Information about the author Charles Dickens: "Hard Times" is the archetypal Dickens novel, characterized by family struggles, alienation, corrupted values, and misfortune. It was published in 1854 and is set in the fictional town of Coketown, an industrial city inspired by Preston. The story revolves around the family of Thomas Gradgrind, a man obsessed with misguided utilitarian values that lead him to prioritize facts, statistics, and practicality over emotions. Based on James Mill, the utilitarian leader, Gradgrind raises his own children, Louisa and Tom, according to these same beliefs, imposing a stark existence on them. Contemporary critics like Macaulay tore the book apart for its supposed gloomy socialism, but it has since gained prestige after winning the favor of George Bernard Shaw. Illustrated by Harry French, with a foreword by David Stuart Davies. Foreword to Charles Dickens' shortest novel.