Great Expectations (For Further Study)

For Further Study

• Robert Barnard, Imagery and Theme in the Novels of Dickens, Humanities Press, 1974.

  Includes valuable discussions of the images and themes that Dickens pursues in his novels, including Great Expectations.

• Mary Lamberton Becker, Introducing Charles Dickens, Dodd, 1940.

  This biography contains the story of Dickens' late-life encounter with a boy who, like himself in his youth, holds dreams of someday becoming the master of Gad's Hill.

• Jerome Hamilton Buckley, Season of Youth: The Bildungsroman from Dickens to Golding, Harvard University Press, 1974.

  Provides an important discussion of Great Expectations in the tradition of the bildungsroman, a type of novel that focuses on the coming of age of a major character.

• G. K. Chesterton, Charles Dickens, 22nd edition, Methuen, 1949.

  Besides "The Boyhood of Dickens" in Chapter 2, an excellent commentary on the lowbrow character of some highbred gentlemen (168) and "The Alleged Optimism of Dickens" in Chapter 11.

• William Ross Clark, editor, Discussions of Charles Dickens, Heath, 1961.

  An anthology of criticism from the late nineteenth century into the twentieth, including Gissing, Bush, Orwell, House, Stange, Moynahan, and Miller.

• Philip Collins, editor, Dickens: The Critical Heritage, Barnes, 1971.

  A collection of contemporary responses, reviews, and critical interpretations of Dickens' works.

• Steven Connor, Charles Dickens, Basil Blackwell, 1985.

  Groups discussions of Dickens' novels according to theme; the essay on Great Expectations is found under the category of "Self and System."

• Archibald C. Coolidge, Charles Dickens as a Serial Novelist, University of Iowa Press, 1967.

  A valuable study of the manner in which Dickens wrote his novels for publication in periodicals in installments, and the effects that this manner of publication had on the development of his works.

• Mamie Dickens, My Father as I Recall Him, Dutton, n.d.

  Dickens' love of Gads Hill and his intensity in living with the characters he created.

• K. J. Fielding, Charles Dickens: A Critical Introduction, David McKay Co., 1958.

  An influential study of Dickens' works in which the author emphasizes, among other things, the fact that the novels can be interpreted in a variety of ways.

• K. J. Fielding, editor, The Speeches of Charles Dickens, Oxford University Press, 1960.

  Dickens addresses the need for more and better schools for lower class children.

• George H. Ford, "Charles Dickens," in Dictionary of Literary Biography, Volume 21: Victorian Novelists Before 1885, edited by Ira B. Nadel and William E. Fredeman, Gale, 1983, pp. 89-124.

  Dickens' biography, criticism, and themes, interwoven as Bildungsroman in the author's life and work.

• John Forster, "Great Expectations," in The Life of Charles Dickens, Scribners, 1904, pp. 355-61.

  Dickens plans Great Expectations as an autobiography similar to David Copperfield's.

• John A. Garraty and Peter Gay, editors, "From Liberalism to Democracy," The Columbia History of the World, Harper, 1972, pp. 871-83.

  General background on the socio-economic influences of the time, including the force of democracy versus the fear of rule by the many illiterate.

• Robin Gilmour, The Idea of the Gentleman in the Victorian Novel, Allen, 1981.

  A study of the cultural and political significance of "gentleman" as a recurring theme in Victorian novels; includes a discussion of Pip's desire to better his lot in life and to become a gentleman in the context of other works of Victorian literature.

• Bernard D. Grebanier, Samuel Middlebrook, Stith Thompson, and William Watts, editors, English Literature and Its Backgrounds, Volume Two: From the Forerunners of Romanticism to the Present, 2nd edition, Holt, 1949.

  A comprehensive timeline of British literature, 1550-1940, and an illustrated chapter on "The Victorian Age" (417-48).

• Philip Hobsbaum, A Reader's Guide to Charles Dickens, Thames & Hudson, 1972.

  Provides a wealth of background information on Dickens' life, Dickens' England, and Dickens' novels.

• Rewey Belle Inglis, Alice Cecilia Cooper, Marion A. Sturdevant, and William Rose Benet, editors, Adventures in English Literature, Harcourt, 1938.

  A timeline of British Victorian authors (671) and a reprint of the chapter on Dickens' childhood from G. K. Chesterton's Charles Dickens, published in 1906 (1090-99).

• Fred Kaplan, Dickens: A Biography, Morrow, 1988.

  A comprehensive biography of the author that provides much insight into Dickens' life and into the composition of his novels.

• Charles Kent, Charles Dickens as a Reader, Lippincott, 1872.

  A personal view of Dickens by one who knew him and his lasting love of theater and audience.

• F. R. and Q. D. Leavis, Dickens the Novelist, Pantheon, 1970.

  Includes Q. D. Leavis' insightful essay "How We Must Read 'Great Expectations," a useful introduction to interpreting the novel.

• J. Hillis Miller, Charles Dickens: The World of His Novels, Indiana University Press, 1969.

  Includes an influential essay in which the author interprets the major themes of Great Expectations.

• Harland S. Nelson, Charles Dickens, Twayne, 1981.

  Covers detailed information on the background, audience, and serialization of Dickens' works; also includes summaries of the novels.

• Norman Page, A Dickens Companion, Schocken Books, 1984.

  An invaluable resource with information on such topics as the composition, serialization, publication, and reception of Dickens' works.

• J. B. Priestley, Charles Dickens and His World, Viking Press, 1969.

  A detailed study of the England of Dickens' day; useful for gaining a better understanding of the setting of his novels.

• Anny Sandrin, Great Expectations, Unwin Hyman, 1988.

  A collection of Dickens' criticism and biography, including the story he told of meeting a young boy who reminded him of himself as a child with dreams of becoming master of Gads Hill.

• Michael Slater, Dickens on America and the Americans, University of Texas Press, 1978.

  Dickens notes distinct differences between American and English factory wage slaves.

• Michael Slater, editor, Dickens 1970: Centenary Essays, Stein, 1970.

  Comedy, social change, and children's issues are addressed, among others.

• Graham Storey and Kathleen Tillotson, editors, The Letters of Charles Dickens, Vol. Eight, Clarendon Press, 1995.

  Notable primarily for Dickens' 1858 admission of his failed marriage and his protection of the woman purported to be his mistress, closely followed by his will in which only his family is mentioned.

• Adolphus William Ward, Dickens, Harper, 1882.

  A generally positive review with attention to Dicken's revised ending as one that is less than expected.

• Edmund Wilson, The Wound and the Bow: Seven Studies in Literature, Oxford University Press, 1947.

  In the essay "Dickens: The Two Scrooges," Wilson became one of the first critics to focus on Dickens as an artist, and to attribute much of the darker themes in his novels to his personality and background.

• Angus Wilson, The World of Charles Dickens, Viking, 1970.

  Many illustrations and easy-to-understand text, including a description and illustration of the "Ragged Schools" (228-29).

• George J. Worth, Great Expectations: An Annotated Bibliography, Garland, 1986.

  An invaluable resource that will direct the student to a variety of published material on Great Expectations for the study of this novel.