Great Expectations

Set in Victorian London, Great Expectations is the cautionary tale of a young man raised high above his station by a mysterious benefactor. Its remarkable characters and compelling story about wealth and poverty, crime and social anxiety, and the bitterness of unrequited love are as relevant today as when the novel was first serialized in 1860–1861.

Charles Dickens's tale begins with young, orphaned Philip Pirrip, “Pip,” running afoul of an escaped convict in a cemetery. This terrifying personage bullies Pip into stealing food and a file to remove his ankle shackle. The boy does as he's asked, but the convict is captured anyway and transported to the penal colonies in Australia.