Oliver Twist / Charles Dickens

Title: Oliver Twist (The Parish Boy's Progress)  

Author: Charles Dickens 

Illustrator: George Cruikshank 

Subjects: Classic; Fiction

The story focus on an orphan Oliver Twist. Once he sold into apprenticeship with an undertaker. He managed to escape to London. Oliver Twist is notable for its unromantic portrayal by Dickens of criminals and their sordid lives. Dickens satire the hypocrisies of his time, including child labour, the recruitment of children as criminals, and the presence of street children.

A Christmas Carol / Charles Dickens

Title: A Christmas Carol (A Ghost Story of Christmas) 

Author: Charles Dickens

Illustrator: John Leech

Subjects: Classic; fiction; Children

A Christmas Carol recounts the story of Ebenezer Scrooge, an elderly miser who is visited by the ghost. After their visits, Scrooge is transformed into a kinder, gentler man. Dickens was influenced by the experiences of his own youth and by the Christmas stories of other authors.

Great Expectations / Charles Dickens

Title: Great Expectations 

Author: Charles Dickens

Subjects: Fiction; Classic 

The novel is about the personal growth and personal development of an orphan Pip. Novel is famous for its opening scene. Great Expectations is full of extreme imagery—poverty, prison ships & chains, and fights to the death. Dickens's themes include wealth and poverty, love and rejection, and the eventual triumph of good over evil.

A Tale of Two Cities / Charles Dickens

Title: A Tale of Two Cities (A Story of the French Revolution)
Author: Charles Dickens
Subjects: Classic; Fiction, History; Literature 

The novel depicts the plight of the French peasantry demoralized by the French aristocracy in the years leading up to the revolution, the corresponding brutality demonstrated by the revolutionaries toward the former aristocrats in the early years of the revolution, and many unflattering social parallels with life in London during the same time period.

The Poor Traveler / Charles Dickens

[Dickens' introduction to this story describes his going to Rochester on Christmas Eve and seeing there a quaint old charity, which provided for the entertainment of "six poor travelers who not being rogues or proctors might receive gratis for one night lodging, entertainment and fourpence each." In honor of the day a special meal is provided for the travelers then in the charity. After the meal, when the travelers have gathered around the fire, their entertainer gives them the reason for the unwonted feast as "Christmas Eve, my friends, when the Shepherds, who were poor travelers, too, in their way, heard the Angels sing, 'On earth, peace: Good will toward men.'" Then each traveler was invited to relate a story, and among those told was the following.]

In the year one thousand seven hundred and ninety-nine, a relative of mine came limping down, on foot, to the town of Chatham. He was a poor traveler, with not a farthing in his pocket.

The Christmas Goblins / Charles Dickens

In an old abbey town, a long, long while ago there officiated as sexton and gravedigger in the churchyard one Gabriel Grubb. He was an ill conditioned cross-grained, surly fellow, who consorted with nobody but himself and an old wicker-bottle which fitted into his large, deep waistcoat pocket.

A little before twilight one Christmas Eve, Gabriel shouldered his spade, lighted his lantern, and betook himself toward the old churchyard, for he had a grave to finish by next morning, and feeling very low, he thought it might raise his spirits, perhaps, if he went on with his work at once.

The Trial For Murder / Charles Dickens

I have always noticed a prevalent want of courage, even among

persons of superior intelligence and culture, as to imparting their

own psychological experiences when those have been of a strange

sort. Almost all men are afraid that what they could relate in such

wise would find no parallel or response in a listener's internal

life, and might be suspected or laughed at. A truthful traveller,

who should have seen some extraordinary creature in the likeness of

a sea-serpent, would have no fear of mentioning it; but the same

traveller, having had some singular presentiment, impulse, vagary of

thought, vision (so-called), dream, or other remarkable mental

impression, would hesitate considerably before he would own to it.

To this reticence I attribute much of the obscurity in which such

subjects are involved. We do not habitually communicate our

experiences of these subjective things as we do our experiences of

objective creation. The consequence is, that the general stock of

experience in this regard appears exceptional, and really is so, in

respect of being miserably imperfect.

The Signal-Man / Charles Dickens

"Halloa! Below there!"

When he heard a voice thus calling to him, he was standing at the

door of his box, with a flag in his hand, furled round its short

pole. One would have thought, considering the nature of the ground,

that he could not have doubted from what quarter the voice came; but

instead of looking up to where I stood on the top of the steep

cutting nearly over his head, he turned himself about, and looked

down the Line. There was something remarkable in his manner of

doing so, though I could not have said for my life what. But I know

it was remarkable enough to attract my notice, even though his

figure was foreshortened and shadowed, down in the deep trench, and

mine was high above him, so steeped in the glow of an angry sunset,

that I had shaded my eyes with my hand before I saw him at all.

Tom Tiddler's Ground / Charles Dickens

CHAPTER I--PICKING UP SOOT AND CINDERS

"And why Tom Tiddler's ground?" said the Traveller.

"Because he scatters halfpence to Tramps and such-like," returned the

Landlord, "and of course they pick 'em up. And this being done on his

own land (which it _is_ his own land, you observe, and were his family's

before him), why it is but regarding the halfpence as gold and silver,

and turning the ownership of the property a bit round your finger, and

there you have the name of the children's game complete. And it's

appropriate too," said the Landlord, with his favourite action of

stooping a little, to look across the table out of window at vacancy,

under the window-blind which was half drawn down. "Leastwise it has been

so considered by many gentlemen which have partook of chops and tea in

the present humble parlour."

To Be Read At Dusk / Charles Dickens

One, two, three, four, five. There were five of them.

Five couriers, sitting on a bench outside the convent on the summit

of the Great St. Bernard in Switzerland, looking at the remote

heights, stained by the setting sun as if a mighty quantity of red

wine had been broached upon the mountain top, and had not yet had

time to sink into the snow.

Sunday Under Three Heads / Charles Dickens

To The Right Reverend THE BISHOP OF LONDON

MY LORD,

You were among the first, some years ago, to expatiate on the

vicious addiction of the lower classes of society to Sunday

excursions; and were thus instrumental in calling forth occasional

demonstrations of those extreme opinions on the subject, which are

very generally received with derision, if not with contempt.

Somebody's Luggage / Charles Dickens

CHAPTER I--HIS LEAVING IT TILL CALLED FOR

The writer of these humble lines being a Waiter, and having come of a

family of Waiters, and owning at the present time five brothers who are

all Waiters, and likewise an only sister who is a Waitress, would wish to

offer a few words respecting his calling; first having the pleasure of

hereby in a friendly manner offering the Dedication of the same unto

_Joseph_, much respected Head Waiter at the Slamjam Coffee-house, London,

E.C., than which a individual more eminently deserving of the name of

man, or a more amenable honour to his own head and heart, whether

considered in the light of a Waiter or regarded as a human being, do not

exist.

Sketches of Young Gentlemen / Charles Dickens

TO THE YOUNG LADIES OF THE UNITED KINGDOM OF GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND; ALSOTHE YOUNG LADIES OF THE PRINCIPALITY OF WALES, AND LIKEWISE THE YOUNG LADIES RESIDENT IN THE ISLES OF GUERNSEY, JERSEY, ALDERNEY, AND SARK, THE HUMBLE DEDICATION OF THEIR DEVOTED ADMIRER, SHEWETH, -

THAT your Dedicator has perused, with feelings of virtuous

indignation, a work purporting to be 'Sketches of Young Ladies;'

written by Quiz, illustrated by Phiz, and published in one volume,

square twelvemo.

Sketches of Young Couples / Charles Dickens

THAT Her Most Gracious Majesty, Victoria, by the Grace of God of

the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland Queen, Defender of

the Faith, did, on the 23rd day of November last past, declare and

pronounce to Her Most Honourable Privy Council, Her Majesty's Most

Gracious intention of entering into the bonds of wedlock.

