Description
Hard Times
Paperback
by Dickens, Charles
- Publisher : Penguin Classics (2003), Edition: Reissue, 368 pages
- Language : English
- Paperback : 2003
- ISBN-10 : ?014143967X
- ISBN-13 : 9780141439679
- Weight : 0.26
- Dimensions : 2.21×12.9×19.8 cm
The 'terrible mistake' was the contemporary utilitarian philosophy, expounded in Hard Times (1854) as the Philosophy of Fact by the hard-headed disciplinarian Thomas Gradgrind. But the novel, Dickens's shortest, is more than a polemical tract for the times; the tragic story of Louisa Gradgrind and her father is one of Dickens's triumphs. When Louisa, trapped in a loveless marriage, falls prey to an idle seducer, the crisis forces her father to reconsider his cherished system. Yet even as the development of the story reflects Dickens's growing pessimism about human nature and society, Hard Times marks his return to the theme which had made his early works so popular: the amusements of the people. Sleary's circus represents Dickens's most considered defence of the necessity of entertainment, and infuses the novel with the good humour which has ensured its appeal to generations of readers.
Reviews
3.6 rating based on 72,045 ratings (all editions)
ISBN-10: 014143967X
ISBN-13: 9780141439679
Goodreads: 198619428
Author(s):
Published: 4/29/2003
Alternate cover editions for ISBN 014143967X / 9780141439679 can be found
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In Hard Times, the Northern mill-town of Coketown is dominated by the figure of Mr Thomas Gradgrind, school headmaster and model of Utilitarian success. Feeding both his pupils and family with facts, he bans fancy and wonder from any young minds. As a consequence his obedient daughter Louisa marries the loveless businessman and 'bully of humanity' Mr Bounderby, and his son Tom rebels to become embroiled in gambling and robbery. And, as their fortunes cross with those of free-spirited circus girl Sissy Jupe and victimized weaver Stephen Blackpool, Gradgrind is eventually forced to recognize the value of the human heart in an age of materialism and machinery.
This edition of Hard Times is based on the text of the first volume publication of 1854. Kate Flint's introduction sheds light on the frequently overlooked character interplay in Dickens's great critique of Victorian industrial society.
Charles Dickens is one of the best-loved novelists in the English language, whose 200th anniversary was celebrated in 2012. His most famous books, including Oliver Twist, Great Expectations, A Tale of Two Cities, David Copperfield, and The Pickwick Papers, have been adapted for stage and screen and read by millions.
If you enjoyed Hard Times, you might like Dickens's Bleak House, also available in Penguin Classics.
