Rating Bleak House is difficult. It's hard to know how I might have perceived the story if I hadn't seen the miniseries first. Perhaps it suffers by reading it in tiny installments a little each day. But I think that regardless, this would not have been one of my all-time favorite Dickens. <br/><br/>Of course, I am a Jarndyce fan with book as well as series, so I can't love the ending. And unfortunately, Anna Maxwell Martin's subtly strong portrayal of Esther in the series makes book!Esther even more insipid and annoying by comparison. <br/><br/>However, Bleak House the book does contain some of Dickens' memorable characters, who were slighted in the miniseries by necessity; and some great scenes in which Dickens' mastery of pathos really shines. The scenes with Sir Leicester Dedlock were really moving, and I love the George subplot, which got barely skimmed over in the series. <br/><br/>On the whole, worth reading if you're a Dickens fan, even if it may not be his best.