Great Expectations

Charles Dickens

Simon Prebble (Narrator)

10-18-11

18hrs 32min

Abridgement

Unabridged

Genre

Fiction/Classics

As low as $0.00
Play Audio Sample

10-18-11

18hrs 32min

Abridgement

Unabridged

Genre

Fiction/Classics

Description

“Great Expectations is a masterpiece.” The Atlantic

An Oprah’s Book Club Selection for 2010

One of the most revered works in English literature, Great Expectations traces the coming-of-age of a young orphan, Pip, from a boy of shallow aspirations into a man of maturity. From the chilling opening confrontation with an escaped convict to the grand but eerily disheveled estate of bitter old Miss Havisham, all is not what it seems in Dickens’ dark tale of false illusions and thwarted desire.

Raised by a humble blacksmith, Pip is recruited by the wealthy Miss Havisham to be a companion to her ward, the cold but beautiful Estella. There, Pip learns to despise his rough origins as Estella torments him about his low prospects. When Pip is informed that an unknown benefactor expects to make him his heir, he sets off to London to realize his “great expectations.” But true gentleman stature, he will find, is a matter of character, not fortune.

Praise

“Great Expectations is a masterpiece.” The Atlantic

“Observe how finely the narrative is kept in one key. It begins with a mournful impression—the foggy marshes spreading drearily by the seaward Thames—and throughout recurs this effect of cold and damp and dreariness; in that kind Dickens never did anything so good…No story in the first person was ever better told.” George Gissing, English novelist

“Considered by many to be Dickens’ greatest work, this is a timeless story where vindictiveness and guilt clash with love and gratitude…enriched by a cast of unforgettable characters, from the orphan Pip to the convict Magwitch and the bitter Miss Haversham.” Barnes&Noble.com

“Unlike many nineteenth-century novels that rely upon the stale plot device of a surprise legacy to enrich the fortunate protagonists, Great Expectations probes deeply into the ethical and psychological dangers of advancing through the class system by means of wealth acquired from the toil of others.” Masterpieces of World Literature

Details
More Information
Language English
Release Day Oct 17, 2011
Release Date October 18, 2011
Release Date Machine 1318896000
Imprint Blackstone Publishing
Provider Craig Black
Categories Literature & Fiction, Classics, Literature & Fiction, Classics, Evergreen Classics, Evergreen Classics, Literature & Fiction, Classics, Fiction - All, Fiction - Adult
Author Bio
Charles Dickens

Charles Dickens (1812–1870) was born in Landport, Portsmouth, England, the second of eight children in a family continually plagued by debt. A legacy brought release from the nightmare of debtors’ prison and child labor and afforded him a few years of formal schooling. He worked as an attorney’s clerk and newspaper reporter until his early writings brought him the amazing success that was to be his for the remainder of his life. He was the most popular English novelist of the Victorian era, and he remains popular, responsible for some of English literature’s most iconic characters.

Narrator Bio
Simon Prebble

Simon Prebble, a British-born performer, is a stage and television actor and veteran narrator of some three hundred audiobooks. As one of AudioFile’s Golden Voices, he has received thirty-seven Earphones Awards and won the prestigious Audie in 2010. He lives in New York.

Overview

An Oprah’s Book Club Selection for 2010

One of the most revered works in English literature, Great Expectations traces the coming-of-age of a young orphan, Pip, from a boy of shallow aspirations into a man of maturity. From the chilling opening confrontation with an escaped convict to the grand but eerily disheveled estate of bitter old Miss Havisham, all is not what it seems in Dickens’ dark tale of false illusions and thwarted desire.

Raised by a humble blacksmith, Pip is recruited by the wealthy Miss Havisham to be a companion to her ward, the cold but beautiful Estella. There, Pip learns to despise his rough origins as Estella torments him about his low prospects. When Pip is informed that an unknown benefactor expects to make him his heir, he sets off to London to realize his “great expectations.” But true gentleman stature, he will find, is a matter of character, not fortune.

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