Charles Dickens' last novel Our Mutual Friend follows a young Englishman named John Harmon who returns to London to claim a large inheritance on the condition that he marries a woman named Bella Wilfer. However, a corpse is found in the river identified as John Harmon. This sparks a complex plot involving various characters attempting to claim the inheritance. Central themes include the relationships between marriage, money, and societal values, which are explored through the marriages of Harmon to Bella and Eugene to Lizzie. Our Mutual Friend is considered one of Dickens' greatest works for its mature expression of his artistic abilities and reflection of Victorian-era English society.

1. Book:Our Mutual Friend
Autor: Charles Dickens
Release year: 1865
Aboutthe autor…
Charles Dickens (Charles John Huffam Dickens) wasborn in Landport, Portsmouth, onFebruary 7, 1812.
Charles wasthesecond of eightchildren to John Dickens (1786–1851), a clerk in theNavyPay Office, and hiswife
Elizabeth Dickens (1789–1863). The Dickens family moved to London in 1814 and twoyearslater to Chatham,
Kent, where Charles spentearlyyears of hischildhood. Due to thefinancialdifficultiesthey moved back to London
in 1822, wheretheysettled in Camden Town, a poorneighborhood of London.
Young Charles
Thedefiningmoment of Dickens'slifeoccurredwhen he was 12 yearsold. Hisfather,
whohad a difficult time managingmoney and wasconstantly in debt, wasimprisoned
in theMarshalseadebtor'sprison in 1824. Because of this, Charles
waswithdrawnfromschool and forced to work in a warehousethathandled 'blacking'
orshoepolish to helpsupportthefamily. Thisexperienceleftprofoundpsychological
and sociologicaleffectson Charles. Itgavehim a firsthandacquaintancewithpoverty
and madehimthemostvigorous and influentialvoice of theworkingclasses in hisage.
After a fewmonthsDickens'sfatherwasreleasedfromprison and Charles wasallowed to go back to school. At
fifteenhis formal educationended and he foundemployment as an office boy at anattorney's, while he
studiedshorthand at night. From 1830 he worked as a shorthandreporter in thecourts and afterwards as a
parliamentary and newspaperreporter.
In 1833 Dickens began to contribute short stories and essays to periodicals. A Dinner at Popular
Walk wasDickens'sfirstpublishedstory. Itappeared in the Monthly Magazine in December 1833. In 1834, still
a newspaperreporter, he adoptedthesoon to be famouspseudonym Boz. Dickens'sfirstbook, a collection of
storiestitled Sketches byBoz, waspublished in 1836. In thesameyear he married Catherine Hogarth, daughter
of the editor of the EveningChronicle. Togethertheyhad 10 childrenbeforetheyseparated in 1858.
AlthoughDickens'smainprofessionwas as a novelist, he continuedhisjournalisticworkuntiltheend of hislife,
editing TheDaily News, HouseholdWords, and AlltheYear Round. Hisconnections to various magazines and
newspapersgavehimtheopportunity to beginpublishinghisownfiction at thebeginning of hiscareer.
In 1842 he travelledwithhiswife to theUnitedStates and Canada, which led to his controversial American
Notes (1842) and isalsothebasis of some of theepisodes in Martin Chuzzlewit. Dickens's series of five
Christmas Booksweresoon to follow; A Christmas Carol (1843), The Chimes (1844), The Cricket
ontheHearth(1845), TheBattle of Life (1846), and TheHauntedMan (1848). After living brieflyabroad in
Italy (1844) and Switzerland (1846) Dickens continuedhissuccesswith Dombey and Son (1848),
thelargelyautobiographical David Copperfield (1849-50), BleakHouse (1852-53), Hard Times (1854), Little
Dorrit (1857), A Tale of TwoCities (1859),Great Expectations (1861), and hislast novel Our mutual Friend
(1865).
Charles Dickens died at home on June 9, 1870 aftersuffering a stroke.

