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    Bleak House
    Bleak House
    Bleak House
    Audiobook (abridged)2 hours

    Bleak House

    Written by Charles Dickens

    Narrated by Sir John Gielgud

    4.5/5

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    About this audiobook

    William Collins Books and Decca Records are proud to present ARGO Classics, a historic catalogue of classic fiction read by some of the world’s most renowned voices. Originally released as vinyl records, these expertly abridged and remastered stories are now available to download for the first time.

    Step back into the streets of Victorian London, as the case of Jarndyce and Jarndyce brings together a strange group of people, including Ada Clare and Richard Carstone who are at the heart of the legal battle, orphan Jo, and Inspector Bucket.

    Oscar winning actor Sir John Gielgud transports you to the criminal slums of the poor and the drawing rooms of the rich in Dickens’ riveting portrayal of a corrupt society.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperCollins Publishers
    Release dateOct 15, 2020
    ISBN9780008447526
    Author

    Charles Dickens

    Charles Dickens (1812-1870) was one of England's greatest writers. Best known for his classic serialized novels, such as Oliver Twist, A Tale of Two Cities, and Great Expectations, Dickens wrote about the London he lived in, the conditions of the poor, and the growing tensions between the classes. He achieved critical and popular international success in his lifetime and was honored with burial in Westminster Abbey.

