Charles Dickens was one of the most important and influential writers of the Victorian era and, possibly, of all time. He is still one of the worlds best selling authors, with A Christmas Carol never having been out of print, and with vintage Charles Dickens books still being sought after possessions for any collector of fine literature.
Dickens’s stories are rich with complex plotlines, striking characters and extremes of emotion. He was also a pioneer of a new kind of literature: literature not only concerned with rich or middle class individuals, but also of the lower middle class, the working class, and the poorest of people too. He can be classed as a social reformer in the fact that he raised awareness of the poverty and injustices of Victorian society, throughout his works. This meant he actually incited change in Victorian society, with many critics saying the debtors’ act of 1869, which reformed debtors prisons, was down to the awareness Dickens highlighted in his book Little Dorrit.
If you’re wanting to read some of Charles Dickens’s books, but are not sure where to start, then check out our guide of his 20 novels and novellas below. We’ll give you a quick summary of each of them, so you can decide where you want to begin. After that, review some of the best collections and prints (in case you want a beautiful vintage collection to read, decorate with, or to gift to someone!).
1. The Pickwick Papers (1837)
The Pickwick Papers (1837), Dickens’s first novel, and the first of Charles Dickens books on our list, follows a gentleman called Mr Pickwick and three of his best friends. Together they make up the ‘Pickwick Club’ which consists of the 4 of them travelling around together on various ‘scientific exploration’ adventures (basically seeing a lot of the countryside: enjoying friendship, food and (a lot of) alcohol). They meet many characters along the way and get themselves into some strange, and quite funny, situations.
The novel is mostly comedic (with the occasional serious matter thrown in) with a lot of humour based around Mr Pickwick’s naivety. At one point, for example, the well-meaning Mr Pickwick tries to warn a young lady of a scoundrel’s advances by climbing the wall of her school. Ironically he instead makes everyone in the school thinks he’s a scoundrel.
The Pickwick Papers has a more loose plot-line than the rest of his novels and is more like a collection of short stories. It’s not as complicated as Dickens’ later works, but it can be seen as a testing base for some of the themes and characters of his later books (such as money, incarceration, innocence and benevolence). So it’s an interesting read for any true Dickens fan.
2. Oliver Twist (1839)
When you think about Oliver Twist, you probably picture a poverty-stricken child in a workhouse, saying the infamous line “Please, sir, can I have some more?” (or “please, sir, I want some more” as it is in the book). And, although this is a powerful scene, that has been repeated across various mediums (musical, TV, film) throughout the years, this is actually only a tiny fraction of the novel.
The story follows an orphan boy, Oliver Twist, who is born into poverty. We follow his journey from leaving the workhouse, where he grows up, to sordid Victorian London, where pickpockets take him in. The novel then shows his struggles of trying to remain ‘pure’ in a world full of unfairness and corruption.
And, of course, there are some pretty bad guys trying to hunt down and trick Oliver. The whole book is essentially a social critique of the conditions people had to endure in the Victorian period, especially in terms of child poverty, and can be seen as the first Charles Dickens book that is a true ‘social critique’ story.
3. Nicolas Nickleby (1839)
Nicholas Nickleby follows the life of a young man named, quite unsurprisingly, Nicholas Nickleby. It’s one of Dickens more popular books, and for good reason. At the beginning of the book, his father dies, leaving his mother widowed with 2 children (Nicolas, and his sister Kate) and little money. They become reliant on Nicholas’s uncle, who is unpleasant and hateful.
He sends Nicholas to work at an awful school called Jaffa Boys Hall. This school is run by a grotesque man called Wackford Squeers. After saving his friend Smike from a beating, the story follows Nicholas’s journey around England as he makes his way in the world.
Dickens maintains his social critique in this book by drawing attention to the horrific Victorian ‘schools’ in Yorkshire, where children were neglected, beaten and went hungry. In one real-life example of these Victorian schools, 25 graves had been dug for boys that had died during their time there.
