num_pages: 9
description: Martin Jarvis, recognized as the best reader of Dickens' novels, evokes the idiosyncrasies of each character and transports the listener back to Victorian England. One of the most widely read of Dickens' major novels, Hard Times is a bitter expose of capitalist exploitation during the Industrial Revolution, and a fierce denunciation of materialism. Stark and allegorical, it is through hard lessons that characters awaken to a new philosophy and to hope. From fact-worshipping Mr. Gradgrind, to endearing Sissy Jupe, to eternally hopeful Stephen Blackpool, award-winning narrator Martin Jarvis masterfully portrays each of the unforgettable Dickensian characters.
language: English
title: Hard Times
titlecomplete: Hard Times
characters: Josiah Bounderby, Thomas Gradgrind, Mrs. Sparsit, Louisa Gradgrind, Mr. M'Choakumchild, James Harthouse, Stephen Blackpool, Sissy Jupe
genres: British Literature, Historical Fiction, Classic Literature, 19th Century, School, Classics, Novels, Fiction, Literature, Victorian
ratings_count: 66526
places: Coketown
publisher: AudioGO