In 1858, in London, Dickens undertook his first public readings for pay, he continued with more novels such as A tale of Two Cities and began Great Expectations, in 1860. He had an incident in 1865 and was badly shaken up from a railway accident in which a number of people were injured.
In 1867 Dickens got really unwell but carried on against his doctors advice ant on an American reading tour.
During 1869 he continued readings and collapsed with a mild-stroke.
Dickens’ final public reading took place in London in 1870. He suffered another stroke on June 8th and died the next day, he was buried in poets corner at Westminster on June 14th and the last episode of the unfinished Mystery of Edwin Drood appeared in September.
During the time of Dickens there was a lot of poverty which he includes scenes of in some of his novels, it was kind of an effective way of campaigning for better conditions.
During the war with France in 1793 to 1809, corn ships were blockaded so the corn prices were high. This made the farmers prosperous, although for the poor it meant expensive bread. After the war prices fell, farmers faced more difficult times, so agricultural labourers were paid lower wages or lost there jobs.
After 1815 factories producing war goods such as munitions or uniforms were forced to find new markets and many went out business.
With this industrial revolution increasing meant that skilled craftsmen such as weavers, found machines were taking over their work and the workers weren’t needed because not as many people where needed to operate the machines, thousands of workers were laid off.
A Gentleman, Charles Dickens uses the idea of a gentleman in great expectations, a gentleman was a chivalrous well-bread man and was of a good social position, a man of noble birth or very polite. He writes about how pip wanted to become a gentle man and when he did so, how he turned into a snob.
There was also a great deal of crime and punishment in Dickens’ time, by 1960 when Great Expectations was written some of the forms of punishment were already abolished, prisoners were treated humanly by the standard of the time, people complained that reforms had gone to far and were enjoyable and had comfort and which you were well fed, so this led to poor people who couldn’t afford homes or food to commit crimes and went to prison so it could be enjoyed better than normal life at home.
In great expectations pip is shown the debtors door where culprits came to be hanged. Debtors were imprisoned or even sentenced to death, Dickens’s father was imprisoned for debt which links with how Charles Dickens writes about debt and how parts of his own life appear in his novels.
In Great Expectations Pip is an orphan who lives with his sister Mrs Joe, His brother in law Joe is a blacksmith in Kent. One-day pip meets a convict out on the marshes whilst visiting his parent’s gravestone, the convict robs Pip of what he has and asks him for some simple things like food and a file, Pip feels sorry for the convict and helps him out. The convict is soon recaptured, after a fight with another escaped convict, his enemy ‘Compeyson’. Shortly afterwards, Pip is asked by his uncle Pumblechook, a local shopkeeper, to visit Miss Havisham at Satis House. In Havisham’s house the time has stopped and has done so since she was stood up by her husband-to-be on her wedding day. Pip sees Estella, Miss Havisham’s adopted daughter and falls hopelessly in love with her. On one occasion, Pip has a fight with a young boy in the grounds of Satis House, the boy loses, but then becomes a great friend of Pip later on in the story. Joe had an assistant called Orlick who he had a fight with over Pip when Pip worked for Joe, then Orlick became a huge enemy of the family after disabling Mrs Joe (pips sister) by hitting her round the head with a hammer.
Pip receives a fortune from a mysterious benefactor. Jaggers informs Pip and lets him believe that the benefactor is Miss Havisham, Pip then goes on to live in London, leaving his old life behind him and finally has the chance to be a gentleman.
Jaggers, now Pips guardian, sets pip up with a flat mate, Herbert Pocket, who turns out to be the boy Pip fought at Satis House. Pip learns how to be a gentleman at a school along side Herbert Pockets father, Matthew Pocket.
Estella is now more beautiful than ever and is successfully pursued by Drummick, who was also along side Pip in the Gentleman school. While Pip becomes friends with Wemmick, Jaggers’ clerk he never gets to know Jaggers as well as Wemmick, and is puzzled by Jaggers’ housekeeper, Molly who is very fierce looking.
