Charles Dickens · 1861 · Bildungsroman · Victorian novel
Great Expectations
An orphan from the Kent marshes is handed a fortune and the chance to become a gentleman, and Dickens follows him all the way to what it costs.
16 guided chapters · ~18 hours of reading
What it’s really about
On its surface, Great Expectations is a rags-to-riches story with the makings of a thriller: a convict on the marshes, a secret benefactor, a mansion where time has stopped, a lawyer who knows more than he says. Underneath, it is a confession. The grown Pip tells how wanting to be a gentleman made him ashamed of the people who loved him best, and the book is honest about how easy that shame is to feel and how hard it is to undo. It is funny, eerie, and morally searching, a novel about class, guilt, and loyalty, and about the difference between being raised up and being made good.
- Ambition & class
- Guilt & shame
- Loyalty
- Crime & justice
- What makes a gentleman
From the Foreword
Before the churchyard, a short orientation: the world you are entering, the man who wrote it, and how to read a novel built to keep you guessing. Cross the threshold when you are ready.
- The world you're entering
- The author's moment
- Themes to carry
- How to read this one
Who it’s for
For readers who love a real plot, with secrets and set pieces, and who also want a novel that thinks hard about class and conscience. If you enjoyed Jane Eyre or David Copperfield, or any coming-of-age story told by an older narrator looking back with tenderness and regret, start here. It is also an ideal first Dickens: shorter and tighter than most of his books.