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Many readers know Victorian England through the writings of Charles Dickens. Not only did Dickens put a face on the era through his memorable characters, he also captured the spirit of his age in entertaining fiction spun from its social concerns and historical events. This literary omnibus brings together five of Dickens’s best-known novels: Oliver Twist, A Christmas Carol, David Copperfield, Great Expectations, and A Tale of Two Cities.
Prolific, energetic, and committed to social change, no other novelist of the time did so much as Charles Dickens to rally his readers to action, and no other writer at any time has created such an extraordinary collection of well-loved novels.
Charles Dickens: Five Novels is one of Barnes & Noble’s leatherbound classics. Each volume features authoritative texts by the world’s greatest authors in exquisitely designed bonded-leather bindings with distinctive gilt edging and an attractive silk-ribbon bookmark. Decorative, durable, and collectable, these books offer hours of pleasure to readers young and old and are an indispensable cornerstone for any home library.
In 1824, young Charles was withdrawn from school and forced to work at a boot-blacking factory when his improvident father, accompanied by his mother and siblings, was sentenced to three months in a debtor's prison. Once they were released, Charles attended a private school for three years. The young man then became a solicitor's clerk, mastered shorthand, and before long was employed as a Parliamentary reporter. When he was in his early twenties, Dickens began to publish stories and sketches of London life in a variety of periodicals.
It was the publication of Pickwick Papers (1836-1837) that catapulted the twenty-five-year-old author to national renown. Dickens wrote with unequaled speed and often worked on several novels at a time, publishing them first in monthly installments and then as books. His early novels Oliver Twist (1837-1838), Nicholas Nickleby (1838-1839), The Old Curiosity Shop (1840-1841), and A Christmas Carol (1843) solidified his enormous, ongoing popularity. As Dickens matured, his social criticism became increasingly biting, his humor dark, and his view of poverty darker still. David Copperfield (1849-1850), Bleak House (1852-1853), Hard Times (1854), A Tale of Two Cities (1859), Great Expectations (1860-1861), and Our Mutual Friend (1864-1865) are the great works of his masterful and prolific period.
In 1858 Dickens's twenty-three-year marriage to Catherine Hogarth dissolved when he fell in love with Ellen Ternan, a young actress. The last years of his life were filled with intense activity: writing, managing amateur theatricals, and undertaking several reading tours that reinforced the public's favorable view of his work but took an enormous toll on his health. Working feverishly to the last, Dickens collapsed and died on June 8, 1870, leaving The Mystery of Edwin Drood uncompleted.
Author biography from the Barnes & Noble Classics edition of David Copperfield.
You definitely NEED this book!! It has all your favorites in it such as: "David Copperfield, Christmas Carol, Oliver Twist, Great Expectations, and Tale of Two Cities"! Awesome must-read, beautiful cover design inside-and-out, and wonderful stories by your favorite Dickens. I'm excited to receive it in the mail, and I just ordered it!! I have many leatherbound books, and all of them are certainly treasures and make my big library beautiful!!! I sure hope that this and my other leatherbound books comes in quickly!!!!!
6 out of 6 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Treasure_Reader
Posted November 28, 2010
Rarely do you see these classic pieces of literature rendered with such sophisticated elegance and beauty, faithfully honoring and respecting the equally unique, creative literary material loved by generations of readers. I have been enjoying them all, and eagerly look forward to each new addition to the series.
Hopefully, the publisher (who appears to be unreachable) will keep releasing more of these fine collected works, including such classic writers as Baum, Milne, Kipling, Twain, London, Melville, Hemingway, Stoker, Shelley, as well as other poets like Virgil, Longfellow, Keats, Eliot, Hawthorne, and Blake.
Time will tell, but hope is alive. Get on board with these fantastic masterpieces of literature, and be swept away in worlds of imagination!
5 out of 6 people found this review helpful.
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Posted September 1, 2012
I Also Recommend:
Fantastic!
I've recently bought this book and I love it. It looks terrific and the cover literally says 'Charles Dickens'. Until now I have never read any of Dicken's novels. I got into the classic literature through this series of gorgeous books and I'm really happy about it. So far, out of this book, I've read only 'A Tale of Two Cities'. To those of you who haven't read Dicken's works yet and are considering doing so I highly recommend reading them, and this book is most definitely a very respected collection of Charle's brilliant writing. I have many more books from the series and the best thing about having those large collections is that you can read one author's novel and then "take a break" by reading another author's novel from another book. I will most definitely return to this book and read the rest of the novels in it.
3 out of 3 people found this review helpful.
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Posted July 18, 2012
This is a beautiful book, but it is HUGE! It is very heavy and thick, making it cumbersome to read. The pages are also very thin, and wrinkle easily. If given the chance, I would have bought the individual novels, instead of this ornamental monstrosity. I know it doesn't look that big in the teeny picture, folks, but just trust me on this one...it is a heavy, big, thick book! If you don't think that you will like that, then believe me it is much better to get the individual books. They are much easier to read. It is also a daunting task to try to read all of these novels together. By getting and reading the novels individually, you won't feel like you are slogging through the 9th Edition of Lord of the Rings.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.BookSeeker0
Posted January 29, 2013
You need this book in your collection.
The book is rich in color. It is sturdy, and feels fantastic. I can not wait to read the novels, and I recommend the book. It is a steal for $18.
Anonymous
Posted December 22, 2012
Beautiful book of the best quality. Every page is perfect and well printed.
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Overview
Many readers know Victorian England through the writings of Charles Dickens. Not only did Dickens put a face on the era through his memorable characters, he also captured the spirit of his age in entertaining fiction spun from its social concerns and historical events. This literary omnibus brings together five of Dickens’s best-known novels: Oliver Twist, A Christmas Carol, David Copperfield, Great Expectations, and A Tale of Two Cities.
Prolific, energetic, and committed to ...