Charles Dickens

»The Pickwick Papers» is Charles Dickens' first novel, and his comic masterpiece. We are introduced not just to one of the greatest writers in the English language but to some of fiction's most endearing and memorable characters, starting with the 'illustrious, immortal and colossal-minded' Samuel Pickwick himself. It is a rollicking tour de force through an England on the brink of the Victorian era. Reform of government, justice and commercial life are imminent, as are rail travel, social convulsion and the death of deference, but Pickwick sails through on a tide of delirious adventure, fortifying us for the future — whatever it throws at us.

Somehow, Christmas and ghost stories go well together, and here too Dickens was a master of the art. This title presents a collection of his supernatural tales, including such classics as «The Signalman» and «The Trial for Murder».

Scrooge is a cold, hard man. He loves money, and he doesn't like people. He really doesn't like Christmas. But then some ghosts visit him. They show him his past life, his life now, and a possible future. Will Scrooge learn from the ghosts? Can he change? The book contains 4 coloured pictures, as well as comprehension activities. On-line support, exercises to download, tests, text samples and audio samples can be found at Penguin Readers students' site.

In Dickens’s first novel, Samuel Pickwick and three other members of the Pickwick Club decide to spend six months travelling around England observing the manners and habits of everyone they meet. Follow them on their hilarious adventures as they get involved in a duel, an election campaign and as one of them even ends up in prison…

In 1836 the 23-year-old Dickens was invited by his publishers to write 'a monthly something' illustrated by sporting plates. Thus the Pickwick Club was Top page born: its supposed 'papers' soom outgrew their origins and became a brilliantly comic novel, still among Dicken's most popular works.

HarperCollins is proud to present its new range of best-loved, essential classics. 'I am the Ghost of Christmas Present', said the Spirit. 'Look upon me!' A celebration of Christmas, a tale of redemption and a critique on Victorian society, Dickens' atmospheric novella follows the miserly, penny-pinching Ebenezer Scrooge who views Christmas as 'humbug'. It is only through a series of eerie, life-changing visits from the ghost of his deceased business partner Marley and the spirits of Christmas past, present and future that he begins to see the error of his ways. With heart-rending characters, rich imagery and evocative language, the message of A Christmas Carol remains as significant today as when it was first published.

HarperCollins is proud to present its new range of best-loved, essential classics. 'Oliver Twist has asked for more!' Fleeing the workhouse, Oliver finds himself taken under the wing of the Artful Dodger and caught up with a group of pickpockets in London. As he tries to free himself from their clutches he becomes immersed in the seedy underbelly of the Capital, amongst criminals, prostitutes and the homeless. Dickens scathing attack on the cruelness of Victorian Society features some of his most memorable and enduring characters, including innocent Oliver himself, the Artful Dodger, Fagin, Bill Sikes and Nancy.

HarperCollins is proud to present its new range of best-loved, essential classics. 'Take nothing on its looks; take everything on evidence. There's no better rule.' Living with his sister and her husband, Pip is an orphan without any expectations. It is only when he begins to visit a rich old woman, Miss Havisham and her adopted niece that he begins to hope for something better. When it is revealed that Pip has inherited a large sum of money from a mysterious benefactor on the condition that he moves to London to become a gentleman, Pip's adventure really begins. Epic, illuminating and memorable, Dickens mysterious tale of Pip's quest to find the truth about himself is one of his most enduring and popular novels to date.

HarperCollins is proud to present its new range of best-loved, essential classics. 'It was the best of times, it was the worst of times!' Set before and during the French Revolution in the cities of Paris and London, A Tale of Two Cities tells the story of Dr Manette's release from imprisonment in the Bastille and his reunion with daughter, Lucie. A French aristocrat Darnay and English lawyer Carton compete in their love for Lucie and the ensuing tale plays out against the menacing backdrop of the French Revolution and the shadow of the guillotine.

Our Christmas traditions owe much to the festivities described in A Christmas Carol. In this beautiful boxed set, Dickens' magical novella is joined by two further Christmas stories that he wrote for Household Words — The Chimes and The Cricket on the Hearth. This volume, together with the perennial childhood classics Alice in Wonderland & Through the Looking-Glass and The Wizard of Oz comprise this collection which is the perfect Christmas gift for children and adults alike. All three books are fully illustrated.

The lgal case of Jarndyce and Jarndyce has become a joke to some people. People are born, marry and die, and still the case continues. But will the lives of Ada and Richard be ruined, like so many before? And how will their friend Esther be affected by secrets from her past?

