Pip is an orphan raised by his harsh older sister and her kind husband, the blacksmith Joe Gargery, in the Kent marshes. One evening in the churchyard he is seized by an escaped convict and forced to steal food for him, an encounter that will echo through his life. Soon afterwards he is summoned to Satis House to play with Estella, the cold, beautiful ward of the jilted Miss Havisham, who still wears her wedding dress and has stopped every clock.
Ashamed of his common origins, Pip longs to be worthy of Estella. When a lawyer announces that an unnamed benefactor has given him great expectations of fortune, he moves to London to be educated as a gentleman and assumes Miss Havisham is responsible. City life brings friendship with Herbert Pocket, snobbery and debt, and growing coldness towards Joe.
Narrated by an older Pip looking back on his younger self, the novel is one of Dickens's most tightly constructed works, mixing comedy, mystery and moral reckoning about class, ambition, loyalty and guilt. Characters such as the lawyer Jaggers, his clerk Wemmick with his castle in Walworth, and the decaying Miss Havisham are among the most vivid Dickens ever created.
Book details
| Author | Charles Dickens |
|---|---|
| First published | 1861 |
| Original language | English |
| Genre | Classic |
| Type | Fiction |
| Pages (approx.) | 505 |
| Setting | Kent and London, England, early 19th century |
Themes
- Social class
- Ambition
- Guilt
- Loyalty
- Self-improvement
Who should read it
Readers who want Dickens at his most compact and personal, with memorable characters and a gripping mystery.
If you liked this, try
- Oliver Twist
- David Copperfield
- Jane Eyre