Our Mutual Friend by Charles Dickens

Name: Our Mutual Friend
Author: Charles Dickens

Our Mutual Friend is a novel by Charles Dickens, first published in monthly installments from May 1864 to November 1865. The story follows John Harmon, a young man who is the sole heir to a large fortune. He is to inherit the fortune only if he marries Bella Wilfer, a young woman he has never met. When John is presumed dead after a shipwreck, his father's will is put into effect and Bella is left with the fortune. Meanwhile, John has survived the shipwreck and is living under an assumed identity. He meets and falls in love with Lizzie Hexam, the daughter of a Thames River scavenger. John and Lizzie's relationship is threatened by the machinations of the Veneerings, a wealthy family who are trying to marry off their daughter to John. John's identity is eventually revealed, and he is reunited with Bella. However, John and Bella's relationship is strained by the presence of the Veneerings and the machinations of the unscrupulous Mr. Boffin, who is trying to manipulate John and Bella for his own gain. The novel follows the characters as they navigate the complexities of love, money, and social class. In the end, John and Bella are reunited and the Veneerings are exposed. Mr. Boffin is revealed to be a kind-hearted man who has been manipulated by the Veneerings. The novel ends with John and Bella's marriage and the promise of a happy future.

By Charles Dickens · First published 1865 · Genre: Realistic Fiction, Social Commentary, Romance · 60 chapters · 326,733 words

First lines

Plashwater Weir Mill Lock looked tranquil and pretty on an evening in the summer time. A soft air stirred the leaves of the fresh green trees, and passed like a smooth shadow over the river, and like a smoother shadow over the yielding grass. The voice of the falling water, like the voices of the sea and the wind, were as an outer memory to a contemplative listener; but not particularly so to Mr Riderhood, who sat on one of the blunt wooden levers of his lock-gates, dozing. Wine must be got into a butt by some agency before it can be drawn out; and the wine of sentiment never having been got into Mr Riderhood by any agency, nothing in nature tapped him.

What this Textopian page supports

Our Mutual Friend is listed on Textopian as a novel by Charles Dickens, dated 1865 CE.

This source record anchors work identity, reading entry points, and catalog context for checking claims about the work.

Work type: Novel
Author: Charles Dickens
Date: 1865 CE
Language: English
Genres: Realistic Fiction, Social Commentary, Romance, Mystery
Length: 326,733 words
Structure: 67 chapters, 8,912 paragraphs
Reading fit: Fairly Difficult (10th-12th Grade)

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Discussion starters

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Similar titles

Genres

Realistic Fiction — Our Mutual Friend is a realistic novel that follows the lives of several characters in Victorian London, exploring themes of social class, wealth, and morality.
Social Commentary — The novel is a social commentary on the Victorian era, exploring themes of class, wealth, and morality.
Romance — The novel contains several romantic subplots, including the courtship of John Harmon and Bella Wilfer, and the relationship between Eugene Wrayburn and Lizzie Hexam.
Mystery — The novel contains a mystery element, as the identity of John Harmon's father is unknown until the end of the novel.