Coming of Age · 1861
Great Expectations
An orphan, a fortune, and the truth about both.
by Charles Dickens
What it's about
Pip is a poor blacksmith's apprentice when a mysterious benefactor lifts him into wealth and London society. Dickens at his warmest and most cutting — a coming-of-age story about love, class, and the cost of becoming a gentleman.
A taste of it
“My father's family name being Pirrip, and my Christian name Philip, my infant tongue could make of both names nothing longer or more explicit than Pip.”
Scenes Avidlee will paint for you
Scene 1
The Marshes
A small boy alone on misty Kent marshes at dawn, leaning gravestones, a ribbon of cold river, a distant convict ship. Painterly, muted blues and warm honey horizon, Victorian, cinematic.
Scene 2
Satis House
A decaying English manor parlor, dusty wedding feast frozen on the table, a single candle, a woman in a yellowed bridal gown seated by a stopped clock. Painterly chiaroscuro, dusty rose and gold.
Scene 3
The Forge
A warm Victorian English blacksmith's forge at dusk, glowing red coals, a kindly blacksmith hammering iron, a young boy watching. Painterly, honey light, cozy.
Scene 4
London by Gaslight
A foggy Victorian London street at dusk, gas lamps glowing warm amber, a young gentleman in a fine coat stepping from a hansom cab. Painterly, atmospheric.
Scene 5
On the Thames
A small rowboat on the Thames at twilight under a heavy English sky, dark river, distant church spires, painterly Victorian melancholy.
Scene 6
Pip and Estella
A young man and a beautiful young woman in Regency-Victorian dress walking through an overgrown garden of Satis House at golden hour, painterly, wistful, romantic.