Our Mutual Friend

Charles Dickens

• Publisher: Caelwick Press
• Year: 2026
• Topic: Literature
• eBook ISBN:
  9784745171232
• Subtopic: Classics
• Index: Literature

Our Mutual Friend is the last of Charles Dickens' novels, published serially between 1864 and 1865. Like many of Dickens' works, it addresses social concerns like how the poor and destitute are treated, but tempers these more serious themes with humor and satire. The novel opens with the retrieval of the body of a drowned man from the Thames river—a body which is identified as that of John Harmon, heir to his father's huge fortune. What happens to this fortune and to the other people named in the will make up a large part of the complex plot. Though Our Mutual Friend wasn't especially well regarded at the time of publication, its critical reputation has improved in later years. It has been adapted into several silent films, but its length and the complexity of its plot make it more suitable for long-form television, with several successful adaptations having been made. Charles Dickens (died 1870) was one of the most distinguished authors of the Victorian age. Their work has endured across generations and continues to be read and studied worldwide. As a work of classic literary fiction, Our Mutual Friend exemplifies the narrative craft and social insight that defined great storytelling of its era. Literary fiction of this period was characterized by careful attention to character psychology, social milieu, and the moral questions that animated public discourse.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Table of Contents
• ON THE LOOK OUT
• THE MAN FROM SOMEWHERE.
• Another Man
• The R. Wilfer Family
• Boffin's Bower
• Cut Adrift
• Mr Wegg Looks After Himself
• Mr Boffin in Consultation
• Mr and Mrs Boffin in Consultation
• A Marriage Contract
• Podsnappery
• The Sweat of an Honest Man's Brow
• Tracking the Bird of Prey
• The Bird of Prey Brought Down
• Two New Servants
• Minders and Re-minders
• A Dismal Swamp
• Of an Educational Character
• Still Educational
• A Piece of Work
• Cupid Prompted
• Mercury Prompting
• A Riddle Without an Answer
• In Which a Friendly Move is Originated
• In Which an Innocent Elopement Occurs
• In Which the Orphan Makes His Will
• A Successor
• Some Affairs of the Heart
• More Birds of Prey
• A Solo and a Duett
• Strong of Purpose
• The Whole Case So Far
• An Anniversary Occasion
• Lodgers in Queer Street
• A Respected Friend in a New Aspect
• The Same Respected Friend in More Aspects than One
• A Happy Person of the Day
• The Golden Dustman Falls into Bad Company
• The Golden Dustman Falls into Worse Company
• The Friendly Move Takes Up a Strong Position
• The End of a Long Journey
• Somebody Becomes the Subject of a Prediction
• Scouts Out
• In The Dark
• Meaning Mischief
• Give a Dog a Bad Name, and Hang Him
• Mr Wegg Prepares a Grindstone for Mr Boffin's Nose
• The Golden Dustman at His Worst
• The Feast of the Three Hobgoblins
• A Social Chorus
• Setting Traps
• The Golden Dustman Rises a Little
• The Golden Dustman Sinks Again
• A Runaway Match
• Concerning the Mendicant's Bride
• A Cry for Help
• Better to be Abel than Cain
• A Few Grains of Pepper
• Two Places Vacated
• The Dolls' Dressmaker Discovers a Word
• Effect is given to the Dolls' Dressmaker's Discovery
• The Passing Shadow
• Showing How the Golden Dustman Helped to Scatter Dust
• Checkmate to the Friendly Move
• What was Caught in the Traps That Were Set
• Persons and Things in General
• The Voice of Society
• Postscript—In Lieu of Preface