Description

A young orphan named Pip is the main character in Charles Dickens's novel Great Expectations. Beginning from humble origins in the home of his guardians, Pip's eye is drawn to a more lavish and aristocratic lifestyle when he meets the eccentric old Miss Havisham and her beautiful niece Estella. An unexpected fortune from a mysterious donor draws Pip closer to the glamorous life and people he desires, and yet further from those who truly love him. As life sends a series of ups and downs his way, Pip is forced to confront hard facts about his chosen lifestyle and learn who his true friends are. A novel with two different endings, Great Expectations is a brilliant example of Dickens's expertly crafted plots, unforgettable characters, sparkling humor, and touching observations of human life.

About the Author

Charles Dickens (1812-1870) was uniquely successful as a writer during his lifetime, enjoying huge followings from readers and audiences in England and America. When, early in life, sudden misfortune sent his family into extreme poverty, the young Charles was sent to work in a factory. Never forgetting this childhood misery, Dickens wrote often in later life about the plights of the working poor. As a young man he became a law clerk and stenographer, moving into journalism in the 1830s. Dickens's early journalistic sketches formed the basis for his first literary works. With the 1836 serialized publication of The Pickwick Papers, his unparalleled success as an author began. Dickens went on to write such famous novels as David Copperfield, Great Expectations, Barnaby Rudge, Hard Times, and Bleak House, with all of his works remaining in print to this day.

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Opening Lines (Experimental)

My father's family name being Pirrip, and my Christian name Philip, my infant tongue could make of both names nothing longer or more explicit than Pip. So, I called myself Pip, and came to be called Pip.
I give Pirrip as my father's family name, on the authority of his tombstone and my sister - ...