As a young orphan, Pip encounters an escaped criminal while living with his cruel sister. He is then sent to spend time with the eccentric Miss Havisham and her cold, beautiful ward, Estella, who enchants Pip. As a young man, Pip is given money by a mysterious benefactor, who turns out to be both the convict and Estella's father. With the hopes of winning Estella's love and becoming a gentleman in London, Pip is tasked with many "great expectations."
Charles Dickens, esteemed Victorian novelist, wrote such classics as A Christmas Carol and A Tale of Two Cities.
As a young orphan, Pip encounters an escaped criminal while living with his cruel sister. He is then sent to spend time with the eccentric Miss Havisham and her cold, beautiful ward, Estella, who enchants Pip. As a young man, Pip is given money by a mysterious benefactor, who turns out to be both the convict and Estella's father. With the hopes of winning Estella's love and becoming a gentleman in London, Pip is tasked with many "great expectations."
Charles Dickens, esteemed Victorian novelist, wrote such classics as A Christmas Carol and A Tale of Two Cities.
Charles Dickens, esteemed Victorian novelist, wrote such classics as A Christmas Carol and A Tale of Two Cities.
"No story in the first person was ever better told."
Gr 8 Up-Great Expectations is the better told of these two classics, but breaking down a 500-page work of literary fiction into 48 pages of graphic text is a much simpler task than retelling the nearly 1000 pages of David Copperfield in the same amount of space, and Morley relies heavily on captions, rather than dialogue, to summarize Copperfield's complicated life story. She does, however, do an able job of summarizing the major plot points, and this could make a big difference for struggling readers. In both books, Gelev's artwork fits the time period, with detailed costumes, houses, and other background scenery. The neutral tones suit Dickens's dank world, and Miss Havisham's ramshackle home and crumbling wedding feast are drawn as readers might picture them. It is doubtful, though, that they would return to these books as particular favorites. They are more useful as classroom resources for readers struggling with Dickens's prose than for a general graphic-novel readership.-Sarah Knutson, American Canyon Middle School, CA (c) Copyright 2012. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
"No story in the first person was ever better told."
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