Hard Times by Charles Dickens (Book Analysis)

This practical and insightful reading guide offers a complete summary and analysis of Hard Times by Charles Dickens. It provides a thorough exploration of the novel’s plot, characters and main themes, including social class, morality and the conflict between reason and sentimentality. The clear and concise style makes for easy understanding, providing the perfect opportunity to improve your literary knowledge in no time.

This clear and detailed 48-page reading guide is structured as follows:

• Biography of Charles Dickens
• Presentation of Hard Times
• Summary of Hard Times
• Character study
  • Mr. Thomas Gradgrind
  • Mr. Josiah Bounderby
  • Louisa Gradgrind
  • Tom Gradgrind
  • Stephen Blackpool
• Analysis of Hard Times
  • Fact vs. fancy
  • Morality
  • Class and social criticism

About Hard Times

Hard Times tells the story of Thomas Gradgrind, his two eldest children, Louisa and Tom, and a number of other individuals living in the fictional Victorian industrial town of Coketown whose lives become intertwined with those of the Gradgrind family. After Louisa’s father persuades her to marry his business associate Mr. Bounderby, despite the 30-year age difference and lack of feeling between them, it leads to a confluence of events including robbery, false accusations of infidelity and even untimely deaths, ultimately raising the question of whether facts or emotions are more important.

Hard Times is the shortest of Dickens’ novels, and has attracted both praise and derision for its harsh criticism of the living conditions and prejudice faced by working-class individuals during the Industrial Revolution.

About Charles Dickens

Charles Dickens was one of the best-known and most acclaimed novelists of Victorian England. He was also a prominent social critic, and frequently used his writing to denounce the injustices faced by the poor and vulnerable in 19^th-century Britain, as well as campaigning tirelessly for social reform. He was a prolific writer, and published many novels, novellas, short stories and non-fiction articles. Dickens’ most famous works include Oliver Twist, Hard Times, A Tale of Two Cities and A Christmas Carol, and many of his books are still widely read and studied today.