Cover of Great Expectations

Great Expectations

by Charles Dickens

First published
1861
Reading level
Plain English
Price
Free

About the book

"Great Expectations" by Charles Dickens is a novel first published serially from 1860 to 1861. The story follows Pip, a young orphan living with his sister and her blacksmith husband on England's coastal marshes. After a terrifying encounter with an escaped convict and strange visits to the bitter Miss Havisham and her cold adopted daughter Estella, Pip's life transforms when he mysteriously receives a fortune from an unknown benefactor. This bildungsroman explores wealth and poverty, love and rejection, through vivid characters and dramatic scenes that have captivated readers for generations.

  • Orphans
  • England
  • Revenge
  • Bildungsromans
  • Young men
  • Man-woman relationships

Updated September 2026. Public domain in the USA. Text and summary from Project Gutenberg eBook #1400. Great Expectations on Wikipedia.

More free books by Charles Dickens

About Charles Dickens