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    Reviews for Bleak House

    4.5/5

    129 ratings119 reviews

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    • 5/5
      I read this book in 1977 in a Victorian literature class, and enjoyed it, but I don't think I fully understood it until I worked in a county law library a few years later. I actually met people who had been driven insane by their relationship with the law courts. Of course there is much more to this book, as with all of Dickens. Melodrama, romance, mystery -- he has it all, and comedy too. Although I have yet to read all of Dickens, this is my favorite so far.
    • 4/5
      Charles Dickens merges the cold and impersonal world of legal proceedings with the passionate and tumultuous emotions of human affairs in this, one of his many acclaimed works, Bleak House.
    • 5/5
      This book is the closest Dickens ever got to writing a Jane Austen novel. Read the story of Ada's and Esther's and Caddy's romantic escapades, and tell me that is not Austen-esque. But Dickens, thank goodness for him, shows us life outside the domestic circle also. It's fascinating to watch as he takes a lot of what appear to be unconnected events and characters in the beginning, and ties them all together seamlessly. Dickens is a great believer in the saying, "There is no such thing as coincidence." The characters in this book are wonderful. Well, perhaps I should've said, 'there are wonderful characters in this book'. Characters who seemed wholly unsympathetic will move you to tears by the end, if you are the sort who can be moved to tears by an old Victorian novel (and not just because you've already read 600 pages and there are 160 more to go - actually, by the time I'd gotten to page 600 in Bleak House, I had begun to be a little sorry that it WOULD end - that's how good it was). Bucket is a fascinating detective. I believe Agatha Christie must have modeled Poirot on him. The only characters who I felt lacked verisimilitude were Guster and Jo. Perhaps Dickens didn't spend enough time with the poor - or maybe it's just that their slang isn't our slang. But I felt they were overly pitiable and affected. I understand he was trying to prove a social point. It was still heavy handed. There are a few others who could have obligingly dropped dead/exited stage left at any point and I wouldn't have minded at all. Jo and Guster would be exempt from that sentiment. They were very central to the action. But Volumnia? Who would miss her? Still, she had her part. It is a sad fact of Sir Leicester's life that, without Lady Dedlock, this is what is left to him - these are the people who are supposed to be his social peers and friends. But that ought not to detract from the overall excellence of the book. Guppy is hilarious, Mr. Jarndyce quite lovable, Skimpole hateful. I thought it was interesting what a different take the BBC had on some of these characters. Mr. Jarndyce, for one, is a much more tragic figure in the miniseries. Richard is much less likeable on the screen as well - possibly because in this, the original book, it does seem as though he really tries to give Mr. Jarndyce's ideas a fair trial, and to find a profession, and give it his all. But it just isn't in him, and there is always Skimpole around to spoil everything, little by little, unnoticed by everyone except us, the readers of the book.The ending was also a point in its favor. I won't say much about that, since reviews are ostensibly for people who have not read the book in question. But you should certainly read this book. Don't be put off by the name. It's my favorite Dickens book by far - and I didn't expect to like any Dickens novel better than Great Expectations. More full of mystery than GE, more emotionally affecting than A Christmas Carol, the obligatory crazy French person so you won't miss A Tale of Two Cities - obviously a must for the Dickens fan. And, as I said, full of romance - a little Austenesque.
    • 5/5
      It's a heavy volume of 1034 pages (that includes the intro and many appendices). What is the Bleak House? It is an old mansion, home of John Jarndyce and his three wards: Ester, Ada and Richard. It is also the squalid conditions of Tom's-All-Alone. It is the bleak out come of Jarndyce vs. Jarndyce. It is the Victorian shame of an illegimate child. There are many bleak houses in this book. Bleak House carries a warning against the excesses of nuisance suits and the danger of a laissez-faire government which it wraps up in a delightful albeit complex and dense comedic romance of a young woman supposedly orphaned and sent to live with her guardian who is stuck in a generations long lawsuit over an estate. Interestingly, I recently read an American story that obviously borrowed heavily from Bleak House. To anyone who enjoys Bleak House, I recommend The Big Mogul by Joseph C. Lincoln.
    • 4/5
      The dicken's Bleak house though seemed voluminous in the mid way through, didn't appeared so towards it's end. The wide array of characters, their coincidence and links makes it more interesting. The story is told alternately by Esther Summerson, the leading protagonist, and an omniscient narrator.The confrontation between Lady dedlock and Mr.Tulkinghorn is so vividly depicted by the author and it's becoming a real deadlock situation to the Lady dedlock (as her name suggests) quite amuses the reader.The same is true of the characters who cling to the protracted law suit of Jarndyce and Jarndyce forlornly. The story grips you with mystery deaths,amusing parallel stories and gets your imagination going.
    • 3/5
      I won't write a formal review for this book, because IMO it was just way tooooooo longggg and I don't want to spend anymore of my time on it then necessary. I will say that the story was over populated with characters and need some serious editing. But since Dickens probably had it published as a serial, the longer it was the more money he got. I guess I'm still having problems with CLASSICS.
    • 5/5
      I have to admit that I read this after I saw the series starring Gillian Anderson. This helped me follow the plotline a little better. It is true that there is an amazingly large cast of characters and many twists and turns throughout this complex story. But the heavy detail made everyone so real and alive. I wanted to live at Bleak House! As usual, the book is much better than the T.V. series as good as that was.
    • 4/5
      Not the strongest of his plots, but still a very good book. A good condemnation of the civil justice system. I absolutely saw the ending coming though. The spontaneous combustion was a little weird -- what it had to with anything, I'm not sure. What it boils down to, though, is that I really liked Esther and her scenes carried the book. Richard should have been slapped around and Ada needed a mega dose of reality, but many of the other characters were pure Dickensian classics, whether you loved them, hated them or cried with them.
    • 5/5
      Critics say this is Dickens' best and most complicated work. I would agree! There are so many sub plots and so many characters that one needs to be on their toes while reading this book. Was it worth it? YES! This Dickens novel tells of the injustices of the 19th century legal system in England. It has the makings of a great soap opera: drug use, affairs, illegitimate children, stalking, murder, and spontaneous combustion! [Bleak House] is told both by an unidentified, third-person narrator and a first-person narrator. The third person narrator tells the story in the present and Esther Summerson tells the story in the past, which may be confusing. [Bleak House] is a not an easy read, but well worth the effort.
    • 5/5
      Dickens is terrible with most of his female characters, but the passion of his social commentary and the glorious physical descriptions (the fog to begin the book is marvelous) are not found in many other writers. Bleak House is often frustratingly bad (Skimpole is horrible, and takes up pages and pages) but when it's good, it's great.
    • 5/5
      Superb. Riveting. Definitely one of the master's most underrated masterieces.
    • 3/5
      This book could have used a good editor. Not sure what all the characters "job" was. Part of me wonders if I am just looking at it with my modern eyes and I want resolution much faster but at the same time there were parts where I was just really lost. I did feel for the characters though.
    • 4/5
      Bleak House takes place in 19th century England at a time when the chancery court system was full of controversy. The courts were criticized and mocked for the delays within the litigations and the story is based on one such litigation.Esther Summerson was raised by her aunt, unbeknownst to her, and is treated as a worthless burden. Upon her aunts death she is given to John Jarndyce and eventually moves in to Bleak house with him and his wards, Richard and Ada. The two are beneficiaries in an ongoing litigation that is caught up in the chancery court system because of conflicting wills. Lady Dedlock is also a beneficiary in one of the wills and is married to Sir Leicester Dedlock. She is the mother of Esther although the two are unaware of their connection since Lady Dedlock was told that her child died upon birth. Sir Leicester is unaware of his wife’s past love affair which was with a sailor by the name of Captain Hawdon or “Nemo”. Nemo dies as a pauper and Lady Dedlock hears of his death and travels to see his grave paying Jo, a homeless boy to show her to his gravesite. Richard and Ada fall in love and are secretly married but Richard’s health declines because of his obsession over the court case. Dr. Woodcourt who knows Richard from an internship, is taking care of Richard. Dr. Woodcourt secretly loves Esther and the feelings are mutual but Esther is promised to John Jarndyce her guardian and does not pursue a relationship. Lady Dedlock and Esther come to realize their connection but keep it secret. As the story progresses Hortense, Lady Declock’s maid and Tulkinghorn, Sir Leicester’s lawyer,discover Lady Declock’s past. They confront her and she flees, leaving her husband a note apologizing for her misdeeds. However, Hortense after being dismissed by Tulkinghorn feels betrayed and murders him and sets it up to appear that Lady Dedlock has done the deed. Sir Leicester upon hearing the news of his wife’s departure and death of his lawyer has a stroke yet survives. He enlists inspector Bucket to search for his wife and bring her back to him because he forgives her for any wrong doing. Inspector Bucket and Esther set on a search for Lady Dedlock only to find that she has gone to the grave of Nemo her ex-lover and died. Esther is devastated but Dr. Woodcourt comes to her aid. The chancery case takes a turn when a new will comes to the surface that postdates any of the other wills and leaves the bulk of the inheritance to Richard and Ada. However, because of the costs involved they are left with nothing which is too much for Richard to bare and he succumbs to his illness and dies, leaving Ada a widow and pregnant. John Jarndyc e realizes the mutual attraction of Dr. Woodcourt and Esther and renounces his ties to her and gives his blessing that they should be married providing them with a small estate. Ada with her child eventually returns to Bleak house to live once again with John Jarndyce.The story is filled with many minor plots and characters and takes some adjusting to follow each subplot through. In the end it was worth the read and quite enjoyable.
