Great Expectations

By: Charles Dickens

Narrated by: Chris MacDonnell

This is the thirteenth of Charles Dickens fourteen novels .Only two of his works are fully in first- person narrative; the other being David Copperfield. Great Expectations is a "coming of age" story (Bildungsroman).

The protagonist, Pip, lives with his sister “Mrs Joe Gargery” and her husband, Joe, in a secluded rural village in the marshlands of Kent. Both his parents are dead. Pip has always had a burning desire to become a Gentleman. The story follows how Pip, through circumstances not of his own making, rises to great wealth, becomes part of the London elite and is considered to have “Great Expectations”. However, as the story develops, he betrays or deserts his true friends and becomes eventually humbled by his own arrogance and pride.

Dickens paints wonderful characters throughout the book. Joe Gargery (his adoptive father by marriage); Magwich (the Convict); Miss Havisham (the reclusive old woman); Estella (her prideful, adopted daughter and love of Pip’s life); Matthew Pocket, (Pip’s best friend); Mr Jaggers, (the Lawyer) and John Wemmick (his clerk). These are just a few of the colorful cast of characters that Dickens creates in Great Expectations, each with their own unique importance to the plot.

The novel is widely considered one of the greatest novels of the period, inspiring and many film and TV versions. (As a matter of interest, the Narrator's parents both worked on David Leans 1946 film of Great Expectations. His Mother was Mr. Lean’s secretary and his father an Assistant Director).

Public Domain (P)2023 Chris MacDonnell