Bleak house. - Kirjakasa

English language

Published Jan. 7, 1853

ISBN:: 978-0-14-143972-3

(1 review)

Bleak House is a novel by Charles Dickens, first published as a 20-episode serial between March 1852 and September 1853. The novel has many characters and several sub-plots, and is told partly by the novel's heroine, Esther Summerson, and partly by an omniscient narrator. At the centre of Bleak House is a long-running legal case in the Court of Chancery, Jarndyce and Jarndyce, which comes about because a testator has written several conflicting wills. In a preface to the 1853 first edition, Dickens claimed there were many actual precedents for his fictional case. One such was probably the Thellusson v Woodford case in which a will read in 1797 was contested and not determined until 1859. Though many in the legal profession criticised Dickens's satire as exaggerated, this novel helped support a judicial reform movement which culminated in the enactment of legal reform in the 1870s.There is some debate among …

Bleak House is a novel by Charles Dickens, first published as a 20-episode serial between March 1852 and September 1853. The novel has many characters and several sub-plots, and is told partly by the novel's heroine, Esther Summerson, and partly by an omniscient narrator. At the centre of Bleak House is a long-running legal case in the Court of Chancery, Jarndyce and Jarndyce, which comes about because a testator has written several conflicting wills. In a preface to the 1853 first edition, Dickens claimed there were many actual precedents for his fictional case. One such was probably the Thellusson v Woodford case in which a will read in 1797 was contested and not determined until 1859. Though many in the legal profession criticised Dickens's satire as exaggerated, this novel helped support a judicial reform movement which culminated in the enactment of legal reform in the 1870s.There is some debate among scholars as to when Bleak House is set. The English legal historian Sir William Holdsworth sets the action in 1827; however, reference to preparation for the building of a railway in Chapter LV suggests the 1830s.

5 editions

Taru Luojola reviewed Kolea talo by Charles Dickens

Review of 'Kolea talo' on 'Goodreads'

3 stars

Kirja alkoi oikein mainiosti, ja pidin erityisen paljon brittiläistä yhteiskuntajärjestystä, oikeuslaitosta ja talouselämää vastaan kohdistetusta hienovaraisesta mutta pistävästä kritiikistä ja kirjan sosiaalipoliittisesta agendasta. Paikoin kulki kylmät väreet, ja katupoika Jon kuolinkohtaus sai tipan linssiin. Mutta sitten kirjan viimeiset parisataa sivua painuivat jonnekin keskinkertaisuuksien maille, ja jossain määrin jo rupesi menemään yli tiettyjen avainhenkilöiden täydellinen oikeamielisyys, suoraselkäisyys ja hyväntahtoisuus. No, luku-urakan päätyttyä on hyvä keskittyä muistelemaan kirjan vetävimpiä osia.