This is a beautifully illustrated collection of five best-loved classics from one of Britain's most famous writers, Charles Dickens, retold for younger readers. It includes «Oliver Twist», «Bleak House», «Great Expectations», «A Tale of Two Cities» and «David Copperfield» as well as a short biography of the great author himself. It is presented with internet links to find out more about the life and times of Charles Dickens.

The new Oxford World's Classics edition of Oliver Twist is based on the authoritative Clarendon edition, which uses Dickens's revised text of 1846. It includes his preface of 1841 in which he defended himself against hostile criticism, and includes all 24 original illustrations by George Cruikshank. Stephen Gill's groundbreaking Introduction gives a fascinating new account of the novel. He also provides appendices on Dickens and Cruikshank, on Top page Dickens's Preface and the Newgate Novel Controversy, on Oliver Twist and the New Poor Law and on thieves' slang.

Each volume in the Collector's Library series has a specially commissioned Afterword, brief biography of the author and a further reading list. The Afterword for this edition of is by David Stuart Davies.Charles Dickens' fascination with ghosts and the macabre is traced to his childhood, to the grim and ghoulish stories told him by his nursemaid, Mary Weller, whom he referred to as Mercy, 'though she had none on me.' Along with the horrors of the 'penny dreadful' magazine, The Terrific Register — a publication which made Dickens 'unspeakably miserable and frightened the very wits out of my head' — the stories recounted by Weller were so powerful as to color Dickens' imagination and shape much of the enduring fiction he created. Here are chilling histories of coincidence, insanity and revenge.

David Copperfield was Dickens' 'favourite child', and is a novel of personal development with richly comic as well as deeply poignant moments. Great Expectations also traces the progress of a young man through life but, as a novel of the author's maturity, is expressed in subtler shades of nuance. Oliver Twist is more black-and-white than either, highlighting the incorruptibility of young Oliver as he battles with the evil of Fagin and Bill Sikes. A Christmas Carol is both a ghost story and a moral tale which defined the pattern of Christmas celebrations. The four books in one volume represent much of Dickens' finest writing. This elegant edition is quarter bound in bonded leather, with head and tail bands, a ribbon marker, gilt top edge, and illustrated front and back boards.

A Christmas Carol is the first and the most famous of the five books that Dickens wrote to celebrate the spiritual values of Christmas.

When David Copperfield’s father dies, his mother is forced to marry Edward Murdstone, a cruel and domineering man. David’s early life is one of poverty and hardship. Finally the young boy runs away to Dover and takes refuge with a lost aunt. David goes on to make many friends and finds great success, but he must endure much suffering and loss along the way.

The Oxford Bookworms Library provides superb reading and student / teacher support for the classroom, and is also highly recommended for schools running Extensive Reading Programmes, offering the right range of books that encourage students to read for pleasure. Christmas is humbug, Scrooge says — just a time when you find yourself a year older and not a penny richer. The only thing that matters to Scrooge is business, and making money. But on Christmas Eve three spirits come to visit him. They take him travelling on the wings of the night to see the shadows of Christmas past, present, and future — and Scrooge learns a lesson that he will never forget.

Scrooge is a cold, hard man. He loves money, and he doesn't like people. He really doesn't like Christmas. But when some ghosts visit him, they show him his past life, his life now, and a possible future. Will Scrooge learn from the ghosts? Can he change?

Scrooge is a cold, hard man. He loves money, and he doesn't like people. He really doesn't like Christmas. But when some ghosts visit him, they show him his past life, his life now, and a possible future. Will Scrooge learn from the ghosts? Can he change?

David Copperfield's happy life suddenly changes when his mother marries again. Her new husband is cruel to him and sends him away to school. When David's mother dies, he is sent to work in London. He hates his job so he runs away. He has no money for food or for travelling. But it is the beginning of his life of adventure.

Pip is a poor orphan whose life is changed forever by two very different meetings one with an escaped convict and the other with an eccentric old lady and the beautiful girl who lives with her. And who is the mysterious person who leaves him a fortune?

Oliver's mother dies when he is born and he is brought up in a workhouse. His first years are cold and lonely and then he runs away to London. But he falls into the hands of Fagin and the terrifying Bill Sykes. They try to turn Oliver into a criminal. Will he escape to find a better life?

This great story is set against the background of the French Revolution. Two men – one French, one English, but very similar in appearance – are in love with the same woman. The three of them, like the people of France, are faced with the dangers of life at a time when the guillotine never rests.