{"product_id":"hard-times-paperback-by-charles-dickens-with-an-introduction-by-robert-donald-spector","title":"Hard Times Paperback by Charles Dickens   With an Introduction by Robert Donald Spector","description":"\u003cbody\u003e\n                            \n                                \n                                    \u003ch2\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eProduct Details\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/h2\u003e\n                                    \u003cul\u003e\n                                        \u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublisher\u003c\/strong\u003e: \u003cb\u003eBantam Classics\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cb\u003e(1981-03-01)\u003c\/b\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n                                        \u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eLanguage\u003c\/strong\u003e: \u003cstrong\u003eEnglish\u003c\/strong\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n                                        \u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePaperback\u003c\/strong\u003e: \u003cstrong\u003e320\u003c\/strong\u003e \u003cb\u003epages\u003c\/b\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n                                        \u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eISBN-13\u003c\/strong\u003e: \u003cstrong\u003e9780553210163\u003c\/strong\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n                                        \u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eItem Weight\u003c\/strong\u003e: \u003cstrong\u003e170.1\u003c\/strong\u003e \u003cb\u003egrams\u003c\/b\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n                                        \u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions\u003c\/strong\u003e: \u003cstrong\u003e6.77 x 4.17 x 0.69\u003c\/strong\u003e \u003cb\u003ecm\u003c\/b\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n                                    \u003c\/ul\u003e\n                                    \u003cbr\u003e\n                                    \u003cp\u003eWritten deliberately to increase the circulation of Dickens’s weekly magazine, \u003ci\u003eHousehold Words, Hard Times\u003c\/i\u003e was a huge and instantaneous success upon publication in 1854. Yet this novel is not the cheerful celebration of Victorian life one might have expected from the beloved author of \u003ci\u003eThe Pickwick Papers\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eThe Old Curiosity Shop\u003c\/i\u003e. Compressed, stark, allegorical, it is a bitter exposé of capitalist exploitation during the industrial revolution–and a fierce denunciation of the philosophy of materialism, which threatens the human imagination in all times and places. With a typically unforgettable cast of characters–including the heartless fact-worshipper \u003cbr\u003eMr. Gradgrind, the warmly endearing Sissy Jupe, and the eternally noble Stephen Blackpool–\u003ci\u003eHard Times\u003c\/i\u003e carries a uniquely powerful message and remains one of the most widely read of Dickens’s major novels.\u003c\/p\u003e\n                                    \u003ch3\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/h3\u003e\n                                    \u003cp\u003eCharles Dickens was born in a little house in Landport, Portsea, England, on February 7th, 1812. At the age of eleven, Dickens was taken out of school and sent to work in a London blacking warehouse, where his job was to paste labels on bottles for six shillings a week. When the family fortunes improved, Charles went back to school, after which he became an office boy, a freelance reporter, and finally an author. With\u003ci\u003e Pickwick Papers\u003c\/i\u003e (1836-7) he achieved immediate fame; in a few years he was easily the most popular and respected writer of his time. It has been estimated that one out of every ten persons in Victorian England was a Dickens reader. \u003ci\u003eOliver Twist\u003c\/i\u003e (1837), \u003ci\u003eNicholas Nickelby\u003c\/i\u003e (1838-9), and \u003ci\u003eThe Old Curiosity Shop\u003c\/i\u003e (1840-41) were huge successes. \u003ci\u003eMartin Chuzzlewit\u003c\/i\u003e (1843-4) was less so, but Dickens followed it with his unforgettable \u003ci\u003eA Christmas Carol\u003c\/i\u003e (1843). \u003ci\u003eBleak House\u003c\/i\u003e (1852-3), \u003ci\u003eHard Times\u003c\/i\u003e (1854), and \u003ci\u003eLittle Dorrit\u003c\/i\u003e (1855-7) reveal his deepening concern for the injustices of British society. \u003ci\u003eA Tale of Two Cities \u003c\/i\u003e(1859), \u003ci\u003eGreat Expectations \u003c\/i\u003e(1860-61) and \u003ci\u003eOur Mutual Friend\u003c\/i\u003e (1864-5) complete his major works.\u003c\/p\u003e\n                                \n                            \n                            \u003c\/body\u003e","brand":"Best Bookstore","offers":[{"title":"New","offer_id":45425149247649,"sku":"BBSNIJ9780553210163","price":7.95,"currency_code":"CAD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0525\/2084\/5473\/files\/9780553210163.jpg?v=1764112739","url":"https:\/\/www.bestbookstore.ca\/products\/hard-times-paperback-by-charles-dickens-with-an-introduction-by-robert-donald-spector","provider":"Best Book Store","version":"1.0","type":"link"}