He’s a marvellous writer… He’s very, very good
William Trevor,

He’s a marvellous writer… He’s very, very good
William Trevor,

A story of the traumas of sex and class. My favourite moment is the one where Magwitch makes his stumbling way up the shadowy staircase towards an unnerved but unsuspecting Pip: the halting but inexorable rise of the repressed 'from the darkness beneath'
Sarah Waters,

A story of the traumas of sex and class. My favourite moment is the one where Magwitch makes his stumbling way up the shadowy staircase towards an unnerved but unsuspecting Pip: the halting but inexorable rise of the repressed 'from the darkness beneath'
Sarah Waters,

This was the author’s last great work, the defects in it are as nearly imperceptible as spots on the sun or shadows on a sunlit sea
Algernon Charles Swinburne,

This was the author’s last great work, the defects in it are as nearly imperceptible as spots on the sun or shadows on a sunlit sea
Algernon Charles Swinburne,

I would always prefer to go get another Dickens off the shelf than pick up a new book by someone I've not read yet... I love the tradition of Dickens, where even the most minor walk-on characters are twitching and particular and alive
Donna Tartt,

I would always prefer to go get another Dickens off the shelf than pick up a new book by someone I've not read yet... I love the tradition of Dickens, where even the most minor walk-on characters are twitching and particular and alive
Donna Tartt,

There is no one Dickens novel I could pick over all the others. Dickens is huge—like the sky. Pick any page of Dickens and it’s immediately recognizable as him, yet he might be doing social satire, or farce, or horror, or a psychological study of a murderer—or any combination of these
Susannah Clarke,

There is no one Dickens novel I could pick over all the others. Dickens is huge—like the sky. Pick any page of Dickens and it’s immediately recognizable as him, yet he might be doing social satire, or farce, or horror, or a psychological study of a murderer—or any combination of these
Susannah Clarke,

Charlotte Evans 09 August 2011

Embarking on such a classic can be intimidating but on meeting the protagonist, Pip, you are welcomed into his Victorian world and the culture of the characters. Personnaly I loved this book welcoming Pip's slow development as he grew up and discovered the world around him, yet my favourite character will always be Havisham. Despite her outlook and initial behaviour towards Pip, as a reader and through Dickens language one can not help but emphasis and feel for the woman who has had her heart destroyed. This connection with Havisham only increases as we, alongside Pip, learn the true story of Havisham and the reasons behind her abondonment at the alter. Her story of unrequited and destructive love is even more emphasising upon reading the poem 'Havisham' by poet Carol Ann Duffy, who depicts Havishams initial emotions that Dickens prolongs in his novel. Not only does this story cover love, longing and loss but also culture expectations, adventure and money troubles. Dickens use of literary devices and language builds a world that covers a span of years and lets many readers longing for Estella and Pip to finally come together. Dickens does suggest this at the end, 'I saw no shadow parting from her', along with his beautiful imagery and description of the world and the moors. Even when reading this story on a baking beach, I was transported my the words of Dickens into misty mornings on the moors and hopeless nights where Pip longed for Estella.