Charles Dickens Audio Books

Charles John Huffam Dickens, FRSA (; 7 February 1812-9 June 1870), pen-name "Boz", was the most popular English novelist of the Victorian era, and one of the most popular of all time. He created some of literature's most iconic characters, with the theme of social reform running throughout his work. The continuing popularity of his novels and short stories is such that they have never gone out of print."What the Dickens?", by Simon Swift. The Guardian, Wednesday 18 April 2007. "Dickens's books have never gone out of print.""Victorian squalor and hi-tech gadgetry: Dickens World to open in England", Bloomberg News, 23 May 2007.

Much of his work first appeared in periodicals and magazines in serialised form, a popular way of publishing fiction at the time. Other writers would complete entire novels before serial publication commenced, but Dickens often wrote his in parts, in the order they were meant to appear. The practice lent his stories a particular rhythm, punctuated by one "cliffhanger" after another, to keep the public eager for the next installment.Stone, Harry. Dickens Working Notes for His Novels, Chicago, 1987

His work has been praised for its mastery of prose, and for its teeming gallery of unique personalities, by writers such as George Gissing and G. K. Chesterton, though the same characteristics have prompted others, such as Henry James and Virginia Woolf, to criticize him for sentimentality and implausibility.Henry James, "Our Mutual Friend", The Nation'', 21 December 1865.

Category: File - :Betsey_trotwood_by_phiz.jpg|thumb|right|David introduces himself to his aunt (Drawing by Hablot Knight Browne)

David Copperfield is the character after which the 1850 Charles Dickens novel, David Copperfield, was named. The character is widely thought to be based on Dickens himself, using many elements of his own childhood.

David Copperfield is first introduced in the novel when he is born on a Friday in March in the early 19th century. The pet of his mother Clara Copperfield and faithful nursemaid Peggotty, David lives an idyllic life for the first few years of his life, even though he is fatherless - David Copperfield Sr. died 6 months before his son's birth. David's happy childhood is marred by the arrival of his stepfather, Edward Murdstone, and David suffers both physical and mental abuse from his new guardian.

David is soon sent off to Salem House school for biting Murdstone, and is consistently bullied until he befriends the popular James Steerforth. David performs well and is the resident storyteller, until he is forced to return home upon the death of his mother and unnamed baby half-brother. Because of his hate for the child, Murdstone and his sister decide to send David to work in the family bottling factory.

Life at the factory is miserable, even though David is befriended by the penniless Mr. Micawber, and he soon runs away to his Aunt Betsey Trotwood in Dover, who had previously disowned him for being born a boy and not a girl. Aunt Betsey adopts him (renaming him Trotwood, after herself) and sends him to Dr. Strong's private school in Canterbury, where David meets his best friend Agnes Wickfield, as well as the slimy Uriah Heep. Though David frequently falls into ill-fated love affairs which distract his good intentions, he distinguishes himself as top boy in the school and graduates with the intention of becoming a proctor.

The rest of the novel outlines David's struggles through life and his involvement in other plotlines, including his friendship and consequent disillusionment with James Steerforth; his assistance to the destroyed Peggotty family; his concern and suspicion for the Wickfield, Micawber, and Strong families as they are being harassed by Uriah Heep, and the development of his beginning writing career. As David juggles these problems he also must deal with his passionate, sincere, but highly impractical love for the innocent Dora Spenlow. After a humorously sentimental courtship, David marries Dora, who he loves despite her uselessness in household chores. She soon falls ill and dies, leaving David single and heartbroken. He travels throughout Europe, during which time he publishes his first (unnamed) novel with the help of old school-friend Thomas Traddles, and during this odyssey realizes he loves Agnes Wickfield, praying she loves him too. Upon his return he proposes to her, and the two quickly marry. They later move into a house in London along with their young children, which include at least three girls (Little Agnes, Dora, and Betsey Trotwood Copperfield) and at least two boys. They live a wealthy lifestyle on David's successful writing career.

:"Nickleby" redirects here. For other uses, see Nicholas Nickleby (disambiguation). For NCLB, see No Child Left Behind Act

Nicholas Nickleby; or, The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby is a comic novel by Charles Dickens. Originally published as a serial from 1838 to 1839, it was Dickens' third novel.

The lengthy novel centres around the life and adventures of Nicholas Nickleby, a young man who must support his mother and sister after his father dies. His Uncle Ralph, who thinks Nicholas will never amount to anything, plays the role of an antagonist.

