Showing results by author "Charles Dickens" in All Categories

Great Expectations is hailed as Charles Dickens' masterpiece. A gripping tale of love and loss, aspiration and moral redemption, the story follows the young orphan Xiaomao (Pip) from poverty to a life of unexpected opportunity and wealth. In part two, Xiaomao (Pip) leaves his life of poverty behind to seek his fortunes in Shanghai and win the heart of the beautiful yet cold-hearted Bingbing (Estella). Xiaomao’s world is turned upside down when his mysterious benefactor is revealed and his deepest secrets are brought into the light of day.

No writer is more identified with the modern idea of Christmas than Charles Dickens. In some ways, Dickens helped define the holiday that we now celebrate by immortalizing it as a time of warmth and sharing, with an emphasis on family and friends.

Featuring work by Charles Dickens, Mary Elizabeth Braddon, Clara Venn and Hume Nisbet, this collection of nine enduring stories - some well-known, others less familiar - evoke the many spirits of Christmas. Featuring misty journeys to distant loved ones, Christmas Eve manifestations and lonely, frost-filled vigils.

Charles Dickens saw his fictional work in print for the first time in 1833 when he was only 21. It was a story called "Mr Minns and his Cousin" and was published in the Morning Chronicle. He wrote more tales and sketches for newspapers and magazines, which were collected and published in book form in two series in 1836 as Sketches by Boz. Here are nine of them.

Pip's life was stricken with tragedy as a small boy, being orphaned with the loss of his mother, father, and siblings. Pip forms a relationship with the odd Miss Havisham and her lovely adopted daughter, Estella. An anonymous benefactor whisks Pip away from the life he once knew and the people he cared for to one of class and high society. When his beloved Estella enters his life once more after many years apart, she denies him the affections he longs for.

A grisly collection of despicable crimes told by some of the world's best writers.

Charles Dickens was a writer and social critic who created some of the world's best-known fictional characters and is regarded as the greatest novelist of the Victorian era. His works enjoyed unprecedented popularity during his lifetime, and by the twentieth century critics and scholars had recognised him as a literary genius. His novels and short stories enjoy lasting popularity. NIGHT WALKS: Some years ago, a temporary inability to sleep, referable to a distressing impression, caused me to walk about the streets all night, for a series of several nights.

Celebrate the magic and warmth of the holiday season with The Essential Christmas Collection, a curated anthology of timeless stories that capture the spirit of Christmas. From classic tales of generosity and joy to heartfelt moments of reflection, this collection will transport you to a world where miracles and Christmas cheer come to life. This enchanting compendium is perfect for cosy winter nights, family gatherings, and anyone seeking to rekindle the true meaning of Christmas. Enjoy these classic tales that have delighted generations and continue to bring joy year after year.

Dive into the gripping world of A Tale of Two Cities (1859), a historical novel by Charles Dickens that explores profound themes of guilt, shame, redemption, and patriotism. Set against the turbulent backdrop of the French Revolution, the story weaves the lives of two strikingly similar men, Charles Darnay and Sydney Carton, whose contrasting characters illuminate the complexities of sacrifice and transformation during the Jacobin Reign of Terror. (Summary from Wikipedia)

Ebenezer Scrooge has no time for the poor or the wretched. And it's "Bah, humbug!" to anyone who wishes him a Merry Christmas. But when he turns in for the night one cold, fateful Christmas Eve, his past, present, and future converge. Three haunting guests are about to show him that the time has come to change his miserly ways - before it's too late.

Penguin Classics presents the audiobook adaptation of Martin Chuzzlewit, a tale of inheritiance and destiny and the story Dickens considered his best. Read by John Wells. The greed of his family has led wealthy old Martin Chuzzlewit to become suspicious and misanthropic, leaving his grandson and...

Dive into the captivating world of Charles Dickens through his early writings under the pseudonym Boz. Originally published between 1833 and 1836, this collection is divided into four engaging sections Our Parish, Scenes, Characters, and Tales. The first three sections vividly depict a variety of people and places, while the final section delights readers with a selection of fictional short stories that showcase Dickenss remarkable storytelling ability.

Dickens called David Copperfield his "favourite child," and many critics consider the novel to be one of his best depictions of childhood. Set in early Victorian England against a backdrop of great social change, Dickens acutely observed the phenomena of the Industrial Revolution and used them as the canvas on which he painted the novel. Many consider David Copperfield to be the author’s finest work.

In a case of mistaken identification, Barnaby Rudge, a pale half-wit with long red hair who dresses all in green and carries a large raven on his back, is arrested as the leader of a mob of anti-Catholic rioters. He is condemned to death on the gallows, but an upright locksmith named Gabriel Varden comes to his aid.

The Cricket on the Heart is a novella by Charles Dickens, published by Bradbury and Evans, and released 20 December 1845. Dickens began writing the book in October 1845 and finished it by December. Like all of Dickens’s Christmas books, it was published in book form, not as a serial. Dickens described the novel as “quiet and domestic innocent and pretty.” It is subdivided into chapters called “Chirps”, similar to the “Quarters” of The Chimes or the “Staves” of A Christmas Carol.

A Victorian family gathers round the hearth, and one by one they tell each other their Winter's tales. Charles Dickens begins 'the round of stories they were to relate, as they sat in a goodly circle by the Christmas fire', and then hands over to Elizabeth Gaskell, Samuel Sidney and other respected contributors to the Christmas 1852 number of Household Words.

First published in 1850, David Copperfield begins with avid the tragedy of David's brother dying when David is just a boy. After this episode, he is sent by his step-father to work in London for a wine merchant. When conditions worsen he decides to run away and embarks on a journey by foot from London to Dover. On his arrival, he finds his eccentric aunt, Betsey Trotwood, who becomes his new guardian. Being witness to the formation of David's character is quite fascinating. David begins as a strong child whose only aspiration is a better life.

A Christmas Carol is the classic story of Scrooge and Marley who get into adventures with ghosts during Christmas. To avoid spoiling this holiday classic, not one word more about this beloved Christmas story will be shared here.

Gerald Dickens, great, great grandson of Charles Dickens, reads this traditional Christmas tale, in which Ebenezer Scrooge is taught the true meaning of Christmas by a series of ghostly visitors. Published in 1843, A Christmas Carol has become as much a part of Christmas as trees and stockings, plum pudding and mistletoe, enjoyed by children and adults alike. This audiobook includes a special feature, as family member Gerald Dickens recounts his understanding of this classic story.

A Christmas Carol is one of the most famous tales in the world. A Christmas Carol is at once a Christmas tale, a ghost story and a journey of discovery and redemption. This story for young listeners is a brand new version of Charles Dickens' much loved fantasy book for children. For those who love ghosts and things that go bump in the night, this is a perfect tale.