Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
A young orphan boy, living with his cruel older sister and her kind blacksmith husband, has an encounter with an escaped convict that changes his life. Later, he becomes the protégé of a wealthy but reclusive woman and falls in love with her adopted daughter. He then learns that an anonymous benefactor has left him a fortune, leading him to believe that his benefactor is the reclusive woman and that she intends for him to marry her adopted daughter. He moves to London to become a gentleman, but his great expectations are ultimately shattered when he learns the true identity of his benefactor and the reality of his love interest.
The 38th greatest book of all time
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Total Points: 3937
This book was first published in 1860
60 Lists
- score: 217 -- For The Love of Books - 1999 (Weight: 180)
- score: 209 -- Best Foreign Work of Fiction Chosen by Francophone Writers - 2006 (Weight: 170)
- score: 208 -- The Top 10: The Greatest Books of All Time - 2007 (Weight: 180)
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- score: 194 -- The 100 Greatest British Novels - 2015 (Weight: 160)
- score: 190 -- 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die - 2006 (Weight: 180)
- score: 190 -- 'The perfect library': the 196 books selected by 133 personalities - 2020 (Weight: 190)
- score: 170 -- The 100 Best Novels Of All Time In English - 2026 (Weight: 160)
- score: 169 -- Harenberg Buch der 1000 Bücher - 2005 (Weight: 160)
- score: 162 -- 30 Books Every Adult Should Read Before They Die - 2006 (Weight: 160)
- score: 160 -- Arts: The Critics' Century 1900-2000 - 1999 (Weight: 160)
- score: 148 -- 1000 Novels Everyone Must Read - 2009 (Weight: 140)
- score: 133 -- 100 Life-Changing Books - 2006 (Weight: 126)
- score: 120 -- Best Books Listed for High School Students - 1984 (Weight: 120)
- score: 106 -- IWU Select 100 Must-Read Books - 1991 (Weight: 100)
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- score: 82 -- The Big Read - 2003 (Weight: 70)
- score: 81 -- All-Time Classics, According to Academics - 1985 (Weight: 81)
- score: 74 -- 100 Best Books - 2010 (Weight: 70)
- score: 74 -- William H. F. Lamont’s 100 Best Novels (1947) - 1947 (Weight: 70)
- score: 70 -- The Great American Read - 2018 (Weight: 70)
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- score: 57 -- Top 50 Books - 2008 (Weight: 50)
- score: 52 -- R/ClassicLiterature's Top 100 Favorite Books - 2026 (Weight: 50)
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- score: 36 -- Harvard Book Store Staff's Favorite 100 Books - 2011 (Weight: 33)
- score: 34 -- The Novel 100: A Ranking of the Greatest Novels of All Time - 2004 (Weight: 30)
- score: 31 -- The New Lifetime Reading Plan - 1999 (Weight: 30)
- score: 28 -- A Hundred Novels to Change Your Life - 2019 (Weight: 28)
- score: 21 -- 100 Essential Books - 2009 (Weight: 20)
- score: 21 -- The Spouter-Inn; or, A Conversation with Great Books - 2024 (Weight: 20)
- score: 20 -- The 500 best books of all time from Culture Café users - 2008 (Weight: 20)
- score: 11 -- The 100 Greatest Novels - 2007 (Weight: 10)
- score: 10 -- Readers’ Top 100 Novels Of All Time - 2026 (Weight: 10)
- score: 10 -- The Book of Great Books: A Guide to 100 World Classics - 2001 (Weight: 10)
- score: 10 -- How to Read and Why - 2000 (Weight: 10)
- score: 10 -- How to Read Literature Like a Professor: A Reading List - 2003 (Weight: 10)
- score: 10 -- Masterpieces of World Literature - 1991 (Weight: 10)
- score: 10 -- One Hundred Best Books (1916) - 1916 (Weight: 10)
- score: 1 -- Entertainment Weekly's Top 100 Novels - 2013 (Weight: 1)
- score: 1 -- The Complete 500: OCLC - 2024 (Weight: 1)
- score: 1 -- Top 25 Pre-20th Century Classics - 2000 (Weight: 1)
- score: 1 -- The Greatest Books of All Time - 2022 (Weight: 1)
- score: 1 -- 100 Must-Read Classics, as Chosen by our Readers - 2022 (Weight: 1)
- score: 1 -- 500 Must Read Books - 2013 (Weight: 1)
- score: 1 -- 1,000 Books to Read Before You Die: A Life-Changing List - 2018 (Weight: 1)
- score: 1 -- Great Books - 2006 (Weight: 1)
- score: 1 -- 100 Books to Read in a Lifetime - 2014 (Weight: 1)
- score: 1 -- The American Library Association's Recommended Reading - 1998 (Weight: 1)
- score: 1 -- The 100 Greatest Books Ever Written - 1979 (Weight: 1)
- score: 1 -- Select 100 - 2015 (Weight: 1)
- score: 1 -- Inteliquest's World's 100 Greatest Books of All-Time - 1993 (Weight: 1)
- score: 1 -- 100 Books to Read in a Lifetime - 2014 (Weight: 1)
- score: 1 -- What Harvard Professors Think Greatest Books Ever: Top 20 List (1977) - 1977 (Weight: 1)
- score: 1 -- From Zero to Well-Read in 100 Books - 2013 (Weight: 1)
- score: 1 -- 50 Classics You Must Read Before You Die - 2024 (Weight: 1)