Bleak HouseBleak House
Score Classic
What it's about
A lawsuit over an inheritance, Jarndyce and Jarndyce, has dragged on in London's Court of Chancery for generations, ruining everyone it touches. Around it, Dickens builds a huge story: Esther Summerson, a kind orphan who doesn't know who her mother is; the cold, proud Lady Dedlock and her secret; a sinister lawyer; a homeless boy named Jo; and one of the first detectives in English fiction.
Why it's worth reading
It was voted onto the BBC's Big Read, and many critics consider it Dickens's greatest novel. It's a mystery, a satire and a social protest at once.
You'll love it if you liked
David Copperfield
Middlemarch
The Woman in WhiteGood to know
It's very long, alternating between Esther's first-person chapters and a sharper third-person narrator. A character spontaneously combusts.
By the numbers
- Readers48 out of 100 · counts 42%
- Critics0 out of 100 · counts 14%
- Bestseller40 out of 100 · counts 34% (its stronger lane)
- Buzz0 out of 100 · counts 10%
Critics and Bestseller are two ways to earn a place: a book's stronger one counts more. Buzz rewards recent bestseller weeks and prizes, so older books start at zero. The parts combine into the Must-Read Score, shown on a scale where the best book we found scores 99 and the last book to make the ranking scores 50.
Where it ranks
- #220 of the 309 literary novels we rank
- #530 of the 762 classics we rank
- #1838 of the 2,816 books we rank
Why it made the list
Reads as
Moving
More by Charles Dickens
David Copperfield
A Christmas Carol
Great Expectations
A Tale of Two CitiesIf you like this, read next
The Color Purple
The Caine Mutiny
East of Eden
I, Claudius
A Room of One's Own
Angle of ReposeExplore the best-of lists
All 36 best-of lists →
Quick answers
Is Bleak House worth reading?
Yes. It was voted onto the BBC's Big Read, and many critics consider it Dickens's greatest novel. It ranks #1,838 of the 2,816 books in our ranking, with a Must-Read Score of 65.3 (the best book we found scores 99).
What is Bleak House about?
A lawsuit over an inheritance, Jarndyce and Jarndyce, has dragged on in London's Court of Chancery for generations, ruining everyone it touches. Around it, Dickens builds a huge story: Esther Summerson, a kind orphan who doesn't know who her mother is; the cold, proud Lady Dedlock and her secret; a sinister lawyer; a homeless boy named Jo; and one of the first detectives in English fiction.
How long does it take to read Bleak House?
About 8 hours (336 pages), or about 2 weeks at 30 minutes a day.
What should I read after Bleak House?
If you liked it, try David Copperfield by Charles Dickens, Middlemarch by George Eliot or The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins.