With an essay by F. R. Leavis.
'Now, what I want is, Facts. Teach these boys and girls nothing but Facts. Facts alone
are wanted in life. Plant nothing else, and root out everything else'
Coketown is dominated by the figure of Mr Thomas Gradgrind, school owner and model of
Utilitarian success. Feeding both his pupils and his family with facts, he bans fancy and
wonder from young minds. As a consequence his obedient daughter Louisa marries the loveless
businessman and 'bully of humility' Mr Bounderby, and his son Tom rebels to become embroiled
in gambling and robbery. And, as their fortunes cross with those of free-spirited circus
girl Sissy Jupe and victimised weaver Stephen Blackpool, Gradgrind is eventually forced to
recognise the value of the human heart in an age of materialism and machinery.
The Penguin English Library - 100 editions of the best fiction in the English language,
from the eighteenth century and the first novels to the beginning of the First World War.
