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Our Mutual Friend

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( 31,035 ratings, 2,095 reviews)
Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
Our Mutual Friend by Charles Dickens is a tale woven around the inheritance of a large fortune, found under unusual circumstances. It follows several interconnected lives in Victorian London, exploring themes of wealth, ambition, and social class. As the characters navigate their entangled fates, the story delves deep into the complexities of human motives and relationships.
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Format: Paperback / softback
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Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

You might enjoy this book if you appreciate complex narratives filled with intrigue, social commentary, and rich character development, characteristic of Victorian literature. The novel offers an insightful look into the class dynamics and moral questions of its time, making it a compelling choice for those interested in social history or layered storytelling.

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Our Mutual Friend

Tells a story spanning all levels of Victorian society. This book centre's on an inheritance - Old Harmon's profitable dust heaps - and its legatees, young John Harmon, presumed drowned when a body is pulled out of the River Thames, and kindly dustman Mr Boffin, to whom the fortune defaults.

Charles Dickens's last complete novel, Our Mutual Friend is a glorious satire spanning all levels of Victorian society, edited with an introduction by Adrian Poole in Penguin Classics.

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

Our Mutual Friend is Dickens' last completed novel, portraying a dark, macabre London.

Our Mutual Friend centres on an inheritance—Old Harmon's profitable dust heaps—and its legatees: young John Harmon, presumed drowned when a body is pulled out of the River Thames, and kindly dustman Mr Boffin, to whom the fortune defaults.

With brilliant satire, Dickens portrays a dark, macabre London, inhabited by such disparate characters as Gaffer Hexam, scavenging the river for corpses; the enchanting, mercenary Bella Wilfer; the social climbing Veneerings; and the unscrupulous street-trader Silas Wegg.

The novel is richly symbolic in its vision of death and renewal in a city dominated by the fetid Thames, and the corrupting power of money.

Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?

Our Mutual Friend by Charles Dickens is praised for its vivid portrayal of London and its intricate narrative style. It shares thematic grandeur with Bleak House and Little Dorrit, characterised by a more mysterious and enigmatic approach, as noted by Adrian Poole. Peter Ackroyd describes Dickens as a master poet of urban life, deeply connected to the essence of the city.

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Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9780140434972

Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 26 June 1997

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Penguin Classics

Contributors:

  • Edited by Adrian Poole
  • Introduction by Adrian Poole
  • Notes by Adrian Poole

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 39.0mm

Width: 129.0mm

Height: 198.0mm

Weight: 628g

Pages: 928

About the Author

Charles Dickens (1812-70) was a political reporter and journalist whose popularity was established by the phenomenal success of his PICKWICK PAPERS. He held the public imagination over a period of more than thirty years. Adrian Poole is a Fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge.

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