Part 1：Introduction 5
The life of Dickens 5
The life and the novels 7
Dickens and his time 9
Dickens and his public 12
A note on the setting 13
A note on the text 14
Part 2：Summaries 15
A general summary 15
Detailed summaries 16
Part 3：Commentary 45
The plot 45
Themes 47
Style 54
Humour 56
Symbolism 58
Characterisation 59
The major characters 61
Part 4：Hints for study 70
Choosing what to study 70
Quotations 71
Planning your answers 72
Specimen questions and answers 73
Part 5：Suggestions for further reading 78
The author of these notes 80