Charles Dickens

"At the court of Chancery, the Jarndyce and Jarndyce case grinds on for years with no end in sight. Entangled in the lawsuit are a growing number of innocent victims: Ada Clare and Richard Carstone, whose inheritance is gradually being devoured by legal costs; Esther Summerson, a child with mysterious parentage; and even Jo, the destitute little crossing-sweeper. As the case staggers onward, yet more people become embroiled in the furious legal battle,...

Born into a miserable workhouse orphanage, Oliver eventually flees to London, where the cheerful Artful Dodger immediately befriends him and introduces him to the villainous Fagin and his gang of thieves. Temporarily rescued from the prospect of a life of crime by the kindly Mr. Brownlow, Oliver finds himself pursued by savage thief Bill Sikes and the enigmatic Monks.

Local MP and schoolmaster Thomas Gradgrind raises his children, Louisa and Tom, in the utilitarian fashion, stressing reason and fact and dismissing imagination and emotion. Under his influence, Louisa grows cold while Tom turns to a secret life of drinking and gambling. To be nearer her brother, Louisa accepts an offer of marriage from his boss, the self-mad, self-important banker Josiah Bounderby, though she does not love him. But soon finds herself...