Hard Times

Dickens' satirical indictment of 19th century Utilitarianism

“Do the wise thing and the kind thing too, and make the best of us and not the worst.” ― Charles Dickens, Hard Times

Hard Times by Charles Dickens is his most unusual novel. It is substantially shorter than his others and is not set in London, but in a fictious mil-town named Coketown. The novel follows the life of the young people and workers of Coketown as they seek to survive the utilitarian ideals manifest in the town.