A review by sophronisba
Hard Times: for These Times by Charles Dickens

4.0

You don't expect to say this about a Dickens novels, but if only this could have been longer. I really love Louisa Gradgrind and I think Dickens could have done so much with her. In my 2019 reread of Dickens I have been pleasantly surprised to realize that Dickens's female characters do become deeper and more interesting later in his career, and Louisa reminds me a great deal of Edith Dombey, one of the best characters in his ouevre. (I think there are also clear resemblances between Louisa and Estella in Great Expectations.) Perversely, although I am not really a happily-ever-after person, I resent that Dickens denied her a happy ending.