Written in 1853, when Charles Dickens was at his peak, Bleak House is often considered Dickens's best novel.
Bleak House will introduce you to a myriad of characters. These characters, display the full spectrum of the human condition: from wealthy to wretched, from saint to sinner, from wise to simple, from respected to scorned, from arrogant to humble from solid to eccentric...
Slowly, as you become acquainted with the characters, you become aware of mysteries lurking in their separate backgrounds. As your knowledge of the characters deepen the mysteries grow. The characters and the mysteries begin to entwine and from the entanglement a story emerges.
Set in the 1850s, the novel tells several...
Written in 1853, when Charles Dickens was at his peak, Bleak House is often considered Dickens's best novel.
Bleak House will introduce you to a myriad of characters. These characters, display the full spectrum of the human condition: from wealthy to wretched, from saint to sinner, from wise to simple, from respected to scorned, from arrogant to humble from solid to eccentric...
Slowly, as you become acquainted with the characters, you become aware of mysteries lurking in their separate backgrounds. As your knowledge of the characters deepen the mysteries grow. The characters and the mysteries begin to entwine and from the entanglement a story emerges.
Set in the 1850s, the novel tells several interconnected stories involving dozens of characters from all levels of society, giving a broad picture of life in London and in the countryside during this period.
As is often the case with Dickens, his satire and humor enliven his sometimes dark subjects, without blunting his criticism of bureaucracy and the mistreatment of children.
Esther Summerson, the illegitimate daughter of Lady Dedlock and Captain Hawdon, an early lover, is raised in secrecy by a resentful aunt.
After the aunt's death, Esther joins the household of the kindly Mr. Jarndyce, who is also mentoring Ada Clare and Richard Carstone, Ada's cousin.
Richard, Ada, and Mr. Jarndyce have been involved for years in a lawsuit, Jarndyce v. Jarndyce, about the terms of an old will, and this lawsuit, which has continued interminably in the High Court, is the inspiration for the satire Dickens directs toward British bureaucracy and the paperwork which paralyzes it.
As the lives of Esther, Lady Dedlock, Ada, Richard, and Mr. Jarndyce unfold, the reader also learns about the lives of those who come into peripheral contact with them.
Dickens emphasizes the way characters actually behave, paying attention to their inner thoughts, but he individualizes them and brings them vibrantly to life through their actions.
The touching romance of Esther and Allan Woodcourt, a physician, echoes throughout the novel.
Dickens' depiction of the inequities of the society combine with mystery, romance, and Esther's coming-of-age to make this a vital novel, full of life, conveying a dramatic picture of mid-19th century British life and the lessons to be learned from it.
This book is without a doubt as relevant now as it was when Dickens wrote it. In fact, it is probably more so.
We have the civil courtroom, as it really is, a grinding machine that breaks lives underneath it every day. We see the lawyers who feed off of all this human misery, and encourage their clients to wreck their lives while piously portraying themselves as upholders of the law.
Bleak House is widely held to be one of Dickens’ finest and most complete novels, containing one of the most vast, complex and engaging arrays of characters and sub-plots in his entire canon.
Highly recommended indeed!
This audio book application contains audio files for all chapters in one download, so you can listen to the book on the go without the need for an internet connection. Hence the application size is a little big, and you may need to download it over WiFi connection or through iTunes on your PC or Mac.
Audio Book Features ==>
- Pause/resume function
- Track progress slider
- Volume slider
- Easy navigation
- Audio continues to play when your device is locked.
- Offline viewing and listening without internet connection
If you like this audio book, please check out other great audio books at www.awaudiobooks.com!
*** On Sale Now! (Normal price $2.99) ***
