Scrooge who views Christmas as 'humbug'. 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. Featuring original illustrations by John Leech, with an afterword by Anna South.It is only through a series of eerie, life-changing visits from the ghost of his deceased business partner Marley and the spirits of Christmas past, present and future that Scrooge begins to see the error of his ways. With heart-rending characters, rich imagery and evocative language, the hopeful message of A Christmas Carol remains as significant today as when it was first published.

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Puffin Classics: the definitive collection of timeless stories, for every childRediscover the Puffin Classics collection and bring the best-loved classics to a new generation - including this charming edition of Great Expectations.As a small boy at Joe Gargery''s forge, Pip meets two people who will affect his whole life - an escaped convict he is forced to help, and the eccentric Miss Haversham, whose beautiful, cold-hearted ward Estella young Pip adores. But when a secret benefactor pays for him to go to London to become a gentleman, Pip never dreams he will meet the dreadful Magwitch again, nor just how wrong his expectations are. . .

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As in many of Dickens's greatest novels, the gulf between appearance and reality drives the action. Set in the seemingly innocuous cathedral town of Cloisterham, the story rapidly darkens with a sense of impending evil. Central to the plot is John Jasper: in public he is a man of integrity and benevolence, in private he is an opium addict. And while seeming to smile on the engagement of his nephew, Edwin Drood, he is, in fact, consumed by jealousy, driven to terrify the boy's fiancée and to plot the murder of Edwin himself. Though The Mystery of Edwin Drood is one of its author's darkest books, it also bustles with a vast roster of memorable-and delightfully named-minor characters: Mrs. Billikins, the landlady; the foolish Mr. Sapsea; the domineering philanthropist, Mr. Honeythunder; and the mysterious Datchery. Several attempts have been made over the years to complete the novel and solve the mystery, but even in its unfinished state it is a gripping and haunting masterpiece.

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In his last completed novel, published in 1864-5, Dicens confirmed his reputation as a story-teller of genius while extending the sphere of his imagination to new worlds. Like all Dickens' novels, OUR MUTUAL FRIEND weaves together many stories, uniting them in the bizarre symbolism of the wealth which derives from a rubbish tip. With all the energy of his earlier novels, this one has an extra resonance and depth of shade.

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An unknown benefactor provides Philip Pirrip with the chance to escape his poor upbringing. Aspiring to be a gentleman, and encouraged by his expectations of wealth, he abandons his friends and moves to London. His expectations prove to be unfounded however, and he must return home penniless.

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HarperCollins is proud to present its incredible range of best-loved, essential classics. ‘It was a town of red brick, or of brick that would have been red if the smoke and ashes had allowed it; but as matters stood, it was a town of unnatural red and black like the painted face of a savage.’ Set in fictitious Coketown, England during the Industrial Revolution of the 1850s, Dickens wished to expose the enormous gulf between the rich and poor through his writing. In Hard Times, the social and moral purpose of his work is at its most evident. Openly ironic and satirical in its tone, Dickens suggests a mechanization of society, where the wealthy are ruthless and uncharitable towards those less fortunate than themselves. Siblings Louisa and Tom Gradgrind are raised by their father, a harsh and pragmatic educator and his influence means that they go on to lead lives that are lacking in all areas. Louisa marries the arrogant and greedy Josiah Bounderby, ending in an unhappy pairing and the unfeeling and villainous Tom robs his own brother-in-law’s bank. As their father watches their plight, he realises that his own principles may have led to their downfall.

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A novel of social and moral themes, Hard Times is the archetypal Dickens novel, filled with family difficulties, estrangement, rotten values and unhappiness. Published in 1854, it is set in the imaginary Coketown, an industrial city inspired by Preston, and tells the story of the family of Thomas Gradgrind, a man obsessed with misguided 'Utilitarian' values that make him trust facts, statistics and practicality over emotion. Based on James Mill (the Utilitarian leader), Gradgrind raises his own children, Louisa and Tom, in line with these same views, forcing an artless existence on them. Contemporary critics such as Macaulay savaged the book for its supposed 'sullen socialism' but it has become well regarded since earning the favour of George Bernard Shaw.This Macmillan Collector's Library edition is illustrated by Harry French, with an afterword by David Stuart Davies.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.

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In The Pickwick Papers we are introduced not just to one of the greatest writers in the English language, but to some of fiction's most endearing and memorable characters, starting with the 'illustrious, immortal and colossal-minded' Samuel Pickwick himself. It is a rollicking tour de force through an England on the brink of the Victorian era. Reform of government, justice and commercial life are imminent, as are rail travel, social convulsion and the death of deference, but Pickwick sails through on a tide of delirious adventure, fortifying us for the future - whatever it might throw at us. This Macmillan Collector's Library edition is illustrated by H. K. Browne ('Phiz'), with an afterword by Ned Halley.Designed to appeal to the book lover, 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.

