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 - these form a series of events that change the orphaned Pip's life forever and he eagerly abandons his humble origins to begin a new life as a gentleman.
Dickens's haunting late novel depicts Pip's education and development through adversity as he discovers the true nature of his 'great expectations'.
