Synopses & Reviews
Synopsis
A BBC Radio full cast dramatization of Dickens' perceptive and touching tale of poverty and industry in Victorian society. In the polluted and poverty-ridden Coketown, Louisa and Tom Gradgrind endure a cold and loveless childhood at the hands of their self-satisfied and unimaginative father Thomas. Louisa, starved for affection, is forced into a miserable marriage with self-made industrialist Josiah Bounderby. Tom descends into a secret life of theft. But for some, even among squalor there is the hope of redemption and eventual happiness. Dickens' brilliant and moving satire on the Victorian family and the philosophies of a society which sought to turn men into machines was written at the height of both his popularity and creative powers.
About the Author
Jane Jacobs is one of the most influential social thinkers of our times. Her books include
The Death and Life of Great American Cities and
The Nature of Economies. She lives in Toronto.
From the Trade Paperback edition.