The Seven Poor Travellers / Charles Dickens

CHAPTER I--IN THE OLD CITY OF ROCHESTER

Strictly speaking, there were only six Poor Travellers; but, being a

Traveller myself, though an idle one, and being withal as poor as I hope

to be, I brought the number up to seven. This word of explanation is due

at once, for what says the inscription over the quaint old door?

The Perils of Certain English Prisoners / Charles Dickens

CHAPTER I--THE ISLAND OF SILVER-STORE

It was in the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and forty-four,

that I, Gill Davis to command, His Mark, having then the honour to be a

private in the Royal Marines, stood a-leaning over the bulwarks of the

armed sloop Christopher Columbus, in the South American waters off the

Mosquito shore.

Mugby Junction / Charles Dickens

CHAPTER I--BARBOX BROTHERS

I.

"Guard! What place is this?"

"Mugby Junction, sir."

"A windy place!"

"Yes, it mostly is, sir."

"And looks comfortless indeed!"

"Yes, it generally does, sir."

"Is it a rainy night still?"

"Pours, sir."

Mrs. Lirriper's Lodgings / Charles Dickens

CHAPTER I--HOW MRS. LIRRIPER CARRIED ON THE BUSINESS

Whoever would begin to be worried with letting Lodgings that wasn't a

lone woman with a living to get is a thing inconceivable to me, my dear;

excuse the familiarity, but it comes natural to me in my own little room,

when wishing to open my mind to those that I can trust, and I should be

truly thankful if they were all mankind, but such is not so, for have but

a Furnished bill in the window and your watch on the mantelpiece, and

farewell to it if you turn your back for but a second, however

gentlemanly the manners; nor is being of your own sex any safeguard, as I

have reason, in the form of sugar-tongs to know, for that lady (and a

fine woman she was) got me to run for a glass of water, on the plea of

going to be confined, which certainly turned out true, but it was in the

Station-house.

Mrs. Lirriper's Legacy / Charles Dickens

CHAPTER I--MRS. LIRRIPER RELATES HOW SHE WENT ON, AND WENT OVER

Ah! It's pleasant to drop into my own easy-chair my dear though a little

palpitating what with trotting up-stairs and what with trotting down, and

why kitchen stairs should all be corner stairs is for the builders to

justify though I do not think they fully understand their trade and never

did, else why the sameness and why not more conveniences and fewer

draughts and likewise making a practice of laying the plaster on too

thick I am well convinced which holds the damp, and as to chimney-pots

putting them on by guess-work like hats at a party and no more knowing

what their effect will be upon the smoke bless you than I do if so much,

except that it will mostly be either to send it down your throat in a

straight form or give it a twist before it goes there. And what I says

speaking as I find of those new metal chimneys all manner of shapes

(there's a row of 'em at Miss Wozenham's lodging-house lower down on the

other side of the way) is that they only work your smoke into artificial

patterns for you before you swallow it and that I'd quite as soon swallow

mine plain, the flavour being the same, not to mention the conceit of

putting up signs on the top of your house to show the forms in which you

take your smoke into your inside.

The Haunted House / Charles Dickens

THE MORTALS IN THE HOUSE

Under none of the accredited ghostly circumstances, and environed

by none of the conventional ghostly surroundings, did I first make

acquaintance with the house which is the subject of this Christmas

piece. I saw it in the daylight, with the sun upon it. There was

no wind, no rain, no lightning, no thunder, no awful or unwonted

circumstance, of any kind, to heighten its effect. More than that:

I had come to it direct from a railway station: it was not more

than a mile distant from the railway station; and, as I stood

outside the house, looking back upon the way I had come, I could

see the goods train running smoothly along the embankment in the

valley. I will not say that everything was utterly commonplace,

because I doubt if anything can be that, except to utterly

commonplace people--and there my vanity steps in; but, I will take

it on myself to say that anybody might see the house as I saw it,

any fine autumn morning.