Hard Times (1854)

Hard Times (1854) is one of a handful of novels by Charles Dickens likely to appear on the GRE Literature exam. It was originally serialized in Dickens' periodical Household Words.

-A state of the nation novel; serious in tone
-Set in fictional Northern city of Coketown (not in London, like Dickens' other works)
-Divided into three parts: "Sowing," "Reaping," and "Garnering"

For the GRE Literature exam, associate the following characters with Hard Times.

1. Thomas Gradgrind
-Utilitarian (satirized as such); educator/school founder; brutally practical
2. Josiah Bounderby
-Gradgrind's bombastic assistant; marries Louisa
3. Louisa "Loo" Gradgrind Bounderby
-Unemotional, distant eldest child troubled by "unmanageable thoughts"
4. Stephen Blackpool
-Indigent worker; fired, accused of crime, dies falling into pit

Hard Times may be worth adding to your GRE Literature reading list. I recommend the Enriched Classics Edition.