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Hard Times
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Hard Times Mp3 cd - 2005

by Charles Dickens; Read by Frederick Davidson


Summary

Dickens scathing portrait of Victorian industrial society and its misapplied utilitarian philosophy, Hard Times features schoolmaster Thomas Gradgrind, one of his most richly dimensional, memorable characters. Filled with the details and wonders of small-town life, it is also a daring novel of ideasand ultimately, a celebration of love, hope, and limitless possibilities of the imagination.

From the publisher

Originally written for Dickens' weekly magazine, Household Words, this short novel follows the fate of Sissy Jupe, a warm-hearted circus child, and the family that adopts her. Deserted by her ailing father, Sissy is taken into the cold household of the Gradgrind family, which operates a school. The "eminently practical" Thomas Gradgrind believes only in facts and figures and has raised his children accordingly, thoroughly suppressing the imaginative sides of their nature. They grow up in ignorance of love and affection, of beauty and culture, or of empathy for others, and the consequences are devastating. Only after numerous crises does Thomas realize that his principles have corrupted their lives. Dickens' satirical expose of the Industrial Revolution condemns the utilitarianism that exploited the bodies, minds, and souls of the vulnerable labor class.

Details

  • Title Hard Times
  • Author Charles Dickens; Read by Frederick Davidson
  • Binding MP3 CD
  • Edition MP3 Una
  • Volumes 1
  • Language ENG
  • Publisher Blackstone Audiobooks
  • Date January 2005
  • ISBN 9780786182657 / 0786182652
  • Weight 0.23 lbs (0.10 kg)
  • Dimensions 7.54 x 5.36 x 0.28 in (19.15 x 13.61 x 0.71 cm)
  • Dewey Decimal Code FIC