Great Expectations (Illustrated)

Charles Dickens

Nov 2011 · Top Five Classics Book 1 · Top Five Books LLC

About this ebook

This Top Five Classics edition of Great Expectations Includes:

• More than 30 b&w and color illustrations by Marcus Stone, F.A. Fraser, John McLenan, F.O.C. Darley, and others
• Dickens’s original ending, included as an addendum at the end of the book
• A helpful introduction, author bio, and bibliography

Great Expectations is Charles Dickens’s beloved, autobiographical tale of a
poor boy haunted by a dark secret and harboring grand hopes for his
future as a gentleman. Pip, the story’s narrator, takes us through his
early life—from his brush with an escaped convict on the marshes of
southeast England to his exposure to genteel society through the warped
old Miss Havisham and her icy protégé, the alluring young Estella.
Apprenticed to the blacksmith, the tender-hearted Joe, Pip’s  fortunes
change dramatically thanks to a mysterious benefactor, and he must
figure out what is real and what is false as he navigates his new world,
while never quite escaping his old. Considered by many to be Dickens’s
greatest work, Great Expectations will transport you, move you, and stay
with you forever.

Beautifully yet simply formatted, carefully edited, and featuring more than 30 illustrations from the artists who
realized the first serialized chapters and many of the early book
editions of Great Expectations, this is the definitive digital version
of the Dickens classic.

Ratings and reviews

The story diverges a bit for modern taste, but Dicken's prose still elevates the spirit. Alas, we who speak the English language of today have allowed our rich language heritage to wither.

I love classics but this book was horrible. There are a few lasting characters but the foreshadowing is far too strong. I was never surprised by this book and far more often rolled my eyes at all of the "coincidences".

I agree with the last post, and I think that this is a great book for a mature minded audience. That's my opinion of the book. Its a book I'll go back to time and time again, and have read many times.

About the author

Charles Dickens, perhaps the best British novelist of the Victorian era, was born in Portsmouth, Hampshire, England on February 7, 1812. His happy early childhood was interrupted when his father was sent to debtors' prison, and young Dickens had to go to work in a factory at age twelve. Later, he took jobs as an office boy and journalist before publishing essays and stories in the 1830s. His first novel, The Pickwick Papers, made him a famous and popular author at the age of twenty-five. Subsequent works were published serially in periodicals and cemented his reputation as a master of colorful characterization, and as a harsh critic of social evils and corrupt institutions. His many books include Oliver Twist, David Copperfield, Bleak House, Great Expectations, Little Dorrit, A Christmas Carol, and A Tale of Two Cities. Dickens married Catherine Hogarth in 1836, and the couple had nine children before separating in 1858 when he began a long affair with Ellen Ternan, a young actress. Despite the scandal, Dickens remained a public figure, appearing often to read his fiction. He died in 1870, leaving his final novel, The Mystery of Edwin Drood, unfinished.