‘Miniature masterpieces’ BBC R4 Open Book

2012 is the bicentenary of Charles Dickens’s birth ... he’s going to be everywhere!

‘Not every child will get Dickens, but a chance to get to know him should be the birthright of every Briton. Break them in gently. Let schools show Lionel Bart’s incandescent Oliver! Let younger ones learn the remarkable stories of Pip and Tiny Tim through Gill Tavner’s excellent condensed Dickens Real Reads and prove that the vast human spirit under that slab in Westminster Abbey is not dead, only sleeping.’ The Telegraph

Immensely popular in his day, Dickens’s stories are as relevant and entertaining as ever, his characters as real and exciting as they always were. Real Reads Dickens, true to his content and style, offer young readers a wonderful way in to these sometimes daunting classics. Now you can read the stories of Pip, David Copperfield, Esther, Tiny Tim and Little Nell in a more accessible format.

For the bicentenary Real Reads is adding another three Dickens titles to the six already published – A Tale of Two Cities, The Old Curiosity Shop and Little Dorrit, the last two well-known through recent television versions.

Dickens is Real Reads’ most popular author – Oliver Twist has already reprinted seven times.

To see the titles in this series click here.