Why am I passionate about this?
Within the caste into which I was born, daughter of a daughter of a daughter, I was ānobodyāāno dowry, an awkward brain, and unfashionable looksādark hourglass, not blonde beanpole. Unless I married the right kind of man, of courseāan eldest son with a big house. This was the 70s, and you probably donāt believe me, but many girls still went the full Jane Austen. So Iām perfectly qualified to tell you about the best books that centre on a big house as metaphor, a major character or a massive plot point in a novel. And, reader, I swerved marrying a man for his house too.
Josa's book list on novels where a house is a major character
Why did Josa love this book?
Iāve loved this book since I was a teenager, but I always feel frustrated and angry at Miss Havishamās entrapment of Estella and Pip. Central to the story is Satis House, a metaphor for getting stuck in lifeāits name is very close to Stasis.
The original end of the novel works much better for me. Pip and Estella meet by chance in the street and part for the last time. The ānewā ending has them go off together against a backdrop of burned-down Satis House, thus removing the irony of the bookās title. Although there is the heavy-handed metaphor of the death of the house freeing them, I prefer that it retains its static power and condemns their expectations forever.
13 authors picked Great Expectations as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.
'His novels will endure as long as the language itself' Peter Ackroyd
Dickens's haunting late novel depicts the education and development of a young man, Pip, as his life is changed by a series of events - a terrifying encounter with an escaped convict in a graveyard on the wild Kent marshes; a summons to meet the bitter, decaying Miss Havisham and her beautiful, cold-hearted ward Estella; the sudden generosity of a mysterious benefactor - and he discovers the true nature of his 'great expectations'. This definitive edition includes appendices on Dickens's original ending, giving an illuminating glimpse into aā¦