Dombey and Son (THE GREAT CLASSICS LIBRARY)

What inspired Dickens to tackle this theme? A man so obsessed with having a male heir that he neglects and even abuses the daughter who adores him. Not the least of Dickens' accomplishments is that he finds nobility in the relentlessly oblivious Dombey Sr. - a very hard man to like. The jewel and heart of the novel, though, is little Florence, a cousin to Little Nell, and who might be almost as unbelievable in her dedication to a heartless father were the real world not so filled with equally devoted daughters trying to win a parents' love.

Too, this is not the first time Dickens painted the bond between a brother and a sister, but the young age of "Flo" and Paul here makes it all the more heartrending. With this, a beautiful woman enslaved by her own beauty and its uses, a stolid admirable sailor and a truly vile villain whose ultimate comeuppance is almost gleeful in its extremity.

One of Dickens' lesser known novels, but well worth the discovery.