Hard Times

Written deliberately to increase the circulation of Dickens&#146;s weekly magazine <i>Household Words Hard Times</i> was a huge and instantaneous success upon publication in 1854. Yet this novel is not the cheerful celebration of Victorian life one might have expected from the beloved author of <i>The Pickwick Papers</i> and <i>The Old Curiosity Shop</i>. Compressed stark allegorical it is a bitter expos&#233; of capitalist exploitation during the industrial revolution&#150;and a fierce denunciation of the philosophy of materialism which threatens the human imagination in all times and places. With a typically unforgettable cast of characters&#150;including the heartless fact-worshipper <br>Mr. Gradgrind the warmly endearing Sissy Jupe and the eternally noble Stephen Blackpool&#150;<i>Hard Times</i> carries a uniquely powerful message and remains one of the most widely read of Dickens&#146;s major novels.