2. Aboutthehistory…..
In thebookthereis a richuniverse of charactersthatisrelated in anenvironmentframed in the "Society" of the time,
a concept that Dickens uses to givelife to a set of customscarriedoutbythecharactersthatgivelife to this novel,
and whichgoeshand in handwithprejudicesdependentoneach social status, work, and aboveall,
influentialfriendships.
Thegreatmerit of Dickens isthat he isable to keepuswithinthedenouement of allthatsurroundsthe case of John
Harmon, getinto a myriad of eventsrelated to thecharacters of thiswork, and at thesame time giveus a rich social
x-ray of the London upperclass of thenineteenthcentury. In addition, thesubtletywithwhich Dickens givesvoice
to eachcharacter, clearlymarkstheirpersonalities and at thesame time differentiatesthemwithremarkableaccuracy
to eachother. Thus, we are witnesses of theirtemptations, wills, beliefs, traumas and afflictions; obstaclesthat
lead to redemptionor personal condemnation.
Characters:
John Harmon – isheir to theHarmon estate, undertheconditionthat he marry Bella Wilfer. He
ispresumeddeadthroughoutmost of the novel, though in fact he is living underthename John Rokesmith, and
working as a secretaryfortheBoffins in anattempt to betterget to know Bella, theBoffins, and people's general
reaction to John Harmon's "death". Harmonalso uses the alias Julius Handford uponfirstreturning to London.
Bella Wilfer - theyoungwoman John Harmonisdirected to marry. A beautifulgirlfrom a poor home, sheistaken
in bytheBoffins, who try to givehertheadvantagesshewouldhaveenjoyed as Harmon’swife. In time,
herselfishnessisovercomebyher natural affections. ShemakesHarmon a fine wife and bearshim a child.
NoddyBoffinorThe Golden Dustman - theilliterate, good-
heartedconfidentialclerkwhoinheritstheHarmonfortuneafter John Harmon’ssupposeddeath. When Mrs.
Boffinlearns John Rokesmith’s true identity, herhusband, at Harmon’srequest, agrees to keepthesecret. Also at
Harmon’ssuggestion, Boffinbehaveswithincreasingevidence of greeduntil Bella Wilferseeswhatavarice can lead
to. Pesteredby a blackmaileroverthewill, he finally shows thatthefortuneisreallyhis and
thengenerouslyhandsitover to Harmon.
MrsBoffin - cheerful, simple, affectionatewife of NoddyBoffin, a
childlesswomanwholavishesloveoneveryonearoundher.
MortimerLightwood - a brightlawyer, cautioussolicitorwhohandlesBoffin’saffairs and
reportsonthedevelopments of theHarmon case.
LizzieHexam – is a daughter of JesseHexam and sister of Charley Hexam. Sheisanaffectionatedaughter,
butknowsthat Charley must escape their living circumstancesif he is to succeed in life, so shegives Charley
hermoney and helpshimleavewhiletheirfatherisaway. Latersheisrejectedby Charley aftersheremains in poverty.
Pursuedromanticallybyboth Bradley Headstone and Eugene Wrayburn. Lizzie'sconcernabout social
classrevealsherreasoningforensuringherbrother's escape frompoverty and ignorance,
thoughsheremainshumbleaboutherownsituation. However, her moral characterattractsWrayburn and
herinherentgoodnessisrewardedwith marital happiness.
Charley Hexam – isthe son of Jesse "Gaffer" Hexam and a brother of Lizzie. Originally a verycaringbrother.
thischanges as he risesaboveLizzie in class and mustremovehimselffromher to maintainhis social standing. He
wasbornintopoverty, butreceivesschooling and becomes a teacherunderHeadstone'smentoring.

3. Eugene Wrayburn – whoisseen as thenovel'ssecondhero, is a lawyer, and a gentleman bybirth, though he
isroguish and insolent. He is a closefriend of MortimerLightwood, and involved in a
lovetrianglewithLizzieHexam and Bradley Headstone.ThoughWrayburnappearsmorally grey throughmost of the
novel, bytheend he isseen as a moral, sympatheticcharacter and a true gentleman.
Jenny Wren – is "thedolls' dressmaker," withwhomLizzielivesafterherfatherdies. Sheiscrippledwith a bad back,
thoughnotugly. Althoughhermannerismsgiveher a certain "strangeness",[4] Jenny isveryperceptive, identifying
Eugene Wrayburn's and Headstone´sintentionstowardsLizzie in hissmallactions.
Bradley Headstone –Charley Hexam'sschoolmaster and friend, he falls in lovewithLizzieHexam, whom he
pursuespassionately and violently, thoughhisadvances are rejected. He thendevelopsaninsanejealousytowards
Eugene Wrayburn, whom he follows at nightlikean "ill-tamed wild animal". Describedrepeatedly as "decent"
and "constrained", Headstone'spersonalitysplitsbetween "painfullyrespectable"[and "wild jealousy", with a
"passion terrible in itsviolence".
RogueRiderhood – "Gaffer" Hexam'spartneruntilGafferrejectshimwhen he isconvicted of theft. Later,
Riderhoodbecomes a lock-keeper, and Headstoneattempts to framehimforthemurder of Eugene Wrayburn.
Riderhoodrepresentsanopportunisticcharacterwhowillchangehisbehaviouraccording to
whateversuitshisneedsbest at anygivenmoment.
JesseHexam– a waterman and thefather of Lizzie and Charley, whomