Charles Dickens
A cautionary tale wrapped up in a Christmas bow, Charles Dickens' novella, A Christmas Carol, has touched readers for decades with its study of moneylender Ebenezer Scrooge, who on Christmas Eve is forced to examine his bitter, greedy life with help from the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Future.
Through the Ghosts Scrooge sees all of the opportunities he has missed, all the unhappiness he has created, and all the misery and tragedy
...David Copperfield is considered to be Charles Dickens's most autobiographical novel. He said of it: "Like many fond parents, I have in my heart of hearts a favourite child. And his name is David Copperfield." It is a Bildungsroman, a tale which follows the development into maturity of its narrator, David Copperfield. The Russian greats Tolstoy and Dostoyevsky both greatly admired the novel, as did Kafka, Joyce and James. Freud called it
...3) Bleak house
A enthralling story about the inequalities of the 19th-century English legal system Bleak House is one of Charles Dicken's most multifaceted novels. Bleak House deals with a multiplicity of characters, plots and subplots that all weave in and around the true story of the famous case of Jarndyce and Jarndyce, a case of litigation in England's Court of Chancery, which starts as a problem of legacy and wills, but soon raises the question
...4) Oliver Twist
This tale of the orphan who is reared in a workhouse and runs away to London is a novel of social protest, a morality tale, and a detective story. Oliver Twist presents some of the most sinister characters in Dickens: the master thief, Fagin; the leering Artful Dodger; the murderer, Bill Sikes…along...
Dickens wrote A Christmas Carol under financial duress, but it became one of his most popular and enduring stories. The old miser Ebenezer Scrooge cares nothing for family, friends, love or Christmas. All he cares about is money. Then one Christmas Eve he is visited by three ghosts: Christmas Past, Christmas Present and Christmas Yet To Come. These encounters leave Scrooge deeply moved and forever changed. Historians believe that A Christmas
...The Mystery of Edwin Drood is a highly atmospheric tale of murder. Central to the plot is John Jasper: in public he is a man of integrity and benevolence; in private he is an opium addict....
Oliver Twist is born an orphan and grows up handed from bad position to worse. Eventually he ends up in the London street gang run by Fagin, who attempts to blacken the boy's pure soul in his service. Through chance and coincidence Oliver is restored to his mother's middle-class family, where he is shown love and comfort for the first time in his life. The villains' attempts to kidnap him back are foiled and all are transported or hanged.
Full
...10) Little Dorrit
Little Dorrit grows up in the Marshalsea debtor's prison, where her father has been imprisoned ever since her birth. When Mr Dorrit's debt is excused, he is anxious to forget his inglorious past and be accepted back into the best circles of society. Dickens criticizes the hierarchical society which would demand such an impossible thing of a man, and also questions which class of their acquaintance are good people and true friends. When one of London's
...Charles Dickens' work is ranked among the finest writing in the Western canon, and the author specialized in seasonal stories to warm the hearts of his adoring fans during the holiday season. This collection of Christmas-themed tales are an entertaining read during the holidays or any time you need a quick pick-me-up.
The most gorgeously theatrical of all Dickens' novels, Nicholas Nickleby follows the delightful adventures of a hearty young hero in nineteenth-century England. Nicholas, a gentleman's son fallen upon hard times, must set out to make his way in the world. His journey is accompanied by some of the most swaggering scoundrels and unforgettable eccentrics in Dickens' pantheon.
From the dungeon-like Yorkshire boys' boarding school run by the cruel
...13) Dombey and Son
Charles Dickens' Dombey and Son tells the story of the wealthy owner of a shipping company, Paul Dombey, who dreams of having a son to carry on the family business. It deals with themes such as marriage for financial gain, cruelty towards children, family relationships, pride, arrogance, betrayal and the destructive effects of industrialization.
Charles Dickens attained an astounding level of popular acclaim during his lifetime; Victorian audiences clamored for his traditional Christmastime stories every year. The tale A Message From the Sea is an example of one of Dickens' Christmas publications; although the nautical setting of the story is not what one would traditionally expect from a holiday publication, the themes of charity, good will, and rising above seemingly insurmountable
...Renowned storyteller Charles Dickens takes on the historical novel in Barnaby Rudge, a gripping fictionalized account of the anti-Catholicism turmoil that rocked England in the late eighteenth century. The novel pairs Dickens' social insights into the "anti-papist" riots of 1780 with the quirky, closely observed characters that have won him a loyal following the world over.
Beautiful, honest Nell Trent lives with her devoted Grandfather in his Old Curiosity Shop, an enchanting shop of odds and ends. Desperate to make a better life for his Nell, Grandfather secretly gambles and gets deeply into debt with the unscrupulous Quilp. When what little money they have is lost in a game of cards, Quilp claims The Old Curiosity Shop as payment for the loans
Released in installments from 1840 to 1841, Charles Dicken's The
...Curl up with this heartwarming tale of redemption from the master of the happy ending, Charles Dickens. A great read at Christmas-time or whenever you could use some uplifting lighter fare, The Battle of Life is a fast-paced tale that you'll finish with a smile on your face and renewed faith in the inherent goodness of humanity.
Another entrant in his astoundingly popular series of Christmas parables, Dickens revisits many of the themes and plot devices he first explored in A Christmas Carol in The Haunted Man and the Ghost's Bargain. This novella recounts the supernatural experiences of Professor Redlaw, who learns several life-changing lessons from a mysterious spirit.
Anyone who has ever read a novel by Charles Dickens is well aware of the author's keen interest in social issues, especially the detrimental effects of poverty. This volume of essays brings together some of Dickens' best non-fiction writing on social issues, carried out in the form of letters to the editor, op-ed pieces, and correspondence.
Though best known for his heartwarming holiday tales and sweeping social novels such as A Tale of Two Cities and Great Expectations, Charles Dickens was a prolific writer who was always willing to experiment with new styles. The chilling tales collected in Three Ghost Stories are a result of his brief but successful foray into the mystery and detective genres.