The Pickwick Papers was Dickens' first novel. Retired businessman and confirmed bachelor Mr. Samuel Pickwick, Esquire, embarks on a journey through the English countryside accompanied by three fellow "Pickwickians": Mr. Tupman, Mr. Snodgrass, and Mr. Winkle. It is a joy to hear of their misadventures in search of stories and characters of interest and the repeated efforts of the quick-witted Sam Weller (Mr. Pickwick's manservant) to rescue them all from disaster. With a host of unlikely and wonderful characters, this masterpiece of comic writing is still to this day one of literature's most beloved works.

Great Expectations is arguably Dickens' finest work. Chapter one opens up in a lonely graveyard on the marshes in Southern England, where we first meet young Pip and witness a terrifying meeting with an escaped convict. The novel charts the life of Pip from boy to young man, during which Dickens treats us to array of unforgettable characters, from the lovable Joe and the servile Pumblechuck to the jilted Miss Havisham and the faithful Herbert Pocket.