Bleak House (Part 2)

Product Description [This is Part 2 of a 2-part Audiobook CD Library Edition in Vinyl case.][Read by Simon Vance (-aka- Robert Whitfield)] Charles Dickens, at the height of his creative powers in this great work, pursues two great themes: the murky institutional fog that darkens and cripples all of England, symbolized by the endless litigation of the Jarndyce vs. Jarndyce case in the High Court of Chancery (which is slowly devouring an inheritance in legal costs), and the familiar Dickensian concern with the capricious treatment and maltreatment of children as exemplified by the pitiful castoff Jo and the overindulged Harold Skimkpole. Dickens' rich tapestry of a novel weaves together the fortunes and desires of several characters whose fates are tied to the case: Ada and Richard, two young orphans who stand to inherit and wish to marry when they do; the worthy John Jarndyce, their voluntary guardian while the case is pending; and Esther Summerson, Jarndyce's protegee, whose romance is complicated by torn loyalties and whose heritage is shrouded in mystery and scandal. Bleak House takes the form of a compelling mystery, a romantic tangle of trails followed by three vivid sleuths: the opportunistic Guppy, the sinister Tulkinghorn, and the benevolent Bucket. Only through the skill of Dickens can artfully constructed mystery so intensify and illuminate stringent social commentary. This portrait of London society is often regarded as Dickens' best. Review ''Dickens could not have performed better than Robert Whitfield (-aka- Simon Vance) does here. With a motley cast of characters to challenge the skill of any narrator, his brilliant dramatizations range from a homeless street urchin to an arrogant barrister, from a canny old windbag to a high-minded heroine who deserves the happy ending Dickens affords her. Whitfield (Vance) is also persuasive as the indignant voice of the author himself, attacking both the injustice of the law and the cruel indifference of society. This may be one of the most Dickensian novels Dickens ever wrote. Highly recommended.'' --Library Journal (audiobook review) About the Author CHARLES DICKENS (1812-1870) was born in Landport, Portsmouth, England, the second of eight children in a family continually plagued by debt. A legacy brought release from the nightmare of debtors' prison and child labor and afforded him a few years of formal schooling. He worked as an attorney's clerk and newspaper reporter until his early writings brought him the amazing success that was to be his for the remainder of his life. He was the most popular English novelist of the Victorian era, and he remains popular, responsible for some of English literature's most iconic characters.