Our Mutual Friend
-
- $5.99
Publisher Description
Complete and unabridged.
One of BBC's 100 Novels That Shaped Our World.
Dickens exposes the corrupting power of money in his last complete novel, Our Mutual Friend, with its expansive cast of characters and interweaving plots.
Part of the Macmillan Collector’s Library; a series of stunning, clothbound, pocket sized classics with gold foiled edges and ribbon markers. These beautiful books make perfect gifts or a treat for any book lover. This edition has an afterword by Lucinda Dickens Hawksley and original illustrations by Marcus Stone.
John Harmon made his fortune collecting ‘dust’. On his death his estranged son is due to inherit his wealth on the condition that he marry Bella Wilfer, a young woman who he has never even met. But when his son is presumed dead, John’s riches pass to his servants Mr. and Mrs. Boffin and they in turn take Bella into their own home. They hire a secretive young man, John Rokesmith, to be Mr. Boffin’s secretary – but what is this man’s real identity and what is his interest in Bella?
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
David Timson reads Dickens's last complete novel with a sense of fun. As always, Dickens creates a fabulous array of characters: the nouveau riche Veneerings, the dwarf who makes doll clothes, the bizarre schoolmaster, and the abysmally poor who trawl the Thames for bodies or daily sift the dust and dirt of Victorian England for a skimpy living. Timson's dramatic talents add dimension to each personality just the sort of acting that makes an audio experience so satisfying. Naxos has done a fine job of abridging the book (Timson also reads the unabridged version on 28 CDs). Not much is lost in terms of plot and characterization, and Dickens's great satiric and social themes come through clearly: the plight and misery of the poor and the greed and heartless stupidity of the rich. If the abridgment seems a bit disjointed, it simply follows the novel's narrative style. This is a wonderful listen for Dickens fans and novices alike.
