The Penguin English Library edition of Great Expectations by Charles Dickens. "What do you think that is?" she asked me, pointing again with her stick, "that thing over there where the cobwebs are?" "I can't guess what it is, ma'am." "It's a big cake. A wedding cake. Mine!" An amusing, terrifying, and tender account of the orphan boy Pip's journey of self-discovery, Great Expectations is among Dickens's most beloved works. The story depicts how a young man's life is transformed by a mysterious series of events—an encounter with an escaped convict; a visit to a wicked old woman and a beautiful girl; and a fortune from a secret benefactor. Dickens's late novel is a masterpiece of psychological and moral truth, and Pip is one of his greatest creations. The Penguin English Library offers 100 editions of the best English-language fiction, ranging from the eighteenth century and the very earliest novels to the beginning of the First World War.