Great Expectations (English Library)

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Charles Dickens, Angus Calder: Great Expectations (English Library) (Paperback, 1965, Penguin Classics)

Paperback, 512 pages

English language

Published Dec. 30, 1965 by Penguin Classics.

ISBN:
978-0-14-043003-5
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OCLC Number:
750846915

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4 stars (2 reviews)

Great Expectations (first published in 1860/61) is one of the most mature and serious of Dickens's novels. As Angus Calder points out in his introduction, it re- sembles a detective story — but in the sense in which Oedipus Rex also resembles one. From the first shock of the early pages, when Pip encounters the convict Magwitch, the mystery grips our attention and its psychological and moral truth holds us until the end. For, in discovering the secret of his •great expecta- tions'. Pip also begins to discover the truth about himself.

The cover shows a detail from 'A Country Blacksmith Disputing the Price of Iron' by J. M. W. Turner (photo: Rodney Todd-White)

The portrait of Charles Dickens inside the front cover is taken from an engraving after a painting by W. P. Frith, by permission of the Trustees of the Dickens House

131 editions

reviewed Great Expectations by Charles Dickens (Penguin Classics)

A good coming of age novel

4 stars

I'm enjoying my new tradition of reading a Charles Dickens novel in the runup to Christmas. I've watched several film and TV adaptations of his works over the years, but had been put off attempting the novels themselves by their length and the density if Dickens prose. As it turns out though, his vivid characterisations and melodramatic plots do suit my reading style pretty well. I'm not sure I would want to attempt more than one a year, but at that level of engagement the books are enjoyable and should last me a good decade yet. My choice for this year, Great Expectations, features the unexpected and exciting events of a Christmas Day for young Pip near the beginning of the novel so put me into a seasonal spirit!

I had only a vague recollection of watching a black and white Great Expectations film as a child (probably the 1946 …

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rated it

3 stars