    • 5/5
      1999, Blackstone Audiobooks, Read by Robert Whitfield Bleak House is a long, sweeping novel (I don’t think Dickens writes another kind), which took me considerable time to get through but was entirely worth the effort. I needed to remember that Dickens, for me, is always a long, slow, quiet read; that established, I settled in comfortably for the long haul. I part-read and part-listened to Bleak House; shout out goes to Robert Whitfield who does an exemplary job of this Blackstone audiobook – he reads Dickens’ host of characters flawlessly, from homeless, illiterate urchin to arrogant lawyer.The first chapters introduce a profusion of characters, and keeping them straight sent me to CliffsNotes on more than one occasion. However, true to form, Dickens introduces not a single one of them needlessly; all play a role in spinning the tale that is Bleak House. The characters are as varied as they are numerous; and the intricate web that eventually ties them all one to the other is impressive.The main plot of the novel is a scathing social criticism of the ineffectiveness and ineptitude of England’s Chancery Court. Dickens declares the legal system to have failed utterly and completely in bringing justice; exhaustive court costs and legal fees have ruined the lives of many. Fast forward to present day, and I needed to ask myself what, if anything, has changed. Tom Jarndyce explains: “’The lawyers have twisted it into such a state of bedevilment that the original merits of the case have long disappeared from the face of the earth. It’s about a will and the trusts under a will – or it was once. It’s about nothing but costs now. We are always appearing, and disappearing, and swearing, and interrogating, and filing, and cross-filing, and arguing, and sealing, and motioning, and referring, and reporting, and revolving about the Lord Chancelor and all his satellites, and equitably waltzing ourselves off to dusty death, about costs.’” (ch 8)Of course, Bleak House is about much more than the failed Chancery. Dickens masterfully uses his cast to inform of, among other things, the inequities of social class: poverty, illiteracy, unemployment, domestic abuse – to name but a few. Indeed, I think he could not have nailed the inadequacies of our modern society any better supposing he’d had a crystal ball. Timeless, a true classic – highly recommended.
    • 4/5
      Bleak House is Dickens’ satire on the British legal system via the case of Jarndyce and Jarndyce, which is generations old and mired in beuracracy. This is a very long read (850+ pages) with a large number of major and minor characters; the back cover was filled with my notes to try to keep it all straight. Many think it’s one of his best works, for some reason for me it didn’t resonate quite as much.Quotes:On charity:“…he had remarked that there were two classes of charitable people; one, the people who did a little and made a great deal of noise; the other, the people who did a great deal and made no noise at all.”On lawyers:“Here, in a large house, formerly a house of state, lives Mr. Tulkinghorn. It is let off in sets of chambers now; and in those shrunken fragments of its greatness, lawyers lie like maggots in nuts.”“’It won’t do to have truth and justice on his side; he must have law and lawyers,’ exclaims the old girl, apparently persuaded that the latter form a separate establishment, and have dissolved partnership with truth and justice for ever and a day.”On marriage:“My experience teaches me, Lady Dedlock, that most of the people I know would do far better to leave marriage alone. It is at the bottom of three-fourths of their troubles.”On mothers:“The time will come, my boy,” pursues the trooper, “when this hair of your mother’s will be grey, and this forehead all crossed and re-crossed with wrinkles – and a fine old lady she’ll be then. Take care, while you are young, that you can think in those days, ‘I never whitened a hair of her dear head, I never marked a sorrowful line in her face!’”And:“…and wondering toward evening what his poor old mother is thinking about it, - a subject of infinite speculation, and rendered so by his mother having departed this life, twenty years. Some men rarely revert to their father, but seem, in the bank-books of their remembrance, to have transferred all their stock of filial affection into their mother’s name.”On the poor:“It is said that the children of the very poor are not brought up, but dragged up.”On railroads, the “internet” of the 19th century:“Railroads shall soon traverse all this country, and with a rattle and a glare the engine and train shall shoot like