Bleak House is one of Dickens finest achievements establishing his reputation as a serious & mature novelist as well as a brilliant comic writer. It is at once a complex mystery story that fully engages the reader in the work of detection & an unforgettable indictment of an indifferent society. Its representations of a great citys underworld & of the laws corruption & delay draw upon the authors personal knowledge & experience. But it is his symbolic art that projects these things in a vision that embraces black comedy cosmic farce & tragic ruin. In a unique creative experiment Dickens divides the narrative between his heroine Esther Summerson who is psychologically interesting in her own right & an unnamed narrator whose perspective both complements & challenges hers. ...

As the interminable case of Jarndyce & Jarndyce grinds its way through the Court of Chancery it draws together a disparate group of people: Ada & Richard Clare whose inheritance is gradually being devoured by legal costs; Esther Summerson a ward of court whose parentage is a source of deepening mystery; the menacing lawyer Tulkinghorn; the determined sleuth Inspector Bucket; & even Jo the destitute little crossing-sweeper. A savage but often comic indictment of a society that is rotten to the core Bleak House is one of Dickenss most ambitious novels with a range that extends from the drawing rooms of the aristocracy to the poorest of London slums. ...

Bleak House" is Charles Dickens' masterful assault on the injustices of the British legal system. This " Penguin Classics" edition is edited with an introduction & notes by Nicola Bradbury as well as a preface by Terry Eagleton. As the interminable case of ' Jarndyce & Jarndyce' grinds its way through the Court of Chancery it draws together a disparate group of people: Ada & Richard Clare whose inheritance is gradually being devoured by legal costs; Esther Summerson a ward of court whose parentage is a source of deepening mystery; the menacing lawyer Tulkinghorn; the determined sleuth Inspector Bucket; & even Jo the destitute little crossing-sweeper. A savage but often comic indictment of a society that is rotten to the core " Bleak House" is one of Dickens's most ambitious novels with a range that extends from the drawing rooms of the aristocracy to the poorest of London slums. This edition follows the first book edition of 1853 &

Includes:: all the original illustrations by ' Phiz' as well as appendices on the Chancery & spontaneous combustion. In his preface Terry Eagleton examines characterisation & considers " Bleak House" as an early work of detective fiction. Charles Dickens is one of the best-loved novelists in the English language whose 200th anniversary was celebrated in 2012. His most famous books including " Oliver Twist" " Great Expectations" "A Tale of Two Cities" " David Copperfield" & " The Pickwick Papers" have been adapted for stage & screen & read by millions. If you enjoyed " Bleak House" you might like Dickens' " Our Mutual Friend" also available in " Penguin Classics". " Perhaps his best novel...when he wrote " Bleak House" he had grown up". (G.K. Chesterton). " One of the finest of all English satires". (Terry Eagleton)."

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Bleak House Dickenss most daring experiment in the narration of a complex plot challenges the reader to make connections
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The one great principle of the English law is to make business for itself. Jarndyce & Jardyce is an infamous lawsuit that has been in process for generations. Nobody can remember exactly how the case started but many different individuals have found their fortunes caught up in it. Esther Summerson watches as her friends & neighbours are consumed by their hopes & disappointments with the proceedings. But while the intricate puzzles of the lawsuit are being debated by lawyers other more dramatic mysteries are unfolding that involve heartbreak lost children blackmail & murder. ...

The Journey's Inn Lark's Estate Manchester. Three bodies have been found stabbed to death in their beds. The husband & father of two of the victims has fled. The police are in a race against time to find him
- especially when they discover his two young sons are also missing... Manchester Metropolitan police station. Having survived a near-fatal attack DC Janet Scott is quietly falling apart. & her best friend & colleague DC Rachel Bailey is reeling from a love affair gone bad. DCI Gill Murray is trying to keep the team on track but her own family problems are threatening tip her over the edge. Finding the desperate man is their top priority. But none of them knows where he is going or what he intends to do next. Or what will they have to do to stop him... It is based on the hit tv series Scott & Bailey.
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As Rome prepares for its Carnivale vampire hunter Lady Victoria Gardella is in no mood for festivities. But her personal grief must be set aside for there is a sinister plot underway. In yet another play for power vampires have formed an unholy alliance with the demon Akvan in order to gain access to an ancient alchemists secrets. As their combined bloodthirsty army ravages the city streets Victoria races to solve the age-old mystery
- if she fails the world is lost for ever.
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Lucy's cousin Christabel has come to live in violet Hill & adjusting to the difference between life in a small mountain town & her home in the city is difficult. The strict curfew that Lucy's parents enforce is hard to respect. Surely something really dangerous couldn't possibly happen in this tiny town. But Christabel starts to notice some mysterious happenings & it seems like Lucy her boyfriend Nicholas & his brother Connor are all in on a secret that Christabel doesn't understand
- one that seems deadly serious. Although she won't admit it Christabel would love to be in on any secret with Connor Drake. When Christabel is kidnapped by the ruthless Hel-Blar vampires Lucy & Connor finally fill her in on all the undead drama. Together they must find a way to stamp out the Hel-Blar for good.
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The Grelliers & the Schapens are two families who have been farming in the Kaw River Valley for over a hundred & fifty years their lives connected through the generations by history & geography. Gina Haring bringing with her the liberal air of the big city moves into a dilapidated house near both families properties. Gina has secrets her own reasons for being in the Kansas countryside & theyre not necessarily what the people around her imagine. Susans involvement with her stirs up the wrath of the Schapen clan
- & has cataclysmic results for her own family.
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England 1642: a nation divided. England is at war with itself. King Charles & Parliament each gather soldiers to their banners. Across the land men prepare to fight for their religious & political ideals. Civil war has begun. A family ripped asunder. The Rivers are landed gentry & tradition dictates that their allegiance is to the King. Sir Francis loyalty to the crown & his desire to protect his family will test them all. As the men march to war so the women are left to defend their home against a ruthless enemy. Just as Edmund the eldest of Sir Francis sons will do his duty so his brother Tom will turn his back on all he once believed in...A war that will change everything. From the raising of the Kings Standard at Nottingham to the butchery & blood of Edgehill Edmund & Tom Rivers will each learn of honour sacrifice hatred & betrayal as they follow their chosen paths through this most savage of wars. ...