Despite this dark subject, Nicolas Nickleby is also said to be Dickens’s first romantic novel. Both Nicholas and Kate have their own love stories, which breaks up, and brings some relief to, the horrors presented throughout the book.
4. The Old Curiosity Shop (1841)
The Old Curiosity Shop follows a young girl called Nell who lives with her grandfather in their antique shop. Life is good and well until the villain of the novel, a creditor called Daniel Quip, schemes to take over the shop. It turns out Nell’s grandfather, who isn’t the best with money, is indebted to Quip. So, when Quip starts hounding them for the money, Nell and her Grandfather have to leave their beloved shop and go on the run to the countryside.
The novel follows some common themes of Dickens’s novels: family and debt. Like a lot of Dickens’s novels, the story is full of contrasts: the contrast between purity and evil, and the contrast between the fresh aired countryside and the polluted city.
He uses the tragedy of Little Nell, and the caring family unit of the grandfather, to comment on the lack of support that is given to children, and families, caught up in poverty and debt. Nell’s grandfather is presented to be a good man who just makes some bad financial decisions (in the hope of providing a better life for his granddaughter). And, just a warning – this is a pretty sad one!
5. Barnaby Rudge (1841)
Barnaby Rudge is one of Dickens’s two historical novels (with the other being The Tale of Two Cities). It is set on the brink of the American revolution, switching between 1775 and 1780, with its focal point being the anti-catholic riots that went on in London during the 1780s (with the growing tensions of an American-British war, many people were prejudiced and believed British Catholics would fight against them on the battlefield).
The story concerns several characters that get caught up in these riots, including Barnaby Rudge (who has learning difficulties) and his mother Mary. There’s also a pub owner called Old John Willet, his son Joe Willets, and Gabriel Varden – a locksmith that gets “kidnapped”, so that he can bust someone out of prison. And there is, of course, plenty of Dickensian drama along the way.
6. A Christmas Carol (1843)
Charles Dickens’s most famous and well-read book, which is also a Christmas staple, is his novella A Christmas Carol. We also find it’s one of the more popular vintage Charles Dickens books for collectors and gifting!
If you’re not familiar with this story (and we’d be surprised if you weren’t!) then this tale centres around a miserable and selfish man called Ebenezer Scrooge, who hates Christmas. But when he is visited by three spirits of Christmas (past, present and future) on Christmas Eve, Scrooge goes on a self-awareness journey of forgiveness and redemption.
This classic tale has an obvious message; It is never too late to change your ways and to make a positive difference to people’s lives. And there’s a reason it’s one of the most popular stories of all time – because this is a great moral to live by!
7. The Chimes (1844)
The Chimes is another ‘Christmas’ novella that was inspired by the success of A Christmas Carol. Although not as powerful or refined as A Christmas Carol, The Chimes is still a great festive read.
Set on New Year’s Eve (and not actually Christmas) The Chimes tells the story of a poor man, Toby Veck, who works in an old Church. This church has chimes, which comfort him and become the basis of his spiritual enlightenment.
Having overheard many gentlemen talk, and from seeing news stories in newspapers, Toby thinks that poor people (including himself) are responsible for their own fates. He believes the common Victorian misconception that poor people are immoral, and that their immorality is the reason they are poor. So when his daughter says she wants to get married on New Years Day, to an equally poor young man, this causes Toby to worry about their continued poverty and immorality.
He then goes on a self-realisation journey with spirits who show him the future (sound familiar?) and help him to realise that he is wrong.
8. Martin Chuzzlewit (1841)
Martin Chuzzlewit is actually the name of two of the characters in the book: a young man called Martin Chuzzlewit and Martin Chuzzlewit’s grandfather, also called Martin Chuzzlewit. The story begins with a family reunion, where we learn that the old Martin Chuzzlewit is wealthy and that, basically, the whole family wants a piece of the wealth.
