Showing results by author "Charles Dickens" in All Categories

A sinister masterpiece, Our Mutual Friend was Dickens' last completed novel. It is perhaps his ultimate vision of a dark, macabre London and the corrupting power of money.

Originally serialized between 1843-1844 the story tells of Martin, the grandson of old Martin Chuzzlewit who is rich but has become bittter due to the greed of his kin. Young Martin is initially selfish but through hard labour and the positive and cheerful influence of his servant, Tapley, becomes decent. The novel is broken up into segments by young Martin's voyage to seek his fortune in America.

After escaping from the dark and dismal workhouse where he was born, Oliver finds himself on the mean streets of Victorian-era London and is unwittingly recruited into a scabrous gang of scheming urchins. In this band of petty thieves, Oliver encounters the extraordinary and vibrant characters who have captured audiences' imaginations for more than 150 years.

Held to be Dickens' finest novel, containing one of the most vast, complex and engaging arrays of minor characters and sub-plots in his entire canon. Memorable characters include the menacing lawyer Tulkinghorn, the friendly, but depressive John Jarndyce, and the childish and disingenuous Harold Skimpole, as well as the likeable but imprudent Richard Carstone. A suspenseful tale about the injustices of the 19th-century English legal system. This novel set the standard for modern day legal thrillers.

Charles Darnay is a French noble falsely accused of treason. Sydney Carton is a self-loathing junior barrister enlisted to defend him. Between them is a shared love for the daughter of a former Bastille prisoner. Soon, their interlocking fates will be decided, as the French Revolution is ignited and the Reign of Terror begins.

After 18 years as a political prisoner in the Bastille, the ageing Dr Manette is finally released and reunited with his daughter in England. There two very different men, Charles Darnay, an exiled French aristocrat, and Sydney Carton, a disreputable but brilliant English lawyer, become enmeshed through their love for Lucie Manette. From the tranquil lanes of London, they are all drawn against their will to the vengeful, bloodstained streets of Paris at the height of the Reign of Terror and soon fall under the lethal shadow of La Guillotine.

Charles Dickens' Nicholas Nickleby performed by his great-great-grandson Gerald Dickens. A tale that brings to life the adventures of Nicholas Nickleby as he meets the wicked Wackfors Squeers, the theatrical Crumbles, and the cheerful Cheerybyle Brothers (to name a few). Complete and unabridged.

It is Christmas Eve, and the air outside is as cold as Scrooge’s heart. Come nightfall, Scrooge receives three visitors: the ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Future. Each spirit takes him on a hair-raising journey through time, yielding glimpses of Tiny Tim and Bob Cratchit—and even Scrooge’s painfully hopeful younger self. Will Scrooge’s heart be opened? Can he escape his cursed fate?

Despite the title, Dickens's portrayal of early industrial society is less relentlessly grim than that in novels by contemporaries such as Elizabeth Gaskell or Charles Kingsley. Hard Times weaves the tale of Thomas Gradgrind, a hard-headed politician who raises his children Louisa and Tom without love and to have no empathy, their lives completely devoid of beauty, culture, or imagination. Only after a series of crises does their father realise that the manner in which he raised his children has ruined their lives.

Samuel Pickwick, founder and chairman of the Pickwick Club, engages three fellow members to accompany him on a journey. By coach they’ll travel to the outreaches of London to explore, observe, and report back on the quaint wonders of the English countryside. What transpires is a picaresque romp of misadventures, hair-raising challenges, and romantic follies entangling the fates of a riot of colorful characters - a passel of villains, spinsters, poets, and sportsmen - and the unworldly Pickwick himself, who has much to learn about life outside his gentleman’s club.

Audible presents an original production of the aptly named The Mystery of Edwin Drood, Charles Dickens’ final, unfinished novel. Following his untimely death at the age of 58, Dickens managed to publish only six of the 12 planned instalments of the story. Though it has gone on to be one of his more popular titles and the source of inspiration for various television, stage and theatre adaptations, no one knows exactly how Dickens planned to end the mystery.

El joven Pip es protagonista y narrador de una emotiva historia de iniciación en la que hay lugar para el amor y los giros del destino. Es huérfano y vive con su hermana, una mujer irascible que, aunque presume de haber criado a Pip "a mano", acostumbra a castigarlo con una vara con nombre propio. Su marido, un herrero bondadoso y débil de carácter, es el único aliado con el que cuenta el muchacho. El primer hecho excepcional de la vida de Pip ocurre cuando un preso fugado le pide ayuda en mitad de la noche: necesita víveres, una lima y, por supuesto, discreción absoluta.

Great Expectations follows Pip's life from a plucky but poor and put-upon child in the Kent marshes, to a young man with "great expectations" in London and the choices he must make as a result of his winding journey. On the way, we meet some of Dickens' most memorable and unique characters - the mysterious and brutal Magwtich; eternally heartbroken Miss Havisham; and her cold-hearted child Estella.

An illuminating reading of the greatest Christmas classic ever written: A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. Narrated by Chandler Craig.

For the background to this historical novel, a tale of mystery, suspense and unsolved murder, Dickens chose the anti-Catholic Gordon Riots of 1780. Mayhem reigns in the streets of London, vividly described by Dickens, and the innocent Barnaby Rudge is drawn into the thick of it.

Enthralling radio dramatisations of eight of Charles Dickens' much-loved novels. Charles Dickens is one of the most renowned authors of all time, and this second digital volume of the dramatised canon of his work includes eight of his classic novels. This collection includes the epic masterpiece David Copperfield, described by Dickens as his 'favourite child'; suspenseful mystery Bleak House; Dickens' most openly political novel, Hard Times; and Little Dorrit.

Widely considered to be Charles Dickens' greatest and best-loved work, Great Expectations was first published as a serial between December 1860 - August 1861 and has been in print ever since. The story of a young boy from humble origins who dares to dream of becoming a gentleman, it is one of Dickens' most enduring and widely adapted novels. In this new unabridged production, star comedian and polymath Eddie Izzard infuses the story of Pip with his trademark wit and flair.

Pip is an orphan, brought up in a village on the Essex marshes by his disagreeable sister and her husband Joe Gargery, the kind-hearted village blacksmith. Life is harsh and Pip has few prospects until he receives from an anonymous benefactor the chance of escaping the forge for a more promising life in London. But his expectations are fraught with difficulties as he is haunted by figures from his past such as the escaped convict Magwitch, the eccentric Miss Havisham, and her proud, beautiful ward, Estella.

After his childhood is turned upside down, orphan David Copperfield is forced to navigate and survive the brutal world of the industrial poor. He'll cross classes and paths with kindred spirits, extended family, eccentrics, and adversaries. Throughout his journey into adulthood, he'll be befriended, loved, and conspired against. And each evolving adventure - comic, tragic, and romantic, both at home and abroad - will inform the observant young man's success as he becomes a novelist.