{"product_id":"hard-times-9780553210163","title":"Hard Times","description":"Written deliberately to increase the circulation of Dickens's weekly magazine, \u003ci\u003eHousehold Words, Hard Times\u003c\/i\u003e was a huge and instantaneous success upon publication in 1854. Yet this novel is not the cheerful celebration of Victorian life one might have expected from the beloved author of \u003ci\u003eThe Pickwick Papers\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eThe Old Curiosity Shop\u003c\/i\u003e. Compressed, stark, allegorical, it is a bitter expos  of capitalist exploitation during the industrial revolution-and a fierce denunciation of the philosophy of materialism, which threatens the human imagination in all times and places. With a typically unforgettable cast of characters-including the heartless fact-worshipper \u003cbr\u003eMr. Gradgrind, the warmly endearing Sissy Jupe, and the eternally noble Stephen Blackpool-\u003ci\u003eHard Times\u003c\/i\u003e carries a uniquely powerful message and remains one of the most widely read of Dickens's major novels.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Bantam Classics\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 03\/01\/1981\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780553210163\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 320\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.35lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 6.89h x 4.17w x 0.67d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAccelerated Reader Quiz #\/Name: \u003c\/b\u003e50672 \/ Hard Times\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eReading Level:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.3 \/ \u003cb\u003eInterest Level:\u003c\/b\u003e Upper Grade \/ \u003cb\u003ePoint Value:\u003c\/b\u003e 20\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Charles Dickens","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":43067621605557,"sku":"9780553210163","price":5.06,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0473\/0804\/6492\/files\/img_6692ec04-dcd6-4252-8f43-67fcfc6d018b.jpg?v=1690861642","url":"https:\/\/pastforward.org\/products\/hard-times-9780553210163","provider":"Past Forward","version":"1.0","type":"link"}