Great Expectations

Of Charles Dickens' incomparable output, a handful of his novels are consistently among those which readers and critics alike debate as the greatest of all, and among these Great Expectations remains, for many readers, the most formative: it is the greatest coming-of-age story about a young man in English literature. Great Expectations was published in 1860-61 and its story of ambition versus fidelity, youthful mistakes and education, and admirable ambition overcoming social limitations has made it Dickens' most popular novel. As an appendix this edition includes the book's original ending.