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Children's reading lists

The best father figures in children’s literature

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Reading lists

10 times fiction changed the world

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Features

5 London pubs with legendary literary histories

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20 novels that shaped the Victorian era

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The UK’s best literary days out for bookworms and readers

Charles Dickens Penguin Clothbound Classics

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Where to start reading Charles Dickens

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5 famous books that almost had completely different endings

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The real story behind Charles’ Dickens A Christmas Carol

A forgotten Charles Dickens classic shows the literary workaholic at his madcap best

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An overlooked Charles Dickens novel shows the writer at his madcap best

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‘Make them laugh, cry and wait’: Charles Dickens’ best advice for writers

A Christmas Carol Penguin illustration 2019

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The 5 greatest film adaptations of ‘A Christmas Carol’

Literature's strangest real-life mysteries 

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Literature’s biggest unanswered mysteries

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Charles Dickens quotes

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Quizzes

Which Charles Dickens novel should you read?

Two Full-Cast BBC Radio Dramatisations

Devil in the Fog & The Mystery of Edwin Drood

A full-cast historical mystery by award-winning author Leon Garfield, plus his captivating conclusion to The Mystery of Edwin Drood by Charles Dickens 
 
Leon Garfield was the renowned author of more than 30 novels for children and adults. He won numerous awards for his work, including the Carnegie Medal, the Whitbread Award and the inaugural Guardian Children’s Fiction Prize. Inspired by Charles Dickens, he set many of his tales in the 18th and 19th century, and became Dickens’ co-author when he wrote an ending to The Mystery of Edwin Drood, which was left unfinished on Dickens’ death. Their joint version was dramatised for radio in 1990, and is included here, together with an adaptation of one of Garfield’s own thrilling adventures. 
 
Devil in the Fog – The oldest child in a family of travelling actors, 14-year-old George Treet lives a happy life with his father and six siblings. The only blot on his happiness is ‘The Stranger’, a shadowy, mysterious figure who arrives twice-yearly, hands Mr Treet a sum of money and disappears. But the Stranger’s final visit leads Mr Treet to reveal a terrible secret: George is the son of a nobleman, and must return to his real family. Reluctantly reunited with his true father, Sir John Dexter, George does his best to settle into his forbidding new home. But danger is waiting in the fog that surrounds the house – and George soon realises that someone is out to kill him... Tim McMullan and Joe Dempsie star in this rip-roaring tale of highwaymen, duels, swirling fogs and escaped convicts. 
 
The Mystery of Edwin Drood – Orphan Edwin Drood is engaged to the beautiful Rosa Bud. But his uncle John Jasper, the choirmaster of Cloisterham Cathedral and a secret opium addict, wants Rosa for himself. Then Neville Landless arrives with his twin sister, Helena, and he too falls in love with Rosa. When Edwin disappears, presumed murdered, both Neville and Jasper have a motive – but which of them is the killer? Dickens’ famously unfinished novel never answers this question, but in this suspenseful drama, starring Ian Holm, Mark Payton and Moir Leslie, Leon Garfield provides an ingenious and satisfying solution. 
 
Devil-in-the-Fog text copyright © 1966 by Leon Garfield 
The Mystery of Edwin Drood text copyright © 1980 by Charles Dickens and Leon Garfield 
 
© 2025 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. (P) © 2025 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

The Chimes

90 classic titles celebrating 90 years of Penguin Books 
 
Trotty Veck, an elderly porter, has read so many newspaper reports about crime and immorality that he believes the working classes are irredeemable. But, on New Year’s Eve, summoned to the church tower by a mysterious chiming, Trotty witnesses his own death, and is taken on a ghostly journey that will force him to reassess his conviction. One of Dickens’ ‘Christmas stories’, The Chimes is charming and surprising manifesto for empathy for our fellow man.

Charles Dickens was born in 1812. When he was twelve, his father was sent to a debtor's prison and he was sent to work; the experiences from this time always haunted him. After a brief career as a reporter Dickens began writing novels. Published in serial form, his work grew rapidly in popularity, beginning with The Pickwick Papers. 
Today, Charles Dickens is one of the most recognized celebrities of English literature. His many books include Oliver Twist, Great Expectations and A Christmas Carol.

