{"product_id":"9781593081560","title":"Hard Times (Barnes \u0026 Noble Classics Series)","description":"\u003ci\u003eHard Times\u003c\/i\u003e, by \u003cb\u003eCharles Dickens\u003c\/b\u003e, is part of the \u003ci\u003eBarnes \u0026amp; Noble Classics\u003c\/i\u003e\u003ci\u003e \u003c\/i\u003eseries, which offers quality editions at affordable prices to the student and the general reader, including new scholarship, thoughtful design, and pages of carefully crafted extras. Here are some of the remarkable features of \u003ci\u003eBarnes \u0026amp; Noble Classics\u003c\/i\u003e: \u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eNew introductions commissioned from today's top writers and scholars \u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eBiographies of the authors \u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eChronologies of contemporary historical, biographical, and cultural events \u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eFootnotes and endnotes \u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eSelective discussions of imitations, parodies, poems, books, plays, paintings, operas, statuary, and films inspired by the work \u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eComments by other famous authors \u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eStudy questions to challenge the reader's viewpoints and expectations \u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eBibliographies for further reading \u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eIndices \u0026amp; Glossaries, when appropriate\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003eAll editions are beautifully designed and are printed to superior specifications; some include illustrations of historical interest. \u003ci\u003eBarnes \u0026amp; Noble Classics \u003c\/i\u003epulls together a constellation of influences—biographical, historical, and literary—to enrich each reader's understanding of these enduring works.\u003cp style=\"MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt\"\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp style=\"MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt\"\u003eSet amid smokestacks and factories, \u003cb\u003eCharles Dickens\u003c\/b\u003e’s \u003ci\u003eHard Times\u003c\/i\u003e is a blistering portrait of Victorian England as it struggles with the massive economic turmoil brought on by the Industrial Revolution. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eChampioning the mind-numbing materialism of the period is Thomas Gradgrind, one of Dickens’s most vivid characters. He opens the novel by arguing that boys and girls should be taught “nothing but Facts. Facts alone are wanted in life.” Forbidding the development of imagination, Gradgrind is ultimately forced to confront the results of his philosophy—his own daughter’s terrible unhappiness. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFull of suspense, humor, and tenderness, \u003ci\u003eHard Times \u003c\/i\u003eis a brilliant defense of art in an age of mechanism.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eKaren Odden\u003c\/b\u003e received her Ph.D. from New York University, where she did her dissertation on Victorian literature. Most recently a lecturer at University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, she is now a freelance writer and lives in Arizona.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Barnes \u0026 Noble","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47031136944368,"sku":"9781593081560","price":8.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/9781593081560_p0.jpg?v=1763813355","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/9781593081560","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}