Charles Dickens was an English writer and social critic. Great Expectations, published in 1861, is the author`s penultimate completed novel; narrated in the first person, it depicts the personal growth and personal development of an orphan nicknamed Pip. The novel contains some of Dickens` most memorable scenes, and is full of extreme imagery - poverty; prison ships and chains, and fights to the death. It also features a colourful cast of characters who have entered popular culture both in England and abroad.