‘You are to understand, Mr. Pip, that the name of the person who is your liberal benefactor remains a profound secret…’
—Charles Dickens, Great Expectations
When a mysterious benefaction takes Young Pip from the Kent marshes to London, his prospects of advancement improve greatly. Yet Pip finds he is haunted by figures from his past: the escaped convict Magwitch; the time-withered Miss Havisham and her proud and beautiful ward Estella; his abusive older sister and her kind husband Joe. In time, Pip uncovers not just the origins of his great expectations but the mystery of his own heart.
In our second season of #OWCReads, Professor Roger Luckhurst took us on a terrifying journey down the darkest streets of Victorian London as we explored Bram Stoker’s Dracula. This season, we remain in London for a very different kind of voyage. We are pleased to announce that Robert Douglas-Fairhurst will be overseeing season three of #OWCReads, which will feature his favourite Dickens novel, Great Expectations.
Perhaps the best loved of all Dickens’ novels, Great Expectations attracts readers of all ages, and has been adapted frequently for television, radio, and film. By taking part in the #OWCReads group you’ll get the opportunity to dive deeper into the intricacies of this classic text, and find out more about the life and times of Charles Dickens – as well as learning about what inspired the great man himself.
You can follow along, and join in the conversation by following us on Twitter and Facebook, and by using the hashtag #OWCreads.
Featured image: The Opening of the New London Bridge. David Cox, 1853. Public domain via WikiArt.
[…] third season of the Oxford World’s Classics Reading Group has now come to a close, but the fun isn’t over yet. Robert Douglas-Fairhurst will be […]