Charles Dickens, Fred Kaplan, Graham Law, Jane (AFT) Smiley, Sylvere Monod - Hard Times

Written deliberately to increase the circulation of Dickens&#8217;s weekly magazine, <i>Household Words, Hard Times</i> was a huge and instantaneous success upon publication in 1854. Yet this novel is not the cheerful celebration of Victorian life one might have expected from the beloved author of <i>The Pickwick Papers</i> and <i>The Old Curiosity Shop</i>. Compressed, stark, allegorical, it is a bitter expos&#233; of capitalist exploitation during the industrial revolution&#8211; and a fierce denunciation of the philosophy of materialism, which threatens the human imagination in all times and places. With a typically unforgettable cast of characters&#8211; including the heartless fact-worshipper <br>Mr. Gradgrind, the warmly endearing Sissy Jupe, and the eternally noble Stephen Blackpool&#8211; <i>Hard Times</i> carries a uniquely powerful message and remains one of the most widely read of Dickens&#8217;s major novels.