Charles Dickens

This novel is part of Oxford University Press' World's Classics series whereby some of the best loved novels are reissued with special introductions by today's most distinguished writers.

Ebenezer Scrooge is a miserly old skinflint. He hates everyone, especially children. But at Christmas three ghosts come to visit him, scare him into mending his ways, and he finds, as he celebrates with Bob Cratchit, Tiny Tim and their family, that geniality brings its own reward.

John Harmon returns to England after years in exile to claim his inheritance: a great fortune and a beautiful young woman to whom he is betrothed, but has never met. When Harmon's body is pulled out of the Thames, all of London is fascinated by the mystery of the murdered man and his unclaimed riches. Scavengers, social-climbers, lawyers and teachers, a money-lender and a dolls-dressmaker, men and women both honest and villainous, will all become...

London in the 1840s worships money at the expense of love. Mr Dombey pins all his hopes and affections on his son, Paul, and cruelly neglects his loving daughter, Florence. This novel charts Dombey's progress, through tragedy to enlightenment.

When Arthur Clennam returns to England after many years abroad, he takes a kindly interest in Amy Dorrit, his mother's seamstress, and in the affairs of Amy's father, William Dorrit, a man of shabby grandeur, long imprisoned for debt in Marshalsea prison. As Arthur soon discovers, the dark shadow of the prison stretches far beyond its walls to affect the lives of many, from the kindly Mr Panks, the reluctant rent-collector of Bleeding Heart Yard,...

In what may be Dickens's best novel, humble, orphaned Pip is apprenticed to the dirty work of the forge but dares to dream of becoming a gentleman - and one day, under sudden and enigmatic circumstances, he finds himself in possession of "great expectations." In this gripping tale of crime and guilt, revenge and reward, the compelling characters include Magwitch, the fearful and fearsome convict; Estella, whose beauty is excelled only by her haughtiness;...

Dickens's Little Nell became one of his best-known heroines when The Old Curiosity Shop was first published in 1841. Virtuous and stoic, Nell takes care of her grandfather in his gloomy shop until his gambling debts force the pair of them to flee London. They are hunted by the grotesque and villainous moneylender Quilp and Nell's own worthless brother, Fred, who wrongly believes that their grandfather has a hidden fortune. Through a kaleidoscopic...

When Philip Pirrip, nicknamed Pip, is approached by an escaped convict and forced to steal food and supplies, he little realises how this act will alter his life.

This single-volume edition of Dicken's classic Christmas story also includes Dicken's four other Christmas books and a selection of original illustrations.