Great ExpectationsGreat Expectations
Score Classic
What it's about
Pip, an orphan raised by his harsh sister and her kind husband, a blacksmith, helps an escaped convict on the marshes one Christmas Eve. Years later, he is sent to play at the house of Miss Havisham, a jilted bride who has stopped all the clocks, and falls for her cold ward Estella. Then a lawyer announces that Pip has a secret benefactor who will make him a gentleman.
Why it's worth reading
It's on the Bokklubben list of the 100 greatest books and was voted onto both PBS's Great American Read and the BBC's Big Read. It's Dickens's tightest, most moving novel.
You'll love it if you liked
David Copperfield
Bleak House
Of Human BondageGood to know
It's shorter than most of Dickens. Dickens rewrote the ending, and editions differ.
By the numbers
- Readers11 out of 100 · counts 42%
- Critics55 out of 100 · counts 14%
- Bestseller62 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
Why it made the list
Reads as
Moving
More by Charles Dickens
David Copperfield
A Christmas CarolBleak House
A Tale of Two CitiesIf you like this, read next
The Brothers Karamazov
The Thorn Birds
The Age of Innocence
The Great Gatsby
Middlemarch
LolitaExplore the best-of lists
All 36 best-of lists →
Quick answers
Is Great Expectations worth reading?
Yes. It's on the Bokklubben list of the 100 greatest books and was voted onto both PBS's Great American Read and the BBC's Big Read. It ranks #1,866 of the 2,816 books in our ranking, with a Must-Read Score of 65.1 (the best book we found scores 99).
What is Great Expectations about?
Pip, an orphan raised by his harsh sister and her kind husband, a blacksmith, helps an escaped convict on the marshes one Christmas Eve. Years later, he is sent to play at the house of Miss Havisham, a jilted bride who has stopped all the clocks, and falls for her cold ward Estella. Then a lawyer announces that Pip has a secret benefactor who will make him a gentleman.
How long does it take to read Great Expectations?
About 13 hours (512 pages), or about 4 weeks at 30 minutes a day.
What should I read after Great Expectations?
If you liked it, try David Copperfield by Charles Dickens, Bleak House by Charles Dickens or Of Human Bondage by W. Somerset Maugham.