One of Dickens' most famous opening lines sets the scene for this powerful novel which questions the harsh, rational attitudes predominating in a world of fierce industrial growth. Dickens vividly presents industrial Coketown a quintessential northern English mill town in the 19th century and the overbearing figure of Mr Thomas Gradgrind with his utilitarian philosophy; and contrasts it with the right of every person to enjoy life regardless of social class. Particularly praised by renowned English critic John Ruskin (18191900), this moral fable is arguably Dickens's most significant work.
