GREAT EXPECATIONS

SUMMARY
Pip a young boy, fostered by humble Joe and his wife, on the Essex marshes, comes across an escaped convict who scares the wits out of him. On fear of death, he steals food. With this drama over, Pip is sent to visit a grand local house owned by Miss Haversham - a woman who was jilted years before and who remains in a state of frozen time - to be companion to her ward - the beautiful young girl, Esther. Miss Haversham, bitter and twisted, is training Esther to break hearts. Pip falls for Esther but he is beneath her and she rejects him, the way she has been trained. Mysteriously, Pip inherits money from an unknown source. He suspects that he must be of noble birth and that the money must come from Miss Haversham, (who dies amongst the dry wedding paraphenalia around her) but it finally transpires that the money comes from the convict. He comes to appreciate that the convict / his father is a good person with a good heart. He helps him escape. It transpires that Esther now has no money and she has found that she is not of high birth either. They fall in love and marry.

DAVID COPPERFIELD
BACKGROUND
It was first published in serial form in the publication All the Year Round from December 1860 to August 1861. Great Expectations is written in first person from the point of view of the orphan Pip. The novel, like much of Dickenss work, draws on his experiences of life and people.

CHRISTMAS CAROL
BACKGROUND
The Personal History, Adventures, Experience and Observation of David Copperfield the Younger of Blunderstone Rookery (Which He Never Meant to Publish onAny Account), commonly referred to as David Copperfield, is the eighth novel by Charles Dickens, first published as a novel in 1850. Like most of his works, it originally appeared in serial form a year earlier. Many elements within the novel follow events in Dickens own life, and it is probably the most autobiographical of allof his novels. In the preface to the 1867 Charles Dickens edition, he wrote, like many fond parents, I have in my heart of hearts a favourite child. And his name is David Copperfield.

SUMMARY
David Copperfields father dies 3 months before his birth. His mother, very young, pretty, and inexperienced, raises the boy with the help of her loyal maid, Clara Peggoty. Things go well, young Davy is growing up in a happy, loving home until his mother marries again. Mr. Murdstone, Davys stepfather, believes that firmness is the only way of dealing with boys. He ends up sending Davy away to a boarding school run by a cruel schoolmaster Mr. Creakle. When Davys mother dies, Mr. Murdstone decides that even this kind of education is too good for his stepson and promptly gets rid of him by sending him to London, to work at a blacking factory. Davy is only 10 when that happens. After many trials, he decides to run away and search for his aunt, Betsy Trotwood, who eventually adopts him. The second part of this novel shows the grown-up David Copperfield, he has completed his education and is apprenticed as a clerk to work in a law firm. He meets his bosss daughter Dora and falls in love. His feelings are returned, but Doras father is furious when he finds out about the engagement. Meanwhile, Davids aunt goes bankrupt, the family loses most of their possessions, and David has to work even harder in order to provide for himself and his loved ones.

SUMMARY
Ebenezer Scrooge is a miserly old man who believes thatChristmas is just an excuse for people to miss work and for idle people to expect handouts. He doesnt believe in all of the good cheer and charity that the season promotes, and he makes sure everyone knows it.That night, Scrooge is visited by the ghost of his former business associate, Jacob Marley -- a man who was asgreedy and cold as Scrooge is. Marley warns Scrooge that if he continues to live so selfishly, he will spend eternity wearing thechains that his greed has built. Three ghosts visit Scrooge successively: the Ghost of Christmas Past, the Ghost of Christmas Present, and the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come. They show Scrooge his error in valuing money over people. Scrooge is frightened by the bleakpicture of his life and promises to change his ways. Scrooge awakes on Christmas morning a new man. He becomes jolly and charitable, and truly turns into the man he promised the ghosts he would become. He carries the spirit of Christmas with him all the year round.

BACKGROUND
A novella by first published by Chapman & Hall on 17 December 1843. The story tells of sour and stingy Ebenezer Scrooges ideological, ethical, and emotional transformation after the supernatural visits of Jacob Marley and the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Yet to Come. The book was written and published in early Victorian era Britain when it was experiencing a nostalgic interest in its forgotten Christmas traditions, and at the time when new customs such as the Christmas tree and greeting cards were being introduced. Dickens sources for the tale appear to be many and varied but are principally the humiliating experiences of his childhood, his sympathy for the poor, and various Christmas stories and fairy tales.

