Our Dickens Champions in Walsall Library gathered together recently to discuss Great Expectations. They highly recommend it and this is why:
A great read
Great Expectations has it all – a tale of love, friendship, betrayal set in Victorian Britain. Characters to give a child nightmares such as Magwitch. The stupid and pompous Pumblechook, the brilliant Mr Wemick and the vile Orlick.
Of course Miss Havisham is brilliantly sketched, but for many it is Estella who steals the show. Some had to close their eyes to visualise Estella the temptress and her beauty. Steve Upton (from Walsall National Health Care, NHS), and other men who have read the book have said the book makes you want to fall in love with her yourself even though she has been raised to gain revenge on men. They think all men would want to win her heart.
Dickens’ best book…
For reading groups that get together to discuss Dickens, this book is definitely the best book Dickens wrote. But then again David Copperfield is also brilliant, as is Little Dorrit, and Hard Times, Oliver Twist and … and… and …
The consensus is just read Dickens if you want entertainment and education! Steve Upton said that we should not be put off by the way it was taught at school. We must remember that the books are soap operas to be read regularly and together with other people. This is why this event was so successful.
Get involved
Share your own thoughts on Great Expectations by adding a comment to this blog. Or get in touch with us to tell us if your reading group is discovering Dickens.
Remember to watch out for our Dickens Champions’ blog posts as they read and review their way through Dickens during 2012.
