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Cover of Great Expectations

Classic Fiction

Great Expectations

by Charles Dickens

An orphan boy living in Victorian England begins his life in extreme poverty and goes on to experience good fortune, love, rejection, wealth, and social challenges as he grows into adulthood.

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First published
1860
Length
185,463 words
Reading time
About 12 hr 53 min
Language
English (UK)

About the book

Charles Dickens was a British author, journalist, and editor whose work brought attention to the struggles of Victorian England’s lower classes. His writings provided a candid portrait of the era’s poor and served as inspiration for social change.

Great Expectations , Dickens’ thirteenth novel, was first published in serial form between 1860 and 1861 and is widely praised as the author’s greatest literary accomplishment.

The novel follows the life, relationships, and moral development of an orphan boy named Pip. The novel begins when Pip encounters an escaped convict whom he helps and fears in equal measure. Pip’s actions that day set off a sequence of events and interactions that shape Pip’s character as he matures into adulthood.

The vivid characters, engaging narrative style, and universal themes of Great Expectations establish this novel as a timeless literary classic, and an engaging portrait of Victorian life.

About the author

Charles Dickens

Charles Dickens (1812–1870) is described by Wikidata as English novelist and social critic (1812–1870), with citizenship or national association recorded as United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and United Kingdom.

Recorded occupations include writer, novelist, journalist, social critic, playwright, and author. Languages recorded for Charles Dickens include English and British English. The structured record associates Charles Dickens with literary realism. Wikidata lists The Pickwick Papers, Oliver Twist, A Christmas Carol, David Copperfield, Bleak House, and Hard Times: For These Times among Charles Dickens's notable works. Open Library identifies A Christmas Carol as a leading work in its author record. Open Library catalogs 7450 works under this author record. The Read4Max catalog currently includes A Christmas Carol, A Tale of Two Cities, Bleak House, David Copperfield, Great Expectations, Hard Times, and Oliver Twist under Charles Dickens's authorship.

1812–1870

Reading options

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Themes and ideas

  • Orphans
  • England
  • Revenge
  • Bildungsromans
  • Young men
  • Man-woman relationships
  • Ex-convicts
  • Benefactors

Table of contents

Open reader
Show all 59 sections
  1. I
  2. II
  3. III
  4. IV
  5. V
  6. VI
  7. VII
  8. VIII
  9. IX
  10. X
  11. XI
  12. XII
  13. XIII
  14. XIV
  15. XV
  16. XVI
  17. XVII
  18. XVIII
  19. XIX
  20. XX
  21. XXI
  22. XXII
  23. XXIII
  24. XXIV
  25. XXV
  26. XXVI
  27. XXVII
  28. XXVIII
  29. XXIX
  30. XXX
  31. XXXI
  32. XXXII
  33. XXXIII
  34. XXXIV
  35. XXXV
  36. XXXVI
  37. XXXVII
  38. XXXVIII
  39. XXXIX
  40. XL
  41. XLI
  42. XLII
  43. XLIII
  44. XLIV
  45. XLV
  46. XLVI
  47. XLVII
  48. XLVIII
  49. XLIX
  50. L
  51. LI
  52. LII
  53. LIII
  54. LIV
  55. LV
  56. LVI
  57. LVII
  58. LVIII
  59. LIX
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