Charles Dickens: David Copperfield/ Great Expectations

an excellent addition to Palgrave's Analysing Texts series ... this is a very user-friendly book. Tredell is rightly enthusiastic about Dickens and brings this enthusiasm to bear on key themes and tropes in Dickens's work ... as a concise guide to these novels, and their author, this would take some beating.' - Adam Hansen, Northumbria University, in The Literary London Journal, Volume 12 Number 1-2 (Spring/Autumn 2015)

This thought-provoking study takes a fresh look at two of Dickens' most popular texts. Part I uses carefully selected short extracts for close textual analysis, while Part II examines the historical and literary contexts and key criticism. The volume is an ideal introductory guide for those who are studying Dickens' novels for the first time.David Copperfield and Great Expectations are among Charles Dickens's most famous novels. In both books, the hero tells the vivid and absorbing tale of his education by life, presents a rich range of characters and scenes, and tackles profound moral, social and psychological themes. Part I of this essential study: - Provides lucid and penetrating analyses of key passages - Discusses the crucial topics of patriarchy, class, obsession, eccentricity, death, breakdown and recovery - Summarizes the methods of analysis and offers suggestions for further work Part II supplies key background material, including: - An account of Dickens's life and works - A survey of historical, cultural and literary contexts - Samples of significant criticism Also featuring a valuable Further Reading section, this volume provides readers with the critical and analytical skills which will enable them to enjoy and explore both novels for themselves.