a meteor over the wide night-landscape, turning the moon paler; but, as yet, such things are nonexistent in these parts, though not wholly unexpected.”On staying up late:“It was late before we separated: for when Ada was going at eleven o’clock, Mr. Skimpole went to the piano, and rattled, hilariously, that the best of all ways, to lengthen our days, was to steal a few hours from Night, my dear!”On the transience of life:“’Rooms get an awful look about them when they are fitted up, like these, for one person you are used to see in them, and that person is away under any shadow: let alone being God knows where.’He is not far out. As all parts foreshadow the great final one, - so, empty rooms, bereft of a familiar presence, mournfully whisper what your room and what mine must one day be.”On virtue:“…Mrs. Bagnet serves out the meal in the same way, and seasons it with the best of temper: being that rare sort of old girl that she receives Good to her arms without a hint that it might be Better; and catches light from any little spot of darkness near her.”Lastly, this description of the Smallweed family, in a chapter I loved:“During the whole time consumed in the slow growth of this family tree, the house of Smallweed, always early to go out and late to marry, has strengthened itself in its practical character, has discarded all amusements, discountenanced all story-books, fairy tales, fictions, and fables, and banished all levities whatsoever. Hence the gratifying fact, that it has had no child born to it, and that the complete little men and women whom it has produced, have been observed to bear a likeness to old monkeys with something depressing on their minds.”
    • 5/5
      The best novel ever written, so far
    • 4/5
      Wonderful story. WAY TOO MANY CHARACTERS. I had to keep a list simply in order to keep track of who was who! Many of the characters names were similar, which made it that much harder.
    • 5/5
      I listened to this very long audiobook. I believe there were 34 parts, most of which were over an hour long. That's a lot of listening but I never found it tedious. In fact I could hardly wait until I had the next opportunity to listen to it. Simon Vance, the narrator, did a terrific job of all the different characters.Dickens was no fan of the legal system and that shows clearly in this book which revolves around a case in Chancery court, Jarndyce v. Jarndyce. I never did figure out what the dispute was but I am not alone in this. None of the many solicitors involved understood the case but that didn't stop them from representing some interest. John Jarndyce, one of the primary litigants, never went to court and he had no belief that it would ever be settled. John became guardian to a young woman, Esther Summerson, who had previously been raised by her aunt. When the aunt died Jarndyce took over care of Esther, sending her to school and then bringing her to Bleak House to help him raise two orphaned relatives, Ada and Richard. Ada and Richard are also parties in the litigation but Jarndyce never allows this fact to impair his treatment of them. As Ada and Richard grow up they fall in love. Richard cannot settle to any occupation having tried medicine, the law and the military in turn. Then he devotes himself to the lawsuit and turns agains John Jarndyce. These are only the main characters in the book. There are a host of other characters who interact with Ada and Richard and Esther and Mr. Jarndyce. Some of them are comical, like the perennially broke Mr. Skimpole; some of them are tragic like Lady Deadlock who bore an illegititmate child that she thought had died at birth. One of my favourite minor characters was Mr. George, formerly a military man, who runs a shooting gallery in London. George is in debt to a money-lender and, although he works hard and lives meagrely, he seems to have no way of paying off his debt. When he was charged with murdering the lawyer who represented the money-lender I was sure he couldn't be responsible.As always Dickens' portraits of the poor are heart-wrenching. There are a lot of deaths in this book, more than I remember in other Dickens' novels. So it certainly is not a light-hearted book. However, I very much enjoyed listening to it.
    • 2/5
      Before reading any works by Charles Dickens, I really wanted to like everything he’d penned. I expected to, in fact, because of his reputation. Alas! “Bleak House” is yet another of this highly-acclaimed and super-successful author’s novels that failed to engage me.Too many characters, too many adverbs, and too much rambling on with no purpose equals a slow and unengaging narrative.I see most others reviewers have high praise for both book and author, but sadly I can’t concur.
    • 3/5
      This isn't the most well-know Dicken's book, but it's one of my favorite. A very interesting and mysterious story, and unique characters.
    • 5/5
      My favorite Dickens.It was given to me as a gift when I was involved in an epic and long-lived legal battle, which undoubtedly biased my opinion. Nonetheless, it is a very entertaining read.
    • 5/5
      Another classic Dickens - great characterization and brings to light a great inequity.
    • 5/5
