The Complete Works of Charles Dickens (19 Volumes)

Author: [British] Charles Dickens
Publisher:
Publish Date: 1998-10-18
Features: The Complete Works of Dickens (Volumes 1-19)
Main Content:
The Tale of Two Cities
Introduction: The Tale of Two Cities is one of Dickens' most important works, published in 1848. It depicts the rise and fall of the Dombey and Son company. Dombey is a greedy tycoon, and his wife and children become tools and decorations for his pursuit of profit. The company manager, Carker, is a cunning man who deceives Dombey's trust and ultimately leads to his bankruptcy. Through the lessons of reality, Dombey's thoughts undergo a transformation. In the end, although he is unable to rebuild his family business, he achieves true family happiness. The Tale of Two Cities sharply criticizes the irreconcilable contradictions of the capitalist system and the principle that profit is paramount. Its mature depth of thought and artistic style mark a significant turning point in Dickens' creative career.
The Mystery of Edwin Drood
Introduction: The Mystery of Edwin Drood is an unfinished novel by Dickens, published in 1870, the year of his death. Like his other works, it revolves around the struggle between good and evil. The embodiment of goodness is a pair of innocent and upright young lovers, Edwin Drood and Rosa. Opposing them is the treacherous and hypocritical Jasper. Jasper, envious of Rosa, plots to kill Drood and attempts to frame others, aiming to achieve two goals with one stroke. Around this case, the novel unfolds a series of intricate plots. Compared to Dickens' previous works, The Mystery of Edwin Drood features more psychological descriptions, and its structure is even similar to that of detective novels that were just emerging at the time. Since this is an unfinished work by Dickens, its ending has become an eternal mystery in literary history.
Bleak House
Introduction: Bleak House, also known as The Haunted House in some critical articles, is one of Dickens' longest works and is vast in scope. Overall, it is a story that wraps a thrilling legend in a dense web of moral and human concern, showing the struggle between the forces of evil manipulation, revenge, and the ascent of pure goodness and kindness, with goodness ultimately prevailing. On a finer level, this novel carries more meanings: it discusses love, oppression, unrealistic fantasies, the structure and value of an era, and the injustice of the system. It is a kaleidoscopic panorama of life. Its depiction of ruins prepares the best for T.S. Eliot's The Waste Land. Its exposure of the legal profession and the courts not only inspired later works like The Castle and The Trial but also brought the issue of "the evil of the system" to the surface. Even its method of unraveling the truth gradually has influenced popular detective thrillers immensely. Of course, this novel is also one of the most important works in Dickens' "City Trilogy." The core of Bleak House revolves around the ancient English Court of Chancery, a symbol of the judicial system's stagnation, evil, and incompetence. Dickens worked as a law clerk in his youth and had firsthand experience with the false injustice of the legal system, the lawyers who exploited the name of justice for extortion and deception. He had mentioned this in his previous works but exposed it comprehensively in this one. Therefore, we can also say that Bleak House is a "legal novel."
Short Story Collection
Introduction: Short stories are not the main part of Dickens' literary legacy, except for a few like "A Christmas Carol," which are rarely mentioned. It is not surprising that Dickens wrote nearly fifteen long novels in his lifetime, most of which are still widely read and beloved. Their brilliance overshadows his other achievements. However, Dickens began his literary career with short stories, and his long novels are often collections of these shorter works. Even when they are not, the author sometimes enjoys inserting a short story. He even sacrificed the integrity of the plot structure for this. Dickens edited two magazines, which forced him to write short stories frequently. He also wrote two Christmas books, and every year at this time, he had to write seasonal pieces. All these reasons ensured that Dickens had a steady stream of short stories throughout his life. They form an inseparable part of his literary heritage.
The Pickwick Papers
Introduction: The Pickwick Papers is Dickens' longest novel and one of his outstanding masterpieces. It reflects an extremely broad spectrum of life and realistically depicts early 19th-century British society. The plot is as follows: Mr. Pickwick, a bachelor and a "celebrated" man, is also the founder of a club named after his surname, the Pickwick Club. He takes a group of "Pickwickians" on a journey, encountering various humorous and absurd people and events. After about two years, both his followers and he feel that the journey is enough, the Pickwick Club dissolves, and Mr. Pickwick retires, bringing the story to a close.
A Tale of Two Cities
Introduction: A Tale of Two Cities is considered the pinnacle of his later years. During the French Revolution, the physician Dr. Manette accidentally witnesses the brutal massacre of the aristocratic Evremonde brothers. For standing up for justice, he is thrown into the Bastille and imprisoned for eighteen years. After his release, his daughter Lucie falls in love with the son of his enemies, Darnay. Thus, amidst the whirlwind of the French Revolution, a series of family feuds and romances unfold, with good, evil, life, and death intertwined and transformed in an instant. The structure of A Tale of Two Cities is rigorous, and its language is concise. Dickens' profound reflections on revolution and humanity, as well as his extraordinary writing talent, are fully displayed in this work.
