The book includes three "stages" of Pip's expectations.
First stage
Philip "Pip" Pirrip is a seven-year-old orphan who lives … See more

As Dickens began writing Great Expectations, he undertook a series of hugely popular and remunerative reading tours. His domestic … See more

Robert L. Patten estimates that All the Year Round sold 100,000 copies of Great Expectations each week, and Mudie, the largest circulating library, which purchased about 1,400 copies, stated that at least 30 people read each copy. Aside from the dramatic plot, the … See more

The narrative structure of Great Expectations is influenced by the fact that it was first published as weekly episodes in a periodical. This … See more

Pip and his family
• Philip Pirrip, nicknamed Pip, an orphan and the protagonist and narrator of Great Expectations. In his childhood, Pip dreamed of … See more

In periodicals
Dickens and Wills co-owned All the Year Round, one 75%, the other 25%. Since Dickens was his own publisher, he did not require a contract for his own works. Although intended for weekly publication, Great Expectations … See more

Great Expectations's single most obvious literary predecessor is Dickens's earlier first-person narrator-protagonist David Copperfield. The two novels trace the psychological and … See more