These four books in one show the sheer diversity of Charles Dickens' genius. "Nicholas Nickleby" is both a savage satire and a richly comic creation, "Hard Times" is inveighs against the utilitarianism of the Industrial Revolution, "A Tale of Two Cities" is a thrilling historical novel of the French Revolution, and the selection of ghost stories show Dickens' fascination with the paranormal.

Greatest Novels

by Charles Dickens

Published 1 September 2008
David Copperfield was Dickens' 'favourite child' and is a novel of personal development with richly comic as well as deeply poignant moments. "Great Expectations" also traces the progress of a young man through life but, as a novel of the author's maturity, is expressed in subtler shades of nuance. "Oliver Twist" is more black-and-white than either, highlighting the incorruptibility of young Oliver as he battles with the evil of Fagin and Bill Sikes. "A Christmas Carol" is both a ghost story and a moral tale, which defined the pattern of Christmas celebrations. The four books in one volume represent much of Dickens' finest writing.