With an Introduction & Notes by Karl Ashley Smith University of St Andrews Illustrations by Hablot K Browne (Phiz) Mr Dombey is a man obsessed with his firm His son is groomed from birth to take his place within it despite his visionary eccentricity & declining health But Dombey also has a daughter whose unfailing love for her father goes unreturned ' Girls' said Mr Dombey 'have nothing to do with Dombey & Son' When Walter Gay a young clerk in her father's office rescues her from a bewildering experience in the streets of London his unforgettable friends believe he is well on his way to receiving her hand in marriage & inheriting the company It is to be a very different type of story Dombey & Son moved grown men to tears (Thackeray despaired of writing against such power as this') but its rich comic characters & their joyful explosions of language draw laughter with equally unerring magic