But the young Martin Chuzzlewit’s hopes of inheritance are crushed when his grandfather disowns him for falling in love with a nursemaid. So he then goes on a journey of trying to make his own fortune, with almost half of the novel being set in America. It’s really interesting to see Dickens’s take on 19th century America, which he presents alongside themes of family, marriage and greed (and some pretty great character development!)
9. The Cricket on the Hearth (1845)
Another Christmas novella by Charles Dickens is The Cricket on the Hearth. It’s not even that Christmasy; it’s not explicitly set around Christmas and it’s even ambiguous as to whether it’s set around winter. But it’s warm, engaging, and fun, which we feel gives it a Christmasy feel!
It’s quite a fairytale-like book, the subtitle is ‘A fairy tale of home’ which is no surprise, and it follows a couple of different families throughout.
Firstly we have John Peeringbingle’s family – consisting of him (a carrier), his young wife Dot, their baby, their nanny Tilly Slowboy and a cricket who lives on their hearth (cute). And we then have Caleb Plummer’s family – consisting of just him, a poor toymaker, and his daughter Bertha, who is blind.
The story tells the tale of these two families crossing paths, and the issues they have as families (along with a ‘scrooge’ sort of character called Mr Tackleton thrown into the mix for drama). It’s quite Shakespearean at times (in terms of some mistaken identity and miscommunicated plot lines) and it’s overall just a really cute story about Victorian family ideals.
10. The Battle of Life: A Love Story (1846)
The fourth of Charles Dickens’s Christmas novellas is The Battle of Life: A Love Story. This is a bit different to his other novellas, as it spans a significant length of time (around 10 years) instead of a short period of time (a couple of days). It’s also split into 3 parts, with only the second part being based at Christmas time.
Alongside some side characters and other mini plotlines, the main story follows Marion Jedler, the daughter of Dr Jedler, Marion’s sister Grace, and her fiancee Alfred Heathfield. When Alfred leaves town to train to be a doctor, it seems as if one of the sisters’ heads has been turned by a man in town. But, in a typical Dickensian way, things are not how they seem, and a big romantic twist awaits.
11. The Haunted Man and the Ghost’s Bargain (1848)
The fifth and final Christmas novella by Dickens is The Haunted Man and the Ghost’s Bargain, where Dickens goes back to his Christmas novella ‘haunted by ghosts’ roots.
Redlaw, the main character, is a teacher who is often miserable reflecting over grief he experienced in his past. He gets haunted by a spirit who, instead of showing him the error of his perceptions (like in previous Christmas novellas) offers to take away all of his sad memories from him.
This however, turns out to be a double edged sword. The book then follows Redlaw as he goes on an inevitable journey of self discovery, and comes to the realisation that perhaps carrying past sorrows isn’t always a bad thing!
12. Dombey and Son (1848)
Dombey and Son is a really interesting Charles Dickens novel, as it is his only novel that focuses primarily on gender politics.
It’s about a man, called Dombey and his business, Dombey and Son. He has two children. Being misogynistic, Dombey plans to leave the family company completely to his son when he dies, and never even considers leaving it to his daughter Florence. But after a family tragedy, everything has to change.
In Dickens’s previous novels his female characters are, most often, problematic: they are either bland and don’t have much depth, or are sort of pathetic and faint all the time. But Dombey and Son changed this.
In this book, the female characters (especially Edith Granger, Dombey’s second wife) are powerful and (almost) feminist. They see the unfairness of the way women are treated, with no option in life but to marry in Victoria society, and they protest against this. The whole novel, therefore, becomes a criticism of Victorian ideals of masculinity and a prelude to feminism.
13. David Copperfield (1850)
David Copperfield is Charles Dickens’s favourite novel and so, if you’re a Dickens fan, it’s a pretty essential read. Loosely based on some of Dickens’s own life, David Copperfield follows a man’s life from birth to adulthood (and everything inbetween).
