Charles Dickens' Great Expectations published 150 years ago this month

First posted 6/25/2020; updated 11/2/2020.

Great Expectations Charles Dickens

First Publication: July 1861 Category: novel about redemption Sales: ?

Accolades (click on badges to see full lists):

About the Book: “Richly comic and immensely readable,” BN Great Expectations is a “timeless masterpiece, teeming with…unexpected plot twists,” AZ “moral maelstroms and the sorrow and pity of love.” BN This was Dickens’ “last great novel, and many critics believe it to be his finest. Readers and critics alike praised it for its masterful plot, which rises above the melodrama of some of his earlier works, and for its three-dimensional, psychologically realistic characters – characters much deeper and more interesting than the one-note caricatures of earlier novels.” AZ “In this unflaggingly suspenseful story of aspirations and moral redemption,” AZ Dickens traces the path of the “humble, orphaned Pip” AZ “from a hardscrabble rural life to the teeming streets of 19th-century London, unfolding a gripping tale of crime and guilt, revenge and reward, and love and loss.” AZ “Dickens’ vivid rendering of the vast tapestry of mid-Victorian England” AZ reveal his “dark attitudes toward Victorian society, its inherent class structure, and its materialism.” BN Pip “is apprenticed to the dirty work of the forge but dares to dream of becoming a gentleman.” AZ “After a secret benefactor gives him a fortune, Pip moves to London, where he cultivates great expectations for a life which would allow him to discard his impoverished beginnings and socialize with the idle upper class. As Pip struggles to become a gentleman and is tormented endlessly by the beautiful Estella, he slowly learns the truth about himself and his illusions.” BN Resources and Related Links: AZ Amazon BN Barnes & Noble

In July 2018, I became the organizer of the Classic Novels Book Club. Check out the Book Club tab here or Meetup for more information. This is our January 2021 book.

Charles Dickens' A Tale of Two Cities published 150 years ago this year

First posted 6/26/2020; updated 7/6/2020.

A Tale of Two Cities Charles Dickens

First Publication: 1859 Category: novel about classism Sales: 200 million

Accolades (click on badges to see full lists):

About the Book: “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.” In that famous first line from A Tale of Two Cities, “Dickens exemplifies the dichotomous relationship that existed between the aristocracy and the lower classes of the time and the universal themes that would be depicted throughout the book.” AZ “Dickens plunges the reader into one of history’s most explosive eras – the French Revolution. From the storming of the Bastille to the relentless drop of the guillotine, Dickens vividly captures the terror and upheaval of that tumultuous period.” BN “A Tale of Two Cities is set in London and Paris, the titular two cities, at the end of the 18th century, and principally concerns the lives of Dr. Alexandre Manette, his daughter Lucie, who marries a French nobleman, Charles Darnay, and their close family friend, barrister Sydney Carton.” AZ “Despite the union of Lucie and Darney, Carton confesses his love to Lucie, declaring to ‘embrace any sacrifice for you and for those dear to you,’ a promise that he will uphold in dramatic fashion by the end of the novel” AZ “on the bloodstained streets of Paris.” BN “Dickens considered…[this] to be the best novel that he had ever written. One of only two works of historical fiction that the author would compose; it is a sweeping narrative that explores the best and the worst of the human character and condition.” AZ It “is a stirring classic of love, revenge, and resurrection.” BN Resources and Related Links: AZ Amazon BN Barnes & Noble

Charles Dickens' David Copperfield published 150 years ago

First posted 7/4/2020; updated 7/5/2020.

David Copperfield Charles Dickens

First Publication: 1850 Category: coming-of-age novel Sales: 1 million

Accolades (click on badges to see full lists):

About the Book: David Copperfield, Dickens’ eighth novel, was his favorite BN and is considered by many to be his greatest work. AZ “Written in the first person, it also perhaps his most autobiographical. BN “A classic coming-of-age story, it is the tale of its titular character from childhood to maturity which chronicles the struggle between the emotional and moral aspects of his life.” AZ The story is “filled with trials and tribulations which [the title character] struggles to overcome in his pursuit of a happy and fulfilled life.” AZ He “loses both parents at an early age, …escapes the torture of working for his pitiless stepfather to make something of himself and, with any luck, [will] find true happiness. David Copperfield features an unforgettable gallery of characters, including David’s cruel stepfather Mr. Murdstone, the unctuous Uriah Heep, the amiable Mr. Micawber, whom Dickens based on his father, and Dora Spenglow, whom David marries and calls his ‘child-wife.’ BN “Central to the theme of the novel is the idea of the disciplined heart. Dickens suggests that people basically fall into three categories: those who have one, those who don’t, and those who seek to cultivate one. It is this development of a disciplined heart inside David Copperfield which establishes the principal context of his relationships throughout the novel.” AZ Resources and Related Links: AZ Amazon BN Barnes & Noble TG Telegraph: The Perfect Library