Trotty Veck, an elderly porter, has read so many newspaper reports about crime and immorality that he believes the working classes are irredeemable. But, on New Year’s Eve, summoned to the church tower by a mysterious chiming, Trotty witnesses his own death, and is taken on a ghostly journey that will force him to reassess his conviction. One of Dickens’ ‘Christmas stories’, The Chimes is charming and surprising manifesto for empathy for our fellow man.

A Tale of Two Cities

Puffin Classics: the definitive collection of timeless stories, for every child 
 
Rediscover the Puffin Classics collection and bring the best-loved classics to a new generation - including this bold edition of A Tale of Two Cities. 
 
Charles Darnay and Sydney Carton are alike in appearance, different in character and in love with the same woman. In the midst of the French Revolution, Darnay, who has fled to London to escape the cruelty of the French nobility, must return to Paris to rescue his servant from death. But he endangers his own life and is captured. Carton may be able to help, but will his resemblance be enough to save Darnay's life?

Rediscover the Puffin Classics collection and bring the best-loved classics to a new generation - including this bold edition of A Tale of Two Cities. 
 
Charles Darnay and Sydney Carton are alike in appearance, different in character and in love with the same woman. In the midst of the French Revolution, Darnay, who has fled to London to escape the cruelty of the French nobility, must return to Paris to rescue his servant from death. But he endangers his own life and is captured. Carton may be able to help, but will his resemblance be enough to save Darnay's life?

Oliver Twist

Puffin Classics: the definitive collection of timeless stories, for every child 
Rediscover the Puffin Classics collection and bring the best-loved classics to a new generation - including this charming edition of Oliver Twist. 
 
After Oliver Twist asks nasty Mr Bumble for more food, he has to flee the workhouse for the streets of London. Here he meets the Artful Dodger, who leads him to Fagin and his gang of pickpockets. When a thieving mission goes wrong, Oliver narrowly avoids prison and finds himself in the care of kind Mr Brownlow. But Fagin and the brutal Bill Sikes go in search of the young orphan, determined to drag him back . . . 
 
The classic story of a young boy who seeks his fortune on the streets of London, with an inspirational and light-hearted introduction by popular children's fantasy writer, Garth Nix.

Rediscover the Puffin Classics collection and bring the best-loved classics to a new generation - including this charming edition of Oliver Twist. 
 
After Oliver Twist asks nasty Mr Bumble for more food, he has to flee the workhouse for the streets of London. Here he meets the Artful Dodger, who leads him to Fagin and his gang of pickpockets. When a thieving mission goes wrong, Oliver narrowly avoids prison and finds himself in the care of kind Mr Brownlow. But Fagin and the brutal Bill Sikes go in search of the young orphan, determined to drag him back . . . 
 
The classic story of a young boy who seeks his fortune on the streets of London, with an inspirational and light-hearted introduction by popular children's fantasy writer, Garth Nix.

A Christmas Carol

Puffin Classics: the definitive collection of timeless stories, for every child 
Rediscover the Puffin Classics collection and bring the best-loved classics to a new generation - including this charming edition A Christmas Carol complete with a bold new cover. 
 
Ebenezer Scrooge was a mean, miserable, bitter old man, until one Christmas Eve changed everything. . .Guided by three ghosts, Scrooge visits his past, present, and what could be to come should he not learn the true meaning behind Christmas. 
 
Will Scrooge learn to love Christmas and everyone around him?

Rediscover the Puffin Classics collection and bring the best-loved classics to a new generation - including this charming edition A Christmas Carol complete with a bold new cover. 
 
Ebenezer Scrooge was a mean, miserable, bitter old man, until one Christmas Eve changed everything. . .Guided by three ghosts, Scrooge visits his past, present, and what could be to come should he not learn the true meaning behind Christmas. 
 Will Scrooge learn to love Christmas and everyone around him?

