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    Hard Times (Golden Deer Classics)
    Hard Times (Golden Deer Classics)
    Hard Times (Golden Deer Classics)
    Ebook379 pages6 hours

    Hard Times (Golden Deer Classics)

    By Charles Dickens and Golden Deer Classics

    3.5/5

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    About this ebook

    "Hard Times" is the 1854 novel by Charles Dickens that sought to highlight the social and economic divide that was growing between capitalistic mill owners and workers during the Victorian era of Great Britain. Originally published in serial form in Dickens's own periodical journal "Household Words", "Hard Times" is unique in that it is not set in London, like many of his works, but in the fictitious Victorian town of Coketown. A critical examination of the poor working conditions in many English factory towns of the time as well as the changing nature of the aristocracy and the working-class in the post industrial revolution era is at the heart of Dickens's Classic novel, "Hard Times"
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherOregan Publishing
    Release dateSep 22, 2017
    ISBN9782377934676
    Hard Times (Golden Deer Classics)
    Author

    Charles Dickens

    Charles Dickens was born in 1812 and grew up in poverty. This experience influenced ‘Oliver Twist’, the second of his fourteen major novels, which first appeared in 1837. When he died in 1870, he was buried in Poets’ Corner in Westminster Abbey as an indication of his huge popularity as a novelist, which endures to this day.

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    Reviews for Hard Times (Golden Deer Classics)

    3.5/5

    1,568 ratings21 reviews

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    • 4/5
      My first Dickens novel! (Sad, I know.) The story itself was a little underwhelming, but I enjoyed the character development and was pleasantly surprised at how good a writer Dickens is. This might be my first, but it will definitely not be my last!
    • 4/5
      Reading this back to back with Pickwick Papers this work is darker and more cynical. But still an excellent book, by turns comic, thoughtful and timely, another great novel by Mr. Dickens. Also a masterful performance by the reader, Anton Lesser.
    • 2/5
      We read an excerpt from this novel in a children's lit class as there is a scene from an extreme sort of facts only, pragmatist education. I wanted to see where the novel went from there. I was somewhat disappointed in this is a pretty straight forward criticism of industrial England in the the early 1800's. Very melodramatic. Not Dickens at his best.
    • 2/5
      (placeholder dates)I know it's a classic and the literary mavens love it, but it's dense and depressing. 
    • 2/5
      I loved many of Dickens' other works - "Great Expectations" and "A Tale of Two Cities" are excellent - but "Hard Times" is an awful read. I found it to be pretentious. It is currently sitting on my self with a book mark about three-quarters of the way through it. I won't finish it.
    • 4/5
      This was my first Dickens' novel, admittedly my choice as it is considerably shorter than any of his other major works. There were sections I found very entertaining- his reputation for conveying humor and biting social commentary is well earned. That said, I didn't find the actual story line particularly compelling and would have preferred more emphasis on fewer characters. All in all, an enjoyable but not outstanding book.
    • 3/5
      This Dickens’ novel focuses on the hardships of the industrial movement in 19th century England. The characters are weavers, mill owners, the children of members of parliament, and an orphan girl of a troupe of traveling players. Some portions are overly melodramatic, in my humble opinion, but that’s just Charles Dickens. It’s still well worth a read.
    • 4/5
      I thoroughly enjoyed this novel by Dickens. His tone is more caustic than usual, but as always, the social satire, fabulous characters, and complex plot are great. No one names characters like Dickens did!
    • 4/5
      One of Dickens' lesser known works, Hard Times for These Times is similar to his other works in that it touches upon societal problems of the day, such as poverty. I read this about five years ago and while I recall enjoying it, I am fuzzy on the details. I think it is well worth a re-read though and since I am recommending it to myself again, I would definitely recommend to others!
    • 5/5
      Certainly my favorite of Dickens's works, and I think his best rendering of the impact of industrialism on both urban and suburban British society in the 19th century. Beautifully drawn, it's easy to see the lineage through to Orwell's works in Down and Out and Wigan Peir.
    • 3/5
      The message of Hard Times rings very true today. "...that there i[s] a love in the world, not all [S]elf-intere[s]t after all, but [s]omething very different...." However, this was by far the most difficult Dickens read that I can remember. Reading the sections where his satire of the Utilitarians is at its thickest at times feels like walking through quicksand in order to follow the plot. The story is simple and you cannot miss his point, but everything slogs.
    • 5/5
      "NOW, what I want is, Facts. Teach these boys and girls nothing
      but Facts. Facts alone are wanted in life. Plant nothing else,
      and root out everything else. You can only form the minds of
      reasoning animals upon Facts: nothing else will ever be of any
      service to them. This is the principle on which I bring up my own
      children, and this is the principle on which I bring up these
      children. Stick to Facts, sir!"
    • 2/5
      Nearly every Dickens book I’ve read has been a disappointment. “Hard Times” is no exception.I like the author’s humour, but it doesn’t surface enough in this novel. Apart from a few good scenes here and there, most of the time I was bored with overlong descriptions, with too much “telling” and not enough “showing”.I respect Charles Dickens for his high status as an author, and I wish I liked his writing style because of this, but – alas! – I don’t.
    • 4/5
      Not one of Dickens' best, though Dickens is still one of the best writers of the 19th century, even when he was writing as a hack. It was made more interesting a read in this day and age of Tea Partiers and puritanical Evangelicals who hate the thought of paying taxes for the public good, it reminded me that these things are cyclical. A quick read, though, so if you've got it in front of you, give it a shot.
    • 3/5
      A short, readable Dickens that includes Dickens' usual inimitable indictment of modern education and domestic abuse.
    • 4/5
      Ee n van de betere van Dickens, vooral als historisch-sociaal document.De sociale aanklacht staat voorop, vooral via Stephen Blackpool, symbool van de oerwijsheid van de arbeider; vakbondsleider Slackbridge wordt sarcastisch beschreven.Maar dieperliggend wordt ook de arrogantie van de burgerij aan de kaak gesteld (vooral via Bounderby en Harthouse), maar ook het opkomend positivisme (het systeem van Gradgrind). Boven dat alles zweeft de oerwijsheid van bijbelse figuren als Cecilia en Rachael.
    • 4/5
      The first Charles Dickens that I read . . . very good place to start, if you are new to Dickens. Shorter than some of his better known works (David Copperfield, Great Expectations, A Tale of Two Cities), and is easier to read.
    • 1/5
      Yuck! Soot, coal, suffering. Rinse, lather, repeat. Even by the standards of Dickens' classic sentimentality for the underdog, this novel is a dud. Probably not the best introduction to Charles Dickens unless you want your child to enjoy the pleasures of never reading again. This novel makes Zola's "Germinal," also about downtrodden coal miners, seem like a work of candy-colored upbeat positivity.
    • 4/5
      Thomas Gradgrind brings up his children with the motto of "Facts! Facts! Facts! Nothing but facts!" As a result, Gradgrind's daughter ends up in a loveless marriage to a much older and disgusting man and his son turns out to be a dissipated fop. The narrative is easily going, and I teared many a times while reading although my minor gripe is that it's too didactic and heavy-handed. Ok, Dickens, we get it already, Facts are important but so are emotions. Stop badgering us already.
    • 3/5
      The opening chapter is to die for.
    • 2/5
      Dickens at his didactic worst, assembling a cast of paperthin caricatures and prodding them to play out a sledgehammer moral pantomime.

    Book preview

    Hard Times (Golden Deer Classics) - Charles Dickens

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