Hard Times

In the industrial town of Coketown, where red brick, black canal and ceaseless machinery set the rhythm of life, Thomas Gradgrind raises his children on a strict diet of Fact. Numbers, definitions and usefulness are all that matter; imagination and affection are not part of the curriculum. Hard Times, the shortest of Charles Dickens's novels, follows what happens when that philosophy meets the human heart.

First published in 1854 and set among mill owners, bankers, factory hands and a travelling circus, the novel moves between the smoky streets of Coketown and the shabby, cheerful world of Sleary's horse-riding show. It asks what a society loses when it values profit above people, and what becomes of children who are never allowed to wonder. Dickens's anger is clear, but so is his compassion, and the book remains one of his most direct and readable works.

This edition is for first-time readers, students and book clubs. It contains the complete text of the novel, a new introduction, a character guide, a summary of the story, a note on its themes, a glossary of period and unusual words, and questions for discussion.