David Copperfield
Introduction: Published in 1850, David Copperfield is a semi-autobiographical novel and one of Dickens' most beloved works. This lengthy masterpiece, with over 800,000 words, centers on the life of the intellectual David Copperfield. Through the daily lives, studies, careers, friendships, and travels of various characters in the book, it strongly expresses the humanitarian views that Dickens advocated. Among all of Dickens' works, David Copperfield covers the widest range of social life and holds an important place in world literary history.
Christmas Stories Collection
Introduction: Between 1843 and 1848, except for 1847, Dickens published a short story every Christmas, totaling five: "A Christmas Carol" (1843), "The Chimes" (1844), "The Cricket on the Hearth" (1845), "The Battle of Life" (1846), and "The Haunted Man" (1848). These five Christmas stories were household names in mid-19th-century England. Especially "A Christmas Carol," is one of the most deeply rooted works in Dickens' novels. It is said that three-quarters of the British population know the author's name and can name the characters in the story. The name Scrooge has even become a synonym for "miser" in English. Many obituaries after Dickens' death in June 9, 1870, stated that Christmas held a "central position" in his works and views. Literary critics also believe that the publication of the Christmas Stories Collection marked an "important stage in his novel writing."
Oliver Twist
Introduction: Oliver Twist is one of his early masterpieces. The orphan Oliver Twist suffers abuse from the workhouse since childhood. After escaping to London, he falls into the clutches of thieves. The world around him is like a madly spinning machine, but young Oliver struggles to maintain the purity and nobility in his heart. This determination finally leads him to a brighter future: Mr. Brownlow, Mrs. Maylie, and others come to his aid in time; at the same time, his mysterious background gradually comes to light. While delving into the social evils, the novel also leaves behind a series of vivid characters in British literary history, beloved by readers for over a century.
Great Expectations
Introduction: Great Expectations is one of his main works. The orphan Pip is raised by his sister and works for the aristocratic Miss Havisham, falling in love with her adopted daughter, Estella, and dreaming of becoming "upper class." A convict Pip had kindly helped in his childhood becomes wealthy abroad and arranges for Pip to receive an upper-class education in London, entering high society in gratitude. However, fate does not align with Pip's hopes: Estella marries someone else, the convict is captured, and his inheritance is confiscated, turning Pip's "great expectations" into a bubble in an instant. The entire novel is gripping and deeply moving, with the process of hope giving way to disillusionment resonating with generations of readers. Many Western critics praise it as Dickens' finest work.
Little Dorrit
Introduction: Little Dorrit is a long novel by the British writer Dickens, published between 1855 and 1857. The story is divided into two parts. The first part depicts the entire family of William Dorrit, young and old, being imprisoned for life in the Marshalsea Prison in London (located between London Bridge and Southwark Street) due to their inability to repay debts. Her father is known as "Father Marshalsea," and she meets Dr. Gargery, another inmate. The second part tells the story of the Dorrit family after they become wealthy. This novel is extremely somber, with "prosperity" in the story representing evil and satirizing the numb indifference of the British bureaucratic system, which does nothing.
Our Mutual Friend
Introduction: A gentle river flows through Victorian London, carrying a passionate crime story in its undercurrents... On the banks of the Thames, the poor but capable Lizzie helps her father with his dirty business. But father and daughter discover that the next corpse will lead them to a world they had once thought unreachable—a world of superficiality and illusion. Father and daughter attend a lavish banquet hosted by the ostentatious and highly regarded Wilkins family. Through the increasingly complex characters they interact with, Dickens tells a story intertwined with love and money...
The Old Curiosity Shop
Introduction: The Old Curiosity Shop tells the tragic story of the old shopkeeper Turveyard and his beautiful, kind-hearted granddaughter, Little Nell, who depend on each other. Turveyard tries desperately to accumulate wealth to ensure his granddaughter can live a happy life after his death, but he falls into the clutches of the loan shark Daniel Quilp. This insatiable bloodsucker uses high-interest loans not only to seize the entire property of the Old Curiosity Shop but also to snatch the beautiful Little Nell. The grandfather and granddaughter are forced to flee London, living a life of begging and wandering. In the end, Little Nell, exhausted both physically and mentally, dies from overwork.
Hard Times
Introduction: Hard Times depicts the selfishness of the bourgeoisie, the poverty and suffering of the working class, and the contradictions and struggles between labor and capital. The film fully respects the spirit of the original, stripping away the hypocrisy of this society through the creation of a series of typical characters, revealing its values of profit above all. Mr. Bounderby, a banker, is a symbol of the society at that time: a self-made, arrogant industrial magnate, attended by the well-bred widow Mrs. Sparsit. The local member of parliament and headmaster Thomas Gradgrind teaches his children—Louisa and Tom—based on the doctrine of "factualism and pragmatism." Louisa grows up to be cold and heartless, while Tom is forced to work for Bounderby but secretly develops alcoholism and gambling addiction. To take care of Tom, Louisa accepts Bounderby's proposal, but she has neither love nor respect for her husband. Mrs. Sparsit is furious when her position is replaced by the new mistress, and her greatest wish is to see Louisa expelled from the house. Her wish is quickly fulfilled.