Great Expectations is a novel by Charles Dickens. It was first published in serial form in All the Year RoundHow Great Expectations from 1 December 1860 to August 1861. It has been adapted for stage and screen over 250 times.Great Expectations Critical Overview

Great Expectations is written in the style of bildungsroman, which follows the story of a man or woman in their quest for maturity, usually starting from childhood and ending in the main character's eventual adulthood. Great Expectations is the story of the orphan Pip, writing about his life from his early childhood until adulthood and attempting to become a gentleman along the way. The novel can also be considered semi-autobiographical of Dickens, like much of his work, drawing on his experiences of life and people.

The main plot of Great Expectations takes place between Christmas Eve 1812, when the protagonist is about seven years old (and which happens to be the year of Dickens' birth), and the winter of 1840.Meckier, Jerome Dating the Action in Great Expectations: A New Chronology.

Miss Havisham is a significant character in the Charles Dickens novel Great Expectations (1861). She is a wealthy spinster, who lives in her ruined mansion with her adopted daughter, Estella, while she herself is described as looking like "the witch of the place."

Although she has often been portrayed in film versions as very elderly, Dickens's own notes indicate that she is only in her mid-fifties. However, it is also indicated that her long life away from the sunlight has in itself aged her, and she is said to look like a cross between a waxwork and a skeleton, with moving eyes.

The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club (commonly known as The Pickwick Papers) is the first novel by Charles Dickens. After the publication, the widow of the illustrator Robert Seymour claimed that the idea for the novel was originally her husband's; however, in his preface to the 1867 edition, Dickens strenuously denied any specific input, writing that "Mr Seymour never originated or suggested an incident, a phrase, or a word, to be found in the book."

Dickens was asked to contribute to the project as an up and coming writer following the success of Sketches by Boz, published in 1836 (most of Dickens' novels were issued in shilling instalments before being published in the complete volume). Dickens increasingly took over the unsuccessful monthly publication after Seymour had committed suicide.

With the introduction of Sam Weller in chapter 10, the book became the first real publishing phenomenon, with bootleg copies, theatrical performances, Sam Weller joke books and other merchandise.

Abel Magwitch is a fictional character from Charles Dickens' novel Great Expectations.

:For other uses of Micawber, please see Micawber.

Category: Image - :Micawber.jpg|269px|right|As illustrated in a 1912 edition of the book

Wilkins Micawber is a fictional character from Charles Dickens' novel David Copperfield. He was modelled on Dickens' father, John Dickens, who also ended up in a debtor's prison (the King's Bench Prison) after failing to meet the demands of his creditors.

His long-suffering wife, Emma, stands by him through thick and thin, despite the fact that her father, before his death, had to bail him out on many occasions and the fact his circumstances force her to pawn all her family heirlooms. The maxims she lives by are: "I will never desert Mr. Micawber!" and "Experientia does it (from Experientia docet, One learns by experience)".

He is hired as a subordinate by Uriah Heep, who believes Micawber to be as dishonest as himself due to his troubles with creditors. However, Micawber is honest, and, after working for Heep for a while, exposes him as a forger and a cheat. To make a fresh start, Micawber and his family emigrate to Australia alongside Daniel Peggotty and Little Em'ly. In Australia he is successful and becomes a magistrate as well as manager of the Port Middlebay Bank.

In Hablot Knight Browne's illustrations for the first edition, he is shown wearing knee-breeches, a top hat and a monocle.

'''Oliver Twist; or, The Parish Boys Progress (commonly known as Oliver Twist''') (1838) is Charles Dickens second novel. It is about a boy named Oliver Twist, who escapes from a workhouse and meets a gang of pickpockets in London. The novel is one of Dickens's most well-known works, and has been the subject of numerous film and television adaptations.

Fagin () is a fictional character who appears in the Charles Dickens novel Oliver Twist, referred to in the preface of the novel as a "receiver of stolen goods", but referred to more frequently within the actual story as the "merry old gentleman" or simply the "Jew".

Ebenezer Scrooge is the principal character in Charles Dickens' 1843 novel, A Christmas Carol. At the beginning of the novel, Scrooge is a cold-hearted, tight fisted and greedy man, who despises Christmas and all things which engender happiness. A quote from the book reads "The cold within him froze his old features, nipped his pointed nose, made his eyes red, his thin lips blue, and he spoke out shrewdly in his grating voice ..." His last name has come into the English language as a byword for miserliness and misanthropy, traits displayed by Scrooge in the exaggerated manner for which Dickens is well-known. The tale of his redemption by the three Ghosts of Christmas (Ghost of Christmas Past, Ghost of Christmas Present, and Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come) has become a defining tale of the Christmas holiday. Scrooge's catchphrase, "Bah, humbug!" is often used to express disgust with many of the modern Christmas traditions.