Pip's life as an ordinary country boy is destined to be unexceptional until a chain of mysterious events lead him away from his humble origins and up the social ladder. His efforts to become a London gentleman bring him into contact not just with the upper classes but also with dangerous criminals. [...]
Oliver is an orphan living on the dangerous London streets with no one but himself to rely on. Fleeing from poverty and hardship, he falls in with a criminal street gang who will not let him go, however hard he tries to escape. In "Oliver Twist", Dickens graphically conjures up the capital's underwo[...]
1870. Charles Dickens is dead. The final instalment of his last manuscript has vanished. The script was last seen addressed to the publisher whose fortunes depend on it. Since its sudden disappearance the only clue to its whereabouts is a trail of brutal murders. With his livelihood - indeed his lif[...]
"The Pickwick Papers" was Dickens' first novel and was a huge success when it was first published. It tells the tale of the irrepressible Mr Pickwick and his fellow Pickwick Club members who travel around the English countryside getting into all kinds of scrapes and adventures. Funny, warm-hearted a[...]
This title comes with an introduction by Mathew Pearl. The story of the fate of Edwin Drood is a mystery within a mystery. When young Edwin disappears after dinner on Christmas Eve and his watch and chain are later found in the nearby river, everyone suspects foul play. Could one of Edwin's acquaint[...]
Facts alone are wanted in life': the children at Mr Gradgrind's school are sternly ordered to stifle their imaginations and pay attention only to cold, hard reality. They live in a smoky, troubled industrial town so entertainment is hard to come by and resentments run deep. The effects of Gradgrind'[...]
This title includes "The Chimes" and "The Haunted Man". Ebenezer Scrooge is unimpressed by Christmas. He has no time for festivities or goodwill toward his fellow men and is only interested in money. Then, on the night of Christmas Eve, his life is changed by a series of ghostly visitations that sho[...]
When Nicholas' father dies he, his mother and sister, Kate, are left penniless. To earn his keep, Nicholas becomes a tutor at Dotheboys Hall but soon discovers that the headmaster, Wackford Squeers, is a one eyed tyrant who insists on a harsh regime. Nicholas embarks on an adventure that takes him f[...]
'One of Dickens' most neglected, but most rewarding, novels' - Peter Ackroyd. Barnaby Rudge is a young innocent simpleton who is devoted to his talkative raven, Grip. When he gets caught up in the mayhem of the Gordon riots and a mysterious unsolved murder, his life is put in jeopardy. "Barnaby Rudg[...]
This title is presented with an introduction by Simon Callow. Wealthy old Martin Chuzzlewit is surrounded by a host of grasping, unscrupulous relatives and suspects the family vices of selfishness and greed are already showing in his grandson. The younger Martin is therefore cast out upon the world [...]
A baby is born in the humble backstreets of a nameless town. His mother, who is not wearing a wedding ring, dies soon after the birth and her child is given into the care of the local orphanage. Hardly an unusual story, and yet young Oliver Twist is by no means an ordinary boy. He will escape the dr[...]
'Bah! Humbug!' Mr Scrooge is a squeezing, wrenching, grasping, scraping, clutching, miserable old man. Nobody stops him in the street to say a cheery hello; nobody would dare ask him for a favour. And I hope you'd never be so foolish as to wish him a 'Merry Christmas'! Scrooge doesn't believe in Chr[...]
Dickens's sense of comedy and concern with the human psyche are evident in tales of the supernatural, impressionistic sketches, and dramatic monologues[...]
Charles Dickens' "Sketches by Boz" foreshadows his novels in its profusion of characters, its glimpses of surreal modernity and its limitless fund of pathos and comic invention. This "Penguin Classics" edition is edited with notes and an introduction by Dennis Walder. Published under the pen-name 'B[...]
Charles Dickens' last complete novel, "Our Mutual Friend" is a glorious satire spanning all levels of Victorian society, edited with an introduction by Adrian Poole in "Penguin Classics". "Our Mutual Friend" centre??i??i??'s on an inheritance - Old Harmon's profitable dust heaps - and its legatees, [...]
One of the touchstones of the English comic novel, the "Penguin Classics" edition of Charles Dickens' "Nicholas Nickleby" is edited with an introduction by Mark Ford. When Nicholas Nickleby is left penniless after his father's death, he appeals to his wealthy uncle to help him find work and to prote[...]
Charles Dickens' "Dombey and Son" is a darkly witty tale of two siblings' struggle to achieve happiness in the shadow of their father's pride, edited with an introduction and notes by Andrew Sanders in "Penguin Classics". To Paul Dombey, business is all and money can do anything. He runs his family [...]
Charles Dickens's first published work, "The Pickwick Papers" was an instant success that captured the public imagination with its colourful characters and farcical plot. This "Penguin Classics" edition of Charles Dickens's is edited with notes and an introduction by Mark Wormald. Few first novels h[...]
"American Notes" is a fascinating account of nineteenth-century America sketched with Charles Dickens' characteristic wit and charm. This "Penguin Classics" edition is edited with notes and an introduction by Patricia Ingham. When Charles Dickens set out for America in 1842 he was the most famous ma[...]
Charles Dickens's "Barnaby Rudge" is a vivid portrait of London's descent into anarchy, where 'King Mob' rules the streets, and innocent lives are swept up in the chaos. This "Penguin Classics" edition is edited with an introduction and notes by John Bowen. Set against the backdrop of the Gordon Rio[...]
The archetypal Victorian melodrama, as heartfelt and moving today as when it was first published, Charles Dickens's "The Old Curiosity Shop" is edited with notes and an introduction by Norman Page in "Penguin Classics". Little Nell Trent lives in the quiet gloom of the old curiosity shop with her ai[...]
"A Christmas Carol and Other Christmas Writings" collects stories of matchless charm and enduring popularity that enchanted listeners at Charles Dickens's public readings. This "Penguin Classics" is edited with an introduction and notes by Michael Slater. Since it was first published in 1843 "A Chri[...]