Great Expectations

Puffin Classics: the definitive collection of timeless stories, for every child 
Rediscover the Puffin Classics collection and bring the best-loved classics to a new generation - including this charming edition of Great Expectations. 
 
As a small boy at Joe Gargery's forge, Pip meets two people who will affect his whole life - an escaped convict he is forced to help, and the eccentric Miss Haversham, whose beautiful, cold-hearted ward Estella young Pip adores. But when a secret benefactor pays for him to go to London to become a gentleman, Pip never dreams he will meet the dreadful Magwitch again, nor just how wrong his expectations are. . .

The Puffin Classics series is a perfect marriage of the old and the new. Enjoy some of the best books from the past and find out why and how they inspired some of the best writers of the present

Charles Dickens (1812-70) is one of the most recognized celebrities of English literature. His imagination, wit, mastery of the language and huge creative output single him out as one of the few people who genuinely deserve to be called genius. He had a poverty-stricken childhood and was determined to improve himself. By his early twenties he found a job as a parliamentary reporter and in his spare time wrote sketches of London life for newspapers and magazines. The publication of Pickwick Papers (1836) brought him the fame and fortune he craved. He wrote many other famous books including Oliver Twist and A Tale of Two Cities.

Rediscover the Puffin Classics collection and bring the best-loved classics to a new generation - including this charming edition of Great Expectations. 
 
As a small boy at Joe Gargery's forge, Pip meets two people who will affect his whole life - an escaped convict he is forced to help, and the eccentric Miss Haversham, whose beautiful, cold-hearted ward Estella young Pip adores. But when a secret benefactor pays for him to go to London to become a gentleman, Pip never dreams he will meet the dreadful Magwitch again, nor just how wrong his expectations are. . .

Charles Dickens

'Hold your noise! Keep still, you little devil, or I'll cut your throat!' 
 
Little orphan Pip scarcely imagines how a terrifying encounter with a convict on the lonely marshes will later transform his life. Pip is more troubled by his visits to strange old Miss Havisham - her decaying wedding dress and the house full of memories - and the beautiful girl Estella who makes him ashamed of his country manners and coarse hands. A blacksmith's apprentice could never hope to win Estella, but then, young Pip's future might not turn out quite as expected... 
 
Includes exclusive material: In ‘The Backstory’ you can learn about Victorian convicts and the alternative ending to Great Expectations! 
 
Vintage Children’s Classics is a twenty-first century classics list aimed at 8-12 year olds and the adults in their lives. Discover timeless favourites from The Jungle Book and Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland to modern classics such as The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas and The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time.

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This exclusive boxed set of clothbound editions features six of Charles Dickens' classics. Shop the collection now on Penguin Shop.

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Photo of the books in our Clothbound Classics boxed set of Charles Dickens' major works, available on the Penguin Shop

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Penguin Shop: 3 Clothbound Classics for £33

A BBC Christmas

BBC Classics

Everyman's Children's Classics has more than 50 titles in print. It offers the finest editions currently available of the world's greatest children's books in handsome, full cloth hardcover bindings. 
 
The library brings back into print major illustrators such as Ivan Bilibin, Kate Greenaway, Arthur Rackham, Nicolas Bentley, Walter Crane, Aubrey Beardsley, Edward Ardizzone, W.Heath Robinson and Mervyn Peake.

Everyman's Library CHILDREN'S CLASSICS

The finest editions available of the world's greatest classics from Homer to Achebe, Tolstoy to Ishiguro, Proust to Pullman, printed on a fine acid-free, cream-wove paper that will not discolour with age, with sewn, full cloth bindings and silk ribbon markers, and at remarkably low prices. All books include substantial introductions by major scholars and contemporary writers, and comparative chronologies of literary and historical context.

Everyman's Library CLASSICS

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Penguin Christmas Classics

<a href="https://shop.penguin.co.uk/collections/book-bundles-clothbound-classics/?&amp;utm_source=Penguin.co.uk&amp;utm_medium=Banner&amp;utm_campaign=Penguin_Clothbound_Series_26_06" target="_blank">Buy 3 classics for £33 on the Penguin Shop</a>

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