      This is one of absolute favorite books of all time, although I oscillate between this and Dombey & Son as to which is the best Dickens novel. Like all of Dickens' novels, there are deep and varied characters as well as a complex plot. As always with Dickens, plot is a device to further reveal the depths of his characters. Some may complain about the length of this book, but it would have been possible to accompany the many characters on their journeys in fewer pages. I'm by no means an expert on narrative devices or literary theory, but I appreciate the balance provided by Esther's sweet yet wise voice in contrast with the third person narrative that employs satirical humor to deeply probe the true nature of his characters. Esther shows the reader the best side of humanity, while the third person narrative voice displays the vices, follies, and sins of humanity with a bitter humor.
    • 5/5
      I agree with Geoffrey Tillotson that "Bleak House is, all told, the finest literary work the nineteenth century produced in England".
    • 5/5
      2012 being the 200th anniversary of the birth of Charles Dickens, last December I decided to make reading Dickens, in its many forms, my 2012 reading goal. I started my journey with his mammoth Bleak House based on the recommendation of my LT friend (and Dickens lover) LizzieD. The only other Dickens I read was in high school when I was assigned Great Expectations and that was eons ago. Although the first bit of the book was slow going as the author set up the story, it takes off after that and I could hardly put it down until some 900 pages later, when I finished the final chapter. It was quite a ride.With a cast of thousands, this book is a celebration of Dickens immense characterization skills. Just the coining of the names is a feat to behold: Harold Skimpole, Grandfather Smallweed, Mr. Vholes, Mr. Turveydrop and Mrs. Pardiggle to name a few. Immediately you begin to imagine a picture in your mind that Dickens then quickly fleshes out.. The names are just the jumping off point for the characterizations themselves. Harold Skimpole, for instance, cons others into settling his debts and, basically, supporting him in one way or another:”For he must confess to two of the oldest infirmities in the world: one was that he had no idea of time, the other that he had no idea of money. In consequence of which he never kept an appointment, never could transact any business, and never knew the value of anything.”He frequently had to remind others that he was merely “a child,” and therefore couldn’t be expected to work or make money in any way. His freeloading somehow never resonates with his friends, who are continually taken advantage of. At the end of the story he finally gets his comeuppance to the cheers of every reader, I’m sure.And that’s just the portrayal of one character in a book that is loaded with complex, interesting, and not always likable, characters and one of the things I liked best about the novel.The main theme of the book is the law, in the form of the British Court of Chancery, the slow moving behemoth that ties up people’s lives and fortunes and Dickens skewers the Court from every angle. The case of Jarndyce v. Jarndyce impacts and has far-reaching effects on almost all of the main characters and has languished for years, chewing up currency at a wild rate. The plight of the poor is illustrated and the failure of the English society to intervene, which is pretty standard Dickens narrative, is depicted painstakingly:”Jo lives---that is to say, Jo has not yet died---in a ruinous place known to the like of him by the name Tom-all-Alone’s. It is a black, dilapidated street, avoided by all decent people, where the crazy houses were seized upon, when their decay was far adevanced by some bold vagrants who after establishing their own possession took to letting them out in lodgings. Now, these tumbling tenements contain, by night, a swarm of misery. As on the ruined human wretch vermin parasites appear, so these ruined shelters have bred a crowd of foul existence that crawls in and out of gaps in walls and boards; and coils itself to sleep, in maggot numbers, where the rain drips in; and comes and goes, fetching and carrying fever and sowing more evil in its every footprint.”Plot? You mean plots, don’t you? Plots, sub-plots galore, all told through the most engaging dialogue and an interesting narrative fashion. The story is told partly through a first person narrator, Esther Summerson, the book’s heroine looking back at her life and partly through a third person omniscient narrator.Don’t wait as long as I did to read Dickens. And Bleak House is a great place to start.
    • 5/5
      I've been a fan of Dickens since eight-year-old me discovered that "Marley was... as dead as a doornail;" in fact, I fully blame Dickens for several of my Victorian era lit classics binges throughout the years. A love, burgeoning or fully grown, for Dickensian wit and social satire is oft the struck chord that creates a distinct urge to reach out for more (and more). The heady simpatico taste of a Dickens' tome certainly has a lot to do with a logomania camaraderie. Oh, the words. The words! However, Word Lovers United™* aside, what I truly love about the Dickens' works I've experienced so far is that I'm constantly getting something new out of them. Like the Hans Brinker from folklore, I tend to get the sense that I'm standing at the side of a dam with my finger on the flow and I'll end up with whatever I'll allow through. Or, for a modern take, I'll go with Shrek's take on onions: they have layers!

