About the book

Pip grows up among the marshes with his stern sister and her gentle husband, the blacksmith Joe. Encounters with an escaped prisoner and the strange household of Miss Havisham unsettle his understanding of his place in the world. When an unexpected opportunity offers him the life of a gentleman, he begins to measure people, including himself, by new and troubling standards. The older Pip tells the story with an awareness that his younger self often lacks, allowing shame, comedy, and affection to coexist. Dickens turns a tale of advancement into an inquiry about gratitude and mistaken judgment. Its mysterious benefactions and memorable encounters keep the narrative moving, but the most demanding discovery concerns what makes a person worthy of love and respect.

Class and aspiration
Gratitude
Self-deception

Why read it

For a narrator whose painful reconsideration of his own ambitions gives the mystery emotional depth.

English text

Contents and reading sections

Section 1
Section 2
Section 3
Section 4
Section 5
Section 6
Section 7
Section 8
Section 9
Section 10
Section 11
Section 12
Section 13
Section 14
Section 15
Section 16
Section 17
Section 18
Section 19
Section 20
Section 21
Section 22
Section 23
Section 24
Section 25
Section 26
Section 27
Section 28
Section 29
Section 30
Section 31
Section 32
Section 33
Section 34
Section 35
Section 36
Section 37
Section 38
Section 39
Section 40
Section 41
Section 42
Section 43
Section 44
Section 45
Section 46
Section 47
Section 48
Section 49
Section 50
Section 51
Section 52
Section 53
Section 54
Section 55
Section 56
Section 57
Section 58
Section 59
Section 60
Section 61
Section 62
Section 63
Section 64
Section 65
Section 66
Section 67
Section 68
Section 69
Section 70
Section 71
Section 72
Section 73
Section 74
Section 75
Section 76
Section 77
Section 78
Section 79
Section 80
Section 81
Section 82
Section 83
Section 84
Section 85

About the book

Why read it

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