Customer Reviews

Bleak House: An authoritative and annotated text, illustrations, a note on the text, genesis and composition, backgrounds, criticism (A Norton critical edition)

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This is the second book by Dickens I have read so far, but it will not be the last. "Bleak House" is long, tightly plotted, wonderfully descriptive, and full of memorable characters. Dickens has written a vast story centered on the Jarndyce inheritance, and masterly manages the switches between third person omniscient narrator and first person limited narrator. His main character Esther never quite convinces me of her all-around goodness, but the novel is so well-written that I just took Esther as she was described and ran along with the story. In this book a poor boy (Jo) will be literally chased from places of refuge and thus provide Dickens with one of his most powerful ways to indict a system that was particularly cruel to children. Mr. Skimpole, pretending not to be interested in money; Mr. Jarndyce, generous and good; Richard, stupid and blind; the memorable Dedlocks, and My Lady Dedlock's secret being uncovered by the sinister Mr. Tulkinghorn; Mrs. Jellyby and her telescopic philanthropy; the Ironmaster described in Chapter 28, presenting quite a different view of industralization than that shown by Dickens in his next work, "Hard Times." Here is a veritable cosmos of people, neighbors, friends, enemies, lovers, rivals, sinners, and saints, and Dickens proves himself a true master at describing their lives and the environment they dwell in. There are landmark chapters: Chapter One must be the best description of a dismal city under attack by dismal weather and tightly tied by perfectly dismal laws, where the Lord Chancellor sits eternally in Lincoln's Inn Hall. Chapter 32 has one of the eeriest scenes ever written, with suspicious smoke, greasy and reeking, as a prelude to a grisly discovery. Chapter 47 is when Jo cannot "move along" anymore. This Norton Critical is perhaps the best edition of "Bleak House" so far: the footnotes help a lot, and the two Introductions are key to understanding the Law system at the time the action takes place, plus Dickens' interest in this particular topic. To round everything off, read also the criticism of our contemporaries, as well as that of Dickens' time. "Bleak House" is a long, complex novel that opens a window for us to another world. It is never boring and, appearances to the contrary, is not bleak. Enjoy.

I had only two weeks (the Winter break) to read Bleak House before classes started and, at first, I confess I was scared with the size of the book and the little time I had to go through it. It was with much joy that I found in Bleak House one of Dickens greatest books. The rich and detailed description passages, the amazing characters, the many interesting plots and Dickens irony and fine humor made me feel sad when I was over its 900 pages. I plan to read it again soon. A must for any lawyer or Dickens admirer.

Norton critical editions are typically of amazing quality, and Dickens' Bleak House is no exception. The additional materials are some of the most helpful I've seen in a Norton CE: maps, drafts, and illustrations, in addition to plenty of historical background and factual supplement. The complex structure of the Chancery and the law jargon are illuminated by the textual notes. Bleak House comes alive in its original context.

My thesis advisor at Birkbeck College, London,--Professor Geoffrey Tillotson--considered "Bleak House" the greatest English novel of the 19th century. This is only one of his opinions with which I heartily concur. Now that I am, myself, an older man, with decades of reading behind me, I can think of only two novels of the 19th century which can be mentioned in the same breath with this masterpiece: Tolstoy's "War and Peace" and Dostoyevsky's "The Brothers Karamazov." I would hate to think of going through life without an intimate knowledge of each of them. It would be like never listening to Bach or Mozart, or Brahms. It would be a life of unnecessary deprivation.

This is a great edition to use for reading Dickens. The footnotes are extremely helpful in defining or explaining archaic words and unfamiliar phrases. The index is extensive. Hopefully, Norton Critical Editions has published more of Dickens' works.

I bought this after I saw the most recent BBC miniseries, and this is even more awesome, as most books are when compared to their film counterparts. Dickens was clearly the man.

Any book had sent me the wrong book, but they corrected the error and gave me a complete refund. I now have the Norton Ctitical Edition of Bleak House that is required for my class. I would use "any book" in the future.
This book is very helpful in understanding the text.