Great Expectations (free)

One of the most important novels of its time about love, family, rejection and social order in Dickens' native England of 19th century. We follow life of 13 years old orphan boy Pip who falls in love with Estella, adopted daughter of Miss Havisham, a wealthy spinster, who wears an old wedding dress and lives in the dilapidated Satis House.

Charles Dickens, one of the best known and most read of English writers of Victorian period. He was born into a large comfortable middle class family of Navy clerk in Portsmouth. His father John Dickens later found work in Chatham and Charles, the second of seven children went to the local school there. After moving to Camden Town in London, John Dickens was arrested and sent to debtor's prison and young Charles aged twelve was forced to work at a factory for six shillings a week. He returned to school later after his father's release from prison and became interested in the subject of social reform. He started making contributions to radical newspapers of the time. In 1833 Charles's first short stories were published in the Monthly Magazine under his pen name Boz, followed by more contributions to Morning Chronicle and the London Evening Chronicle. These stories had become very popular and were later published as a book entitled Sketches by Boz. After publication of Oliver Twist and Nicholas Nickleby Dickens had become the most popular writer in Britain and continued to write until his death in 1870.