Philip Pirrip is a young man who befriends a convict, who falls in love with a beautiful--but hateful--girl, and who comes into a very unexpected fortune. Like anything by Dickens, this story is a social comment on the problems of becoming part of the leisure class. While Pip is sensitive to the needs of others, his good fortune almost ruins him. Another underlying theme in this work is the injustice of the legal system in England. The reader will definitely not wish to visit "Little Britain" for whatever reason! This work will affect all of the emotions: pity, fear, joy, and profound sadness. This novel has some of the most memorable characters in any literature.