After spending loads on their home in London, Pip and Herbert become heavily in debt. Pip visits the forge, when Mrs Joe dies, although he has made visits to Satis House he still wont visit Joe.
Abel Magwitch returns to England after being transported to Australia. Magwitch is the convict Pip fed in the churchyard many years ago, and he's left all his money to Pip in gratitude for that kindness, and also because young Pip reminded him of his own child, whom he thinks is dead. The news of his benefactor crushes Pip--he's ashamed of him, and worse yet, Magwitch wants to spend the rest of his days with Pip. Pip takes this on like a dreadful duty, and it's all the worse because Magwitch is a wanted man in England, and will be hung if he's caught. This makes Pip seems that his dreams about Estella and Miss Havisham are just an illusion. Eventually, a plan is hatched by Herbert and Pip, where Pip and Magwitch will escape the country by rowing down the river and catching a steam boat travelling to Europe. This must be done really quietly, and further complicating matters is the fact that an old criminal enemy of Magwitch's, Compeyson, knows that Magwitch is in the country and wants him to be caught. Compeyson, it's discovered, is the same man that stood up and abandoned Miss Havisham so many years back. Miss Havisham, meanwhile, is softening a bit, and seems repentant for her life-long mission against love. Estella has been married to Bentley Drummle, a marriage that anyone can see will be an unhappy one. Just before Pip is to flee with Magwitch, he makes one last visit to Miss Havisham, and finds her filled with regret, wanting his forgiveness. Unfortunately, she gets a little too close to a fire and sets her dress alight and she catches ablaze. Pip saves her, but she's badly burnt and does eventually die from her injuries. Pip and Magwitch, along with Herbert and another friend, make an attempt to help Magwitch escape, but instead he's captured and grassed on, by his old enemy Compeyson. Compeyson dies in a struggle, and Magwitch, badly injured, goes to jail. Pip by now is devoted to Magwitch and recognizes him as a good and kind man. Magwitch dies, before he was going to be executed. Pip has discovered that Magwitch is actually Estella's father, and on Magwitch's deathbed Pip tells Magwitch his discovery, and also that he loves Estella. Without money or expectations, Pip, after a period of bad illness which Joe cares for him, goes into business overseas with Herbert. Joe has married Biddy, and after some years Pip goes to visit them out in the marshes. They are happy and have a child, whom they've named Pip. Finally, Pip makes one last visit to Miss Havisham's house, where he finds Estella wondering around the graveyard. Her marriage has ended and wants Pip to accept her as a friend. When the novel ends, it seems that there is hope for a relationship between Pip and Estella.
The graveyard at the start of the book is typical example of how the setting contributes so well to the story and the atmosphere, this is just one of the more obvious examples. Starting the book in a graveyard quickly informs the reader of a lot of information about Pips history that under different circumstances would have taken a lot longer to explain; things like Pips parents and family were quickly and briefly explained to the readers via the gravestones and Magwitches asking "Where's your mother?" and Pip's response being "There sir" as he points to his Mother and Fathers Graves, This is the first time Pip sees Magwitch in the book and starts off scared of him, Magwitch asks pip for some food and a file to get him out of the chains.
Magwitch asks him to meet him in the marshes with the stuff.
Pip steals a pork pie and more food and the file for Magwitch, He takes the whittles and file to him the next day, Pip is really guilty and nervous, the Marshes sound as if they are a grey and dismal place it looks damp and misty, the marshes are stretched over a long distance, with banks and overgrown grass where the convicts hideout. Just beyond the marshes are the Hulks, as Pip runs through the marshes he sees a figure asleep by the river. But when he touches the man's shoulder, he suddenly realizes that he's got the wrong man. A second man has the same haggard and creepy look as the one Pip met yesterday, and Pip immediately assumes that it's that its Magwitch. Pip hands over the food to Magwitch and he digs in to it like a dog, tearing away at the food and not savouring the taste, Pip soon forgets the fear of Magwitch and starts to feel pity and feels sorry for him. Pip mentions to Magwitch about the other convict and Magwitch starts to get irritated and starts to file away the chains
