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Hard Times

A Norton Critical Edition
By Charles Dickens
Series: Norton Critical Editions
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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
Hard Times by Charles Dickens is set in the fictional industrial city of Coketown, where the rigid, utilitarian philosophy of the era is depicted through the lives of its inhabitants. The story focuses on Thomas Gradgrind, a school owner who values facts and dismisses creativity. The novel explores themes of social injustice, class struggles, and the dehumanizing aspects of industrialisation, all woven into the personal fates of the characters.
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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?

If you're intrigued by the struggles and triumphs of characters navigating a world shaped by industrial change, this novel offers a rich portrayal of social and economic challenges. Fans of complex interpersonal dynamics and vivid character development will find the intertwining stories both engaging and thought-provoking.

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“An excellent collection of critical and social commentary that will help to make Dickens’ image of Victorian England meaningful to all students.”—John Howard Wilson, Dakota Wesleyan University

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

This Norton Critical Edition includes:

- Sylvère Monod's superbly edited text, based on the 1854 edition and accompanied by Fred Kaplan's expanded annotations.

- Fourteen illustrations from 1854 to circa 1890.

- Contextual pieces by social critics and theorists of Dickens' time that give readers outstanding examples of views on industrialism, education, and utilitarianism in the nineteenth century.

- Eight new critical essays by Paulette Kidder, David M. Levy, Christopher Barnes, Theodore Dalrymple, Christina Lupton, Efraim Sicher, Nils Clausson, and Kent Greenfield and John E. Nilsson.

- A Chronology and a Selected Bibliography.

Immerse yourself in Hard Times, a profound exploration of societal and individual struggles amidst the Industrial Revolution, as masterfully articulated by Charles Dickens.

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Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9780393284386

Publisher: WW Norton & Co

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 12 February 2016

Country: United States

Imprint: WW Norton & Co

Edition: Fourth Edition

Contributors:

  • Edited by Fred Kaplan

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 28.0mm

Width: 132.0mm

Height: 216.0mm

Weight: 427g

Pages: 512

Collections

Charles Dickens Classic Fiction Classic General Fiction Fiction General Fiction Literary Fiction Series: Norton Critical Editions

About the Author

Charles Dickens (1812-1870) is one of the most acclaimed and popular writers of all time. His many works include the classics The Old Curiosity Shop, Oliver Twist, Nicholas Nickleby, Barnaby Rudge, A Christmas Carol, A Tale of Two Cities, David Copperfield, Great Expectations, Bleak House, Hard Times, Our Mutual Friend, The Pickwick Papers and many more. Fred Kaplan is Distinguished Professor Emeritus of English at Queens College and The Graduate Center, City University of New York. A biographer and literary scholar, he is the author of John Quincy Adams: American Visionary, The Singular Mark Twain: A Biography, Lincoln: The Biography of a Writer, Henry James: The Imagination of Genius: A Biography, and Dickens: A Biography, among others. His Thomas Carlyle: A Biography was nominated for the National Book Critics’ Circle Award and for the Pulitzer Prize. His Sacred Tears: Sentimentality in Victorian Fiction, Dickens and Mesmerism: The Hidden Springs of Fiction, and Miracles of Rare Device: The Poet’s Sense of Self in Nineteenth-Century Poetry are important contributions to the study of Romantic and Victorian British literature and culture. He is currently at work on a study of Lincoln, John Quincy Adams, and slavery and a biography of Thomas Jefferson.

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