Great Expectations

by Neil Bartlett, Charles Dickens

Stage adaptation of a Dickens novel by an accomplished director

Genres: Classics, Plays, Fiction

96 pages, Paperback

Published September 1, 2007

About the author

Born in 1958, Neil Bartlett has spent twenty-five years at the cutting edge of British gay culture. His ground-breaking study of Oscar Wilde, Who Was That Man? paved the way for a queer re-imagining of history ; his first novel, Ready To Catch Him Should He Fall, was voted Capital Gay Book of The Year; his second, Mr Clive and Mr Page, was nominated for the Whitbread Prize. Both have since been translated into five European languages. Listing him as one of the country's fifty most significant gay cultural figures, the Independent said "Brilliant,beautiful, mischievous; few men can match Bartlett for the breadth of his exploration of gay sensibility".

He also works as a director, and in 2000 was awarded an OBE for services to the theatre. He founded his first theatre company in 1982 and is now an "independent theatre-maker and freelance director", continuing to write novels and work as an activist for gay rights.

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.

Reviews

[Johnny Saldana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Slow beginning but satisfying once it picks up momentum

[Rochelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

It took me five years to get through this book. I kept picking it up and putting it down again. I have decided that I don't like Dickens!

[Carlita Elric · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was nice to read something so pure and beautiful. Sometimes we want to find peace or something that we don't have in "the real world" so we get into our hobbies to think in something else. I loved how this book makes me realize that it's ok to have dreams and work for it, but it's more important to know who are you and who are the ones around you.

[Zuzana Poldaufova · Rating 3 out of 5]

finally finished the book that I tried to put down so many times. And I don't really regret forcing myself to finish it. Although the story and its setting cannot be more distant to current days, the morale of the characters, their behaviour and their expectations are stil alive and remain as a mementum for today's twisted values.

[Carol · Rating 4 out of 5]

Believe it or not, this was the first time I have read this book. Somehow I missed it in high school. Hard to read some of the "old English", but enjoyed the style and plot of the story. Loved the moral and ethical sides of the story.

[Phil · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dickens' best by far. Fantastic story that lives for ever.

[Colleen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Okay, but nowhere near as exciting as The Count of Monte Cristo

[Branketta · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book. Loved its gloomy atmosphere that only Dickens was able to depict. A true masterpiece

[Naya · Rating 2 out of 5]

didnt even like the hidden meanings. too slow and too many descriptions of useless details. a boy who ruined himself because he wanted to be sb in order to impress a girl. no personality, no ethos, no self esteem

[Kelly Barker · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book starts pretty slow, but stick with it, and you will be glad you did. Dickens does a phenomenal job at weaving the different characters stories together. There are definitely crimes to be solved and mysteries to be discovered with this story!