Bleak House - Softcover

Dickens, Charles

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0143037617 ISBN 13: 9780143037613

Publisher: Penguin Books, 2006

Synopsis

Penguin presents the companion book to the Masterpiece Theatre miniseries starring Gillian Anderson (The House of Mirth, The X-Files). This stunning production features a screenplay written by Andrew Davies (Bridget Jones’s Diary). Part romance, part melodrama, part detective story, the novel spreads out among a web of relationships in every level of society from the simple-minded Sir Leicester Dedlock, to Jo the street sweeper.

Bleak House opens in the twilight of foggy London, where fog grips the city most densely in the Court of Chancery. The obscure case of Jarndyce and Jarndyce, in which an inheritance is gradually devoured by legal costs, the romance of Esther Summerson and the secrets of her origin, the sleuthing of Detective Inspector Bucket and the fate of Jo the crossing-sweeper, these are some of the lives Dickens invokes to portray London society, rich and poor, as no other novelist has done. Bleak House, in its atmosphere, symbolism and magnificent bleak comedy, is often regarded as the best of Dickens. A 'great Victorian novel', it is so inventive in its competing plots and styles that it eludes interpretation.

About this title

Review:

Bleak House is a satirical look at the Byzantine legal system in London as it consumes the minds and talents of the greedy and nearly destroys the lives of innocents--a contemporary tale indeed. Dickens's tale takes us from the foggy dank streets of London and the maze of the Inns of Court to the peaceful countryside of England. Likewise, the characters run from murderous villains to virtuous girls, from a devoted lover to a "fallen woman," all of whom are affected by a legal suit in which there will, of course, be no winner. The first-person narrative related by the orphan Esther is particularly sweet. The articulate reading by the acclaimed British actor Paul Scofield, whose distinctive broad English accent lends just the right degree of sonority and humor to the text, brings out the color in this classic social commentary disguised as a Victorian drama. However, to abridge Dickens is, well, a Dickensian task, the results of which make for a story in which the author's convoluted plot lines and twists of fate play out in what seems to be a fast-forward format. Listeners must pay close attention in order to keep up with the multiple narratives and cast of curious characters, including the memorable Inspector Bucket and Mr. Guppy. Fortunately, the publisher provides a partial list of characters on the inside jacket. (Running time: 3 hours; 2 cassettes)

From the Publisher:

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About this edition

• Publisher: Penguin Books
• Publication date: 2006
• ISBN 10: 0143037617
• ISBN 13: 9780143037613
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 1024
• Editor: Bradbury Nicola
• Illustrator: Brown Hablot K.