Our Mutual Friend

by Dickens, Charles (Author); Poole, Adrian (Editor/introduction); Poole, Adrian (Notes by)

• ISBN13: 9780140434972
• ISBN10: 0140434976
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1998-02-01
• Publisher: Penguin Classics

Summary

A satiric masterpiece about the allure and peril of money,Our Mutual Friendrevolves around the inheritance of a dust-heap where the rich throw their trash. When the body of John Harmon, the dust-heap's expected heir, is found in the Thames, fortunes change hands surprisingly, raising to new heights "Noddy" Boffin, a low-born but kindly clerk who becomes "the Golden Dustman." Charles Dickens's last complete novel,Our Mutual Friendencompasses the great themes of his earlier works: the pretensions of the nouveaux riches, the ingenuousness of the aspiring poor, and the unfailing power of wealth to corrupt all who crave it. With its flavorful cast of characters and numerous subplots,Our Mutual Friendis one of Dickens's most complexand satisfyingnovels.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements	vii	(2)
Introduction	ix	(16)
A Dickens Chronology	xxv	(3)
Further Reading	xxviii	(5)
A Note on the Text	xxxiii
OUR MUTUAL FRIEND	1	(800)
Contents	3	(3)
List of Illustrations	6	(5)
VOLUME I	11	(404)
Book the First: The Cup and the Lip	11	(202)
Book the Second: Birds of a Feather	213	(202)
VOLUME II	415	(386)
Book the Third: A Long Lane	415	(200)
Book the Fourth: A Turning	615	(186)
Explanatory Notes	801	(40)
Appendix 1: The Illustrations	841	(4)
Appendix 2: The Number Plans	845