Hard Times

Introduction by Jane Jacobs With Newly Commissioned Explanatory Notes In Hard Times, Charles Dickens created the Victorian city of Coketown in Northern England to critique the industrialist economy he believed exploited the lives of the working class, destroying human creativity and joy in the process. He brilliantly caricatures the monotony of an increasingly practical world where facts are amassed for their own sake at the expense of a more humane and varied existence. Some of Dickens's most colorful and memorable characters reside in Coketown, including the unwavering utilitarian Thomas Gradgrind, the callous factory owner Josiah Bounderby, and the redeemingly optimistic Sissy Jupe. A captivating storyteller and visionary, Dickens predicted with astounding clarity the ills that continue to plague the modern age.Dickens, Charles is the author of 'Hard Times', published 2001 under ISBN 9780679642176 and ISBN 067964217X.