It chronicles all of his adventures, fortunes and misfortunes (and there’s quite a few!) that happen along the way. Some of the main plot lines of this novel cover the surrogate parents and families he collects at different points in his life, the craziness of his changing fortunes, and his internal conflict on what he wants to do with his life (to be a writer, or not to be?)
If you’ve never read Dickens’s books before, or want a way to get into more of his books, then David Copperfield is a good place to start. It’s the first Dickens novel that is completely in the first person. And, in my opinion, this makes it a slightly easier, and more engaging, read than some of his others.
14. Bleak House (1853)
Bleak House is a book that should hold a place in any Dickens collection. It centres around a long drawn out court case, called Jarndyce v. Jarndyce, which began to determine the rightful heir to a rather large family inheritance. There are many interesting characters that feature throughout the well-drawn out plot, including a heroine called Esther Summerson (who narrates part of the novel).
Dickens describes the court scenes in much depth, and they take up the majority of the novel, which could be tiresome for some readers. But the drama, plot twists (and murder!) that goes on alongside this are sure to keep most readers entertained.
15. Hard Times (1854)
Hard Times is, unusually for a Charles Dicken book, set in the north of England. It’s set in the fictional industrial mill town of Coketown and is centred around the Gradgrind family. Mr Gradgrind believes that everyone should know their facts, and live their life by facts, and that there is no room for imagination in the world at all.
As you can probably predict, this leads to a pretty miserable upbringing for his children. The novel explores the effect this has on them and the repercussions of this, alongside some other Dickensian drama.
Mr Gradgrind’s views are often cited as being symbolic of Victorian society’s emphasis on facts, reason, science and industrialisation, over imagination and stories. So it’s interesting to see what Dickens’s views are on this (although you can probably already guess!)
16. Little Dorrit (1857)
One of Dickens’s most important novels, in terms of social reform, is Little Dorrit. This book has been cited as being significant in terms of its influence in the reform of debtors prisons. The novel’s depiction of the unjustness of debtors’ prison directly sparked change, leading to the debtors’ act of 1869.
It follows Amy Dorrit, nicknamed ‘little Dorrit’ and her life (and struggles) of growing up in debtors prison. Despite her name, and her small frame, Little Dorrit is a strong woman who looks after her father and their whole family. Loosely based on Dickens’s own experiences (his father was incarcerated in debtors prison for a few months when Dickens was 12) Little Dorrit is a powerful novel that comments on the fragility of wealth and the unfairness of Victorian society.
17. A Tale of Two Cities (1859)
A Tale of Two Cities is one of the two (along with Barnaby Rudge) Dickens historical novels. Set before and during the French Revolution of the 1790s, the novel explores various characters that get caught up within the revolution.
For example, we have Lucie Manette, a young woman who believed her father was dead for many years (but was actually in a French prison!). Charles Darney, a French aristocrat, who sympathises with the French peasants, and the Defrages, a French couple who own a wine shop in Paris, who are directly linked to revolutionary action.
The drama covers these key characters, and more. It presents the French Revolution from both sides of the story, with every perspective considered.
18. Great Expectations (1861)
One of the most popular Charles Dickens books, that you may have studied at school, is Great Expectations, which follows the protagonist Pip throughout his life and various adventures.
Like David Copperfield, Great Expectations is completely in the first person, meaning we get to know Pip’s character intimately throughout the novel. It’s a coming of age story, and we learn how Pip goes from orphan to blacksmith to gentleman (and all the love, loss and drama along the way).
Great Expectations is also home to one of Dickens’ most gothic characters: Mrs Havisham, who Pip works for as a young boy. Having been jilted on her wedding day, Mrs Havisham lives in a grand, dilapidated gothic house in her wedding gown, with all the clocks stopped at the time she was due to be married. And if that isn’t the most creepy and brilliant gothic imagery you’ve ever heard, then we don’t know what is.
19. Our Mutual Friend (1865)
Our Mutual Friend is considered one of Dickens’s most sophisticated and well-written works. It begins with two people on a boat, Lizzie Hexam and her father, Gaffer Haxam, who are not very well off, and who make their living pulling dead bodies from the Thames.
