{"product_id":"9780553210163","title":"Hard Times","description":"\u003ctable\u003e\u003ctbody\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd style=\"\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAuthor\/Contributor(s):\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd style=\"\"\u003eDickens, Charles; Spector, Robert Donald\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd style=\"\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eBantam Classics\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd style=\"\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eDate:\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e3\/1\/1981\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd style=\"\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBinding:\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd style=\"\"\u003eMass-market Paperback\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd style=\"\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eCondition:\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd style=\"\"\u003eNEW\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003c\/tbody\u003e\u003c\/table\u003eWritten deliberately to increase the circulation of Dickens’s weekly magazine, \u003ci\u003eHousehold Words, Hard Times\u003c\/i\u003e was a huge and instantaneous success upon publication in 1854. Yet this novel is not the cheerful celebration of Victorian life one might have expected from the beloved author of \u003ci\u003eThe Pickwick Papers\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eThe Old Curiosity Shop\u003c\/i\u003e. Compressed, stark, allegorical, it is a bitter exposé of capitalist exploitation during the industrial revolution–and a fierce denunciation of the philosophy of materialism, which threatens the human imagination in all times and places. With a typically unforgettable cast of characters–including the heartless fact-worshipper \u003cbr\u003eMr. Gradgrind, the warmly endearing Sissy Jupe, and the eternally noble Stephen Blackpool–\u003ci\u003eHard Times\u003c\/i\u003e carries a uniquely powerful message and remains one of the most widely read of Dickens’s major novels.","brand":"Bantam Classics","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":43352341381375,"sku":"9780553210163","price":5.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0452\/0886\/2873\/files\/9780553210163_s600x595.jpg?v=1782323576","url":"https:\/\/massivebookshop.com\/products\/9780553210163","provider":"MASSIVE BOOKSHOP","version":"1.0","type":"link"}