Study Guide to Hard Times by Charles Dickens

A comprehensive study guide offering in-depth explanation, essay, and test prep for Charles Dickens’s Hard Times, a novel that brought to light the harsh conditions of factory workers during the nineteenth century.


As a novel set in nineteenth-century England, many lower class citizens worked factory jobs and were very poorly treated. Dickens comments on this treatment and the abuse of power regarding the wealthy. This Bright Notes Study Guide explores the context and history of Dickens’s classic work, helping students to thoroughly explore the reasons it has stood the literary test of time. Each Bright Notes Study Guide contains:


- Introductions to the Author and the Work

- Character Summaries

- Plot Guides

- Section and Chapter Overviews

- Test Essay and Study Q&As


The Bright Notes Study Guide series offers an in-depth tour of more than 275 classic works of literature, exploring characters, critical commentary, historical background, plots, and themes. This set of study guides encourages readers to dig deeper in their understanding by including essay questions and answers as well as topics for further research.