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Now a major BBC drama.One of Charles Dickens's most renowned and enjoyable novels, Great Expectations tells the story of Pip, an orphan boy who wishes to transcend his humble origins and finds himself unexpectedly given the opportunity to live a life of wealth and respectability. Over the course of the tale, in which Pip encounters such famous characters as Miss Havisham, Herbert Pocket and Joe Gargery, he comes to realise that his money is tainted and the girl he loves will not return his affections; happiness must be found in the things he gave up in pursuit of a more sophisticated life.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 is illustrated by various artists and features an afterword by David Pinching.

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Explore Dickens’ classic tale of order and disorder, death and resurrection with A Tale of Two Cities. Taking place in London and Paris in the eighteenth century, in the years leading up to and during the French Revolution, Charles Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities is one of injustice, revenge, rebirth, love, and sacrifice. Originally published in thirty-one weekly installments in 1859, this novel is uncharacteristic for Dickens as it lacks comic relief, as well as a protagonist, though London and Paris are considered to be the true protagonists of the story. The turbulence found in this epic tale is also believed to reflect the turmoil in Dickens’ personal life at the time. Complete and unabridged, A Tale of Two Cities is an essential collectible that features an introduction by English literature scholar Brian Bartell and a timeline of the life and times of Charles Dickens. Essential volumes for the shelves of every classic literature lover, the Chartwell Classics series includes beautifully presented works and collections from some of the most important authors in literary history. Chartwell Classics are the editions of choice for the most discerning literature buffs. Other titles in the Chartwell Classics Series include: Complete Fiction of H.P. Lovecraft; Complete Grimm’s Fairy Tales; Complete Novels of Jane Austen; Complete Sherlock Holme; Complete Tales & Poems of Edgar Allen Poe; Complete Works of William Shakespeare; Divine Comedy; Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Other Tales;The Essential Tales of H.P. Lovecraft; The Federalist Papers; The Inferno; The Call of the Wild and White Fang; Moby Dick; The Odyssey; Pride and Prejudice; The Essential Grimm’s Fairy Tales; Emma; The Great Gatsby; The Secret Garden; Anne of Green Gables; The Essential Tales and Poems of Edgar Allan Poe; The Phantom of the Opera; The Communist Manifesto and Das Kapital; Republic; Frankenstein; Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea; The Picture of Dorian Gray; Meditations; Wuthering Heights; Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass; Beowulf; The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and Other Stories; Adventures of Huckleberry Finn; Little Women

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HarperCollins is proud to present its new range of best-loved, essential classics. ‘My father’s family name being Pirrip, and my Christian name Philip, my infant tongue could make of both names nothing longer or more explicit than Pip. So, I called myself Pip, and came to be called Pip.’ An orphan destined for a life of misery and poverty, Pip does not have much in the way of expectations. Only when he begins to visit a rich old woman, Miss Havisham, does he begin to hope for better. When Pip discovers that he has inherited a large sum of money on the condition that he move to London to live the life of a gentleman, Pip takes his chance to leave behind the world he knows and embark upon a new adventure. An illuminating tale of intrigue, fortune and unattainable love, Great Expectations has a cast of memorable characters, and is one of Dickens’ most enduring and popular novels.

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HarperCollins is proud to present its new range of best-loved, essential classics. 'Take nothing on its looks; take everything on evidence. There's no better rule.' Living with his sister and her husband, Pip is an orphan without any expectations. It is only when he begins to visit a rich old woman, Miss Havisham and her adopted niece that he begins to hope for something better. When it is revealed that Pip has inherited a large sum of money from a mysterious benefactor on the condition that he moves to London to become a gentleman, Pip's adventure really begins. Epic, illuminating and memorable, Dickens mysterious tale of Pip's quest to find the truth about himself is one of his most enduring and popular novels to date.

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Amy Dorrit's father is not very good with money. She was born in the Marshalsea debtors' prison and has lived there with her family for all of her twenty-two years, only leaving during the day to work as a seamstress for the forbidding Mrs. Clennam. But Amy's fortunes are about to change: the arrival of Mrs. Clennam's son Arthur, back from working in China, heralds the beginning of stunning revelations not just about Amy but also about Arthur himself.

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In Hard Times, Dickens illustrates the condition of England through the fictional city of Coketown. Among its inhabitants are Thomas Gradgrind, the utilitarian headmaster who attempts to impose his rigid worldview on his family circle, and the uncaring businessman Mr Bounderby. Their materialist philosophies, as opposed to the world of fancy or imagination, are tested throughout the novel, which also explores workers’ conditions, trade unions and the spurious use of statistics. Perhaps the most polemical of his novels – in which hard-biting satire, moving drama and exuberant comedy find a very succinct and powerful expression – Hard Times is the ideal introduction to the world of Dickens.

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The Mudfog Papers, a collection of sketches by Dickens published in Bentley’s Miscellany between 1837 and 1838, describes the local politics of the fictional town of Mudfog – such as the delusions of grandeur of its mayor Nicholas Tulrumble and his disastrous attempts at putting on a public show – and the meetings of its Society for the Advancement of Everything, during which the town is overrun by illustrious scientists and professors conducting ostensibly pointless research. Written at the same time as Oliver Twist – indeed the serialized version of the novel referred to Mudfog as the protagonist’s home town – The Mudfog Papers lampoons all manner of journalistic and scientific writing of the time and showcases the young Dickens at his satirical best.

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