T GREA TIONS CA EXPE

ARY SUMM
Pip a young boy, fostered by humble Joe and his wife, on the Essex marshes, comes across an escaped convict who scares the wits out of him. On fear of death, he steals food. With this drama over, Pip is sent to visit a grand local house owned by Miss Haversham - a woman who was jilted years before and who remains in a state of frozen time - to be companion to her ward - the beautiful young girl, Esther. Miss Haversham, bitter and twisted, is training Esther to break hearts. Pip falls for Esther but he is beneath her and she rejects him, the way she has been trained. Mysteriously, Pip inherits money from an unknown source. He suspects that he must be of noble birth and that the money must come from Miss Haversham, (who dies amongst the dry wedding paraphenalia around her) but it finally transpires that the money comes from the convict. He comes to appreciate that the convict / his father is a good person with a good heart. He helps him escape. It transpires that Esther now has no money and she has found that she is not of high birth either. They fall in love and marry.

DAVID COPPERFIELD
OUND CKGR BA
It was first published in serial form in the publication All the Year Round from December 1860 to August 1861. Great Expectations is written in first person from the point of view of the orphan Pip. The novel, like much of Dickenss work, draws on his experiences of life and people.

CHRISTMAS CAROL
OUND CKGR BA
The Personal History, Adventures, Experience and Observation of David Copperfield the Younger of Blunderstone Rookery (Which He Never Meant to Publish onAny Account), commonly referred to as David Copperfield, is the eighth novel by Charles Dickens, first published as a novel in 1850. Like most of his works, it originally appeared in serial form a year earlier. Many elements within the novel follow events in Dickens own life, and it is probably the most autobiographical of allof his novels. In the preface to the 1867 Charles Dickens edition, he wrote, like many fond parents, I have in my heart of hearts a favourite child. And his name is David Copperfield.

ARY SUMM
David Copperfields father dies 3 months before his birth. His mother, very young, pretty, and inexperienced, raises the boy with the help of her loyal maid, Clara Peggoty. Things go well, young Davy is growing up in a happy, loving home until his mother marries again. Mr. Murdstone, Davys stepfather, believes that firmness is the only way of dealing with boys. He ends up sending Davy away to a boarding school run by a cruel schoolmaster Mr. Creakle. When Davys mother dies, Mr. Murdstone decides that even this kind of education is too good for his stepson and promptly gets rid of him by sending him to London, to work at a blacking factory. Davy is only 10 when that happens. After many trials, he decides to run away and search for his aunt, Betsy Trotwood, who eventually adopts him. The second part of this novel shows the grown-up David Copperfield, he has completed his education and is apprenticed as a clerk to work in a law firm. He meets his bosss daughter Dora and falls in love. His feelings are returned, but Doras father is furious when he finds out about the engagement. Meanwhile, Davids aunt goes bankrupt, the family loses most of their possessions, and David has to work even harder in order to provide for himself and his loved ones.

ARY SUMM
Ebenezer Scrooge is a miserly old man who believes thatChristmas is just an excuse for people to miss work and for idle people to expect handouts. He doesnt believe in all of the good cheer and charity that the season promotes, and he makes sure everyone knows it.That night, Scrooge is visited by the ghost of his former business associate, Jacob Marley -- a man who was asgreedy and cold as Scrooge is. Marley warns Scrooge that if he continues to live so selfishly, he will spend eternity wearing thechains that his greed has built. Three ghosts visit Scrooge successively: the Ghost of Christmas Past, the Ghost of Christmas Present, and the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come. They show Scrooge his error in valuing money over people. Scrooge is frightened by the bleakpicture of his life and promises to change his ways. Scrooge awakes on Christmas morning a new man. He becomes jolly and charitable, and truly turns into the man he promised the ghosts he would become. He carries the spirit of Christmas with him all the year round.

OUND CKGR BA
A novella by first published by Chapman & Hall on 17 December 1843. The story tells of sour and stingy Ebenezer Scrooges ideological, ethical, and emotional transformation after the supernatural visits of Jacob Marley and the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Yet to Come. The book was written and published in early Victorian era Britain when it was experiencing a nostalgic interest in its forgotten Christmas traditions, and at the time when new customs such as the Christmas tree and greeting cards were being introduced. Dickens sources for the tale appear to be many and varied but are principally the humiliating experiences of his childhood, his sympathy for the poor, and various Christmas stories and fairy tales.