      That's the merit factor for me; the depth of the story, of Dickens' empathy and opinions, of the references that flesh out the world of both author and characters. All of which culminate in a work that makes you truly feel the weight of it as an experience had - as if each word simply bulges with it. It's this that keeps such a work relevant in my opinion.

      So, in this reading of Bleak House since I hope there will be several more to come, I found myself most captivated by Jo's plight of moving on and the rippling riptide of Chancery. Jo was my emotional Twist twist. "Please sir..." where should I move, sir. Dickens knowing how to haunt both the soles and souls of even the modern human:

      "'My instructions are that you are to move on. I've told you so five hundred times!'
      'But where?' cries the boy.
      'My instructions don't go to that...move on!'
      Do you hear, Jo?... The one grand recipe remains for you- the profound philosophical prescription- the be all & end all of your strange existence upon earth. Move on! You are by no means to move off, Jo, for the great lights can't at all agree about that. Move on!"

      He's also quite the master of encapsulation and metaphor. From character to character we have these revolving spheres of motion, action, inaction, emotion that give us insight to the whole. It's this interconnected style that I find absolutely fascinating (and that keeps my list of characters pretty well thumbed through).

      Not wanting to emulate Dickens in a review of, well, Dickens, I'll keep it short and sweet. This is an easy new favorite. The wit and wisdom being balanced with a plot that I found pretty interesting as we encounter characters arcs diverging and a bit of a caper-esque (timing, timing, timing) climax that, though not the crux of the work, certainly adds intrigue. While not all characters made a significant impression on me this time around - that's kind of the beauty of want I've rambled about so much here. On another read through I'm sure I'll find even more to sink into.


      *A fascinating group, really. We never get anywhere though; everyone talks too much.
    • 5/5
      I knocked off a half star because of that absurdity concerning spontaneous combustion.
    • 5/5
      I love Dickens and this one has so many characters that its length is a bonus for the reader.
    • 3/5
      I have read a lot of Dickens, and this was by far the most difficult for me. So many characters and storylines t keep track of throughout. However, after five months of sugging my through it I conclude that it was worth the effort. Excellent overview of the British legal system and its flaws during the time period of the novel. Many intriguing characters were developed by Dickens in this one, with all their faults and virtues, reminding me of many people that have been in my life over a century after Bleak House was written. Unlike other DIckens novels, I'm not sure I'll make the effort to read this again but it is worth reading at least once.
    • 5/5
      Bleak House is a book that has it all: murder, adultery, romance, blackmail, and a touch of the gothic. I have to admit to a bit of a tear at the end, to which my husband says "what? Crying over a book?" My response: you've got no soul. I think it would be difficult not to be moved by this book even a little. My edition also had reproductions of the original artist illustrations. I very highly recommend this one!I can't even begin to summarize because of the complexities of the plot and many subplots, but there are a number of very good analyses available on the internet should you be so inclined. The barebones outline is this: the books starts and ends with the case of Jarndyce & Jarndyce, a lawsuit which has been going on for so long that most of the principals involved have long since passed on. It has become somewhat of a joke in the court of Chancery, an institution that Dickens strongly criticizes by painting a vivid picture of the court's ineptitude, of lawyers whose sole job is to create business for themselves, and of those who find their interests tied up completely in the hands of lawyers & of the courts. Because of this lawsuit, two cousins are taken under the care of one John Jarndyce, who also brings along Esther Summerson as his ward. The story focuses on the fortunes and misfortunes of this group of people, along with several supporting characters and their stories. To go beyond this would be to give the show away, but I can say that this book's strong suit is (as is usual in a Dickens novel) the characterizations. The imagery in this novel is also a part of the story as is the commentary on existing social conditions and his critique of such things as the chancery courts, lawyers, old institutions that should have long passed out of existence, the missionary & do-gooder zeal, and the various types of dandies, fops and leeches that lived off of others.I very highly recommend this book to anyone who may be interested; it is long and it can get complicated, but it is a sterling example of the work of Charles Dickens, and should not be missed.