One day, when they find the dead body of John Harmon – the soon to be heir of a huge fortune – a dramatic storyline follows concerning the Boffins, the loyal employees of Harmon, who inherit the money.
Being of a low class, with Mr Boffin not even being able to read, Mr Boffin and his wife are not ready for the high social standing that comes with their newfound wealth.
The drama revolves around the Boffins, Bella Wilfer (the intended wife of Harmon, who the Boffins take in), the Hexam’s, and a wide range of other characters from various backgrounds. There’s intense romance, mistaken identities, murder mystery, social commentary and just an overall brilliant plot to sink your teeth into.
20. The Mystery of Edwin Drood (1870)
The Mystery of Edwin Drood is Charles Dickens’s last and, unfortunately, unfinished novel. It concerns an orphan called Edwin Drood who disappears in a storm, and the drama and mystery that follows this (including with his betrothed Rosa Bud and the suspicious character of Edwin’s uncle, John Jasper).
And with only 6 of 12 instalments completed, The Mystery of Edwin Drood is, poignantly, Charles Dickens’s biggest mystery.
Vintage Charles Dickens Books
If you loved reading about all of the great Charles Dickens Books we summarised you for you, you may now be wondering where you can pick up a collection of them. With so many amazing vintage and antique Charles Dickens book collections still in circulation, it’s easy to get your hands on a little piece of history.
Some of Charles Dickens’s most popular vintage books collections include:
The Complete Centennial Edition by Heron Books (1970s)
This collection comprises 36 books (with some books split into two parts) and was, as you guessed, released to celebrate 100 years of Dickens.
It’s a beautiful collection released by Heron in the 1970s, to commemorate Dickens, 100 years after his death. It features faux Moroccan green leather covers with gold pattern and lettering. There are also black and white illustrations by Marcus Stone throughout.
It is quite popular, and makes a great Christmas gift. We often have this in stock on our Thomas Vintage Co Etsy store in the leadup to Christmas.
Oldhams Press (1930s)
This vintage collection is by Oldhams Press Limited, and from the 1930s. It consists of 16 books, featuring a brown patterned cover with gold lettering, and has illustrations by Harlot K. Browne.
The Centenary Edition by Chapman & Hall (1910)
The Centenary edition makes for a fine Charles Dickens books collection. From 1910, it comes bound with red cloth covers and gold lettering. They comprise 36 illustrated volumes (with some books split into two parts) and make a nice addition to any collectors shelf.
Macmillian & Co 1920s
This 1920s Macmillan and Co collection is made up of 19 books. They feature a soft faux leather blue cover with gold lettering. The books are reprints of the first editions and feature black and white illustrations throughout.
The Waverly Book Company Limited Collection, circa 1920.
This antique Charles Dickens book collection, circa 1920, comprises of 15 volumes, which are covered in black embossed hardcovers with gold lettering.
The Hazell, Watson & Viney 1930s Vintage Collection in Red
Another excellent vintage collection of Charles Dickens’s books from 1930, it features 15 books which are all bound in a red patterned cover with gold lettering. Illustrations are by Harlot K. Browne.
The Hazel, Watson & Viney 1930s Collection in Blue
Hazel, Watson & Viney also released their own Charles Dickens books collection in blue, so you are spoilt for choice here.
Which vintage Charles Dickens books collection is best for you?
They are all beautiful, and a piece of history. If you are looking for a modern vintage Charles Dickens book collection in good condition, we would perhaps recommend the Centennial Edition.
We would recommend for a middle ground looking at the Hazel, Watson & Viney collections, which are always a good bet.
If you are truly after a piece of history when it comes to antique Charles Dickens books, you could look at picking up one of the older Dickens collections, such as the Oldham Press (1930s) or MacMillan & Co (1920s), both pictured above (the brown leather, and light blue faded set).
For more antique pieces of history, check out our store.