Great Expectations: A Quick Read (Walker Abridged Classics) - Softcover

Dickens, Charles; Kennedy, A. L.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 152950192X ISBN 13: 9781529501926

Publisher: Walker Books, 2024

Synopsis

A beloved classic adult novel skilfully abridged to inspire and engage a new generation of middle-grade readers, from a multi-award-winning author.

Young orphan Pip, downtrodden and mistreated by his guardian sister, has a terrifying meeting with an escaped convict. Soon afterwards he is invited to play at the gloomy, cobwebbed house of unhappy Miss Havisham, where he is humiliated by her beautiful ward, Estella. Pip falls in love with the girl, despite her disdain for his ignorance and rough appearance, and begins his apprenticeship to his blacksmith brother-in-law feeling ashamed of his lowly home.

Then Pip is told he is to be brought up as a wealthy gentleman, and he delightedly assumes his secret benefactor to be Miss Havisham, planning him as a match him for Estella. When he discovers this is not the case, his heart is broken and his loyalties torn.

What is the connection between Miss Havisham and the mysterious convict? And will Pip ever win Estella’s heart?

About this title

About the Authors

Charles Dickens (1812-1870) is generally regarded as the greatest novelist of the Victorian age. His work, which includes such enduring classics as David Copperfield, Oliver Twist and Great Expectations, was immensely popular with contemporary audiences and has continued to fascinate readers for generations. A Christmas Carol - which Dickens refers to as his "ghostly little book" - was an immediate success on publication and is often credited with inventing the modern form of Christmas.

A. L. Kennedy is a prolific writer of novels, short stories, non-fiction, plays and film scripts. She often features on R4 and is both an associate professor of creative writing and an occasional stand-up comedian. After over 30 years of writing for adults, she now also writes for children, including the hilarious Uncle Shawn series, illustrated by Gemma Correll, and most recently she abridged Charles Dickens' Great Expectations for middle-grade readers. She is the winner of multiple UK and international prizes, including the Costa Book of the Year Award and the Somerset Maugham Award. She lives in Scotland.

Edition details

• Publisher: Walker Books
• Publication date: 2024
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 152950192X
• ISBN 13: 9781529501926
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 288