Dickens' Great Expectations (Cliffs Notes) [Paperback]

Karin Jacobson (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0822005514 | ISBN-13: 978-0822005513 | Publication Date: September 28, 1959

Great Expectations is among the most masterful of Charles Dickens's novels. Displaying extraordinary tragicomic range, Dickens blends an atmosphere of brooding violence and guilt with sharp and often disturbing humor to create a drama charged with the thrilling intensity of a detective story and the poignancy of a spiritual autobiography. Much of the novel's power comes from Dickens's unequaled skill at making even the most wildly eccentric of characters seem utterly real, so that the players in this novel quickly come to feel as vivid and close to the reader as old friends. From the orphan Pip's first terrifying encounter with the convict Magwitch to his strange relationship with Miss Havisham and her beautiful, heartless ward, Estella; from the buffoonery of very bad Shakespearean acting to the almost unbearably sad realization of blighted hopes, Great Expectations is a magnetic and very moving story that engages the heart as well as the mind. In this edition of the novel, the author and his world are brought vibrantly to life with rare materials drawn from the collections of The New York Public Library, including original illustrations by five distinguished nineteenth-century artists; dashing portraits of Dickens by the inimitable George Cruikshank; relics from Gad's Hill Place, the novelist's beloved home; and even some revelatory pages from Dickens's own private pocket diary, which he lost during his 1867-68 American reading tour.

Product Details

• Paperback: 64 pages
• Publisher: Cliffs Notes (September 28, 1959)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0822005514
• ISBN-13: 978-0822005513
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 0.5 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,741,625 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great summary of Dickens' Work, May 25, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Dickens' Great Expectations (Cliffs Notes) (Paperback)

This is a great book to have while reading Great Expectations. It helps break down the writing that Dickens' uses to help you understand the book better. I would recommend this book to anyone reading Great Expectations.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Pip is a child who grows up wanting to be a gentleman ., May 9, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Dickens' Great Expectations (Cliffs Notes) (Paperback)

Pip-- a normal little boy-- wants to be a gentleman b/c of a girl he met named Estella... Well Estella treats him so wrong along w/ her adopted mother Miss. Havisham which raises her to be cruel to the opposite sex.. Well one day ... well you just need to read this book ---- It's a thriller and a romantic but also sad in a way...

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Cliffs Notes Saves You TIME!!!!!!!!, February 23, 1999

By 

[e-mail] (Orange County, California) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dickens' Great Expectations (Cliffs Notes) (Paperback)

I wouldn't want anyone to go throught what I went through and read a big thick boring book, so reading Cliffs Notes is the best! It gives you everything you need to know on tests. My friend only read Cliffs Notes and managed a B on a quiz. But if you're in a higher class, you should read the book because it might asks you stuff you need to read the book to know. Since the book is written in old english, and it takes a certain person to understand what's happening in the story, I would recommend reading Cliffs Notes with the book because it tells you in MODERN ENGLISH what's happening. Cliffs Notes helped me out a great deal on quizes and tests.