Charles Dickens

Published in 1841 as part of MASTER HUMPHREY'S CLOCK,the journal founded by Dickens,BARNABY RUDGE is the earlier of Dickens's two historical novels(the other being A TALE OF TWO CITIES).It is set in the period of the Gordon anti-popery riot of 1780 and contains powerful evocations of mob violence,culminating in the sackof Newgate.The main story is a romantic one about the troubled love affair of Emma Haredale,whose father has been mysteriously murdered,and Edward Chester,sonof Sir John Chester,a villain who helps to instigate the riots

ISBN: 9781853267390

Bleak House, Dickens's most daring experiment in the narration of a complex plot, challenges the reader to make connections - -between the fashionable and the outcast, the beautiful and the ugly, the powerful and the victims. Nowhere in Dickens's later novels is his attack on an uncaring society more imaginatively embodied, but nowhere either is the mixture of comedy and angry satire more deftly managed. Bleak House defies a single description. It is a mystery story, in which Esther Summerson discovers the truth about her birth and her unknown mother's tragic life. It is a murder story, which comes to a climax in a thrilling chase, led by one of the earliest detectives in English fiction, Inspector Bucket. And it is a fable about redemption, in which a bleak house is transformed by the resilience of human love.

ISBN: 9781853260827

Interest in supernatural phenomena was high during Charles Dickens lifetime. His natural inclination towards drama and the macabre lead him into the telling of ghost tales. Twelve ghosts stories are presented here, and the full range of Dickens' gothic talents can be seen.

ISBN: 9781853267345

This is an ideal Christmas present, to give or receive. It includes Dickens's five most popular Christmas tales: The Chimes, The Haunted Man, The Cricket on the Hearth, The Battle of Life, and `the greatest little book in the world', A Christmas Carol. The texts are taken from the 1868 Charles Dickens Edition, corrected by the author himself. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

ISBN: 9781853262685

This book includes an introduction and notes by Dr Adrienne Gavin, Canterbury Christ Church University College and Illustrations by Hablot K Browne (Phiz). Dickens wrote of David Copperfield: "Of all my books I like this the best". Millions of readers in almost every language on earth have subsequently come to share the author's own enthusiasm for this greatly loved classic, possibly because of its autobiographical form. Following the life of David through many sufferings and great adversity, the reader will also find many light-hearted moments in the company of a host of English fiction's greatest stars including Mr Micawber, Traddles, Uriah Heep, Creakle, Betsy Trotwood, and the Peggoty family.

ISBN: 9781853260247

This novel comes with an introduction and notes by Karl Ashley Smith, University of St Andrews and illustrations by Hablot K. Browne (Phiz). Mr Dombey is a man obsessed with his firm. His son is groomed from birth to take his place within it, despite his visionary eccentricity and declining health. But Dombey also has a daughter, whose unfailing love for her father goes unreturned. 'Girls' said Mr Dombey, 'have nothing to do with Dombey and Son'. When Walter Gay, a young clerk in her father's office, rescues her from a bewildering experience in the streets of London, his unforgettable friends believe he is well on his way to receiving her hand in marriage and inheriting the company. It is to be a very different type of story.

ISBN: 9781853262579

This book contains introduction and Notes by Dr John Bowen, Keele University and Illustrations by Marcus Stone. Considered by many to be Dicken's finest novel, "Great Expectations" traces the growth of the book's narrator, Philip Pirrip (Pip), from a boy of shallow dreams to a man with depth of character. From its famous dramatic opening on the bleak Kentish marshes, the story abounds with some of Dicken's most memorable characters. Among them are the kindly blacksmith Joe Gargery, the mysterious convict Abel Magwitch, the eccentric Miss Haversham and her beautiful ward Estella, Pip's good-hearted room-mate Herbert Pocket and the pompous Pumblechook. As Pip unravels the truth behind his own 'great expectations' in his quest to become a gentleman, the mysteries of the past and the convolutions of fate through a series of thrilling adventures serve to steer him towards maturity and his most important discovery of all - the truth about himself.

ISBN: 9781853260049

Set in the imaginary mid-Victorian Northern industrial town of Coketown with its blackened factories, downtrodden workers and polluted environment, which is the the soulless domain of the strict utilitarian Thomas Gradgrind and the heartless factory owner Josiah Bounderby.

ISBN: 9781853262326

Old Martin Chuzzlewit, tormented by the greed and selfishness of his family, effectively drives his grandson, young Martin, to undertake a voyage to America. It is a voyage which will have crucial consequences not only for young Martin, but also for his grandfather and his grandfather's servant, Mary Graham with whom young Martin is in love.

This novel includes illustrations by S.L. Fildes and Hablot K. Browne (Phiz). Dickens' final novel, left unfinished at his death in 1870, is a mystery story much influenced by the 'Sensation Novel' as written by his friend Wilkie Collins. The action takes place in an ancient cathedral city and in some of the darkest places in Victorian London. Drugs, disappearances, sexual obsession, disguise and a possible murder are among the themes and motifs. A sombre and menacing atmosphere, a fascinating range of characters and Dickens' usual command of language combine to make this an exciting and tantalising story. Also included in this volume are a number of unjustly neglected stories and sketches, with subjects as different as murder, guilt and childhood romance.

Includes introduction and notes by Dr Ella Westland, University of Exeter and Illustrations by George Cruickshank. Dickens had already achieved renown with "The Pickwick Papers". With "Oliver Twist" his reputation was enhanced and strengthened. This novel contains many classic Dickensian themes - grinding poverty, desperation, fear, temptation and the eventual triumph of good in the face of great adversity. "Oliver Twist" features some of the author's most enduring characters, such as Oliver himself (Who dares to ask for more), the tyrannical Bumble, the diabolical Fagin, the menacing Bill Sykes, Nancy and 'the Artful Dodger'.

ISBN: 9781853260124