a book
Bleak House
Charles Dickens · 2011 · 960 pages
In the fog of London, lawyers enrich themselves with endless litigation over a dwindling inheritance. A sterling example of Dickens's genius for character, dramatic construction, and social satire, this novel was hailed by Edmund Wilson as a "masterpiece".
recommended by 5 people
sourced from public statements
Ian Rankin
“Dickens spins a yarn crammed with mysteries, unexplained deaths, blackmail plots, and courtroom drama. There’s also plenty of satire and a serious exploration of the ties that bind us all together. The main mystery concerns the parentage of Esther Summerson. A lawyer called Tulkinghorn may hold the answers, but there’s also a landlord with the all-too-apt name of Krook, a mysterious tenant called Nemo, and the enigmatic Lady Dedlock. Spinning a web to trap all of them is the extraordinary figure of Inspector Bucket. Bucket owes something to a real-life French detective of the period, Vidocq. Vidocq was a master of disguise and intuition, a man who seemed to appear from nowhere and know everyone’s innermost secrets and desires. He is, then, the template for many fictional detectives to come.”↗
Ken Follett
“I dithered over which Dickens to choose because I love so many (but not all). This is one of his best. The plot is deep, the entanglements complex, and the big scenes wonderfully melodramatic. But, as always, we remember the characters: haughty Lady Dedlock, foolish Richard Carstone, sponging Harold Skimpole, the sly lawyer Tulkinghorn, and Inspector Bucket of the Detective Branch.”↗
