Description

Category:LiteratureLiterary FictionLiterary Fiction-Lfi
Publisher: Readings | ISBN: 9789699903908 | Pages: 428

Great Expectations is a bildungsroman and a critique of class differences in Victorian society. Pip, a seven years old orphan, tells his story as he moves through different social classes of nineteenth-century England, from the riff raff to the elite. The novel opens with one of the most famous scenes in British literature: Pip’s encounter with an escaped convict, Able Magwitch, in a cemetery. Later, Pip moves to London where he meets Miss Havisham and her adopted daughter Estella, who has been trained to torment men who desire her. Pip falls in love with this callous heartbreaker from the gentry of London. Originally published in serialized from between 1860 to 1861, Great Expectations has stood the test of time and has been adapted from screen and stage from more than 30 times, Pip, Miss Havisham, Estella, and Abel Magwitch have acquired archetypal and iconic significance as all of them represent various noble and ignoble human traits, It is listed as the 17th best-loves British novel by BBC.

About the Author

Charles Dickens was born in Portsmouth, England, in 1812. He received little formal education as the conditions at home forced him to leave school and work in a factory at an early age. His early circumstances left a lasting impression on Dickens and greatly influenced his work, be it literary or philanthropic. Having worked in various professions, Dickens started writing in newspapers and magazines and most of his work was published as monthly serials in them. Dickens 2was a prolific writer. He wrote over a dozen novels, many a collection of short stories, a large body of non-fiction and poetic works, and many plays. He was arguably the best Victorian novelist and enjoyed great fame during his lifetime. He died in 1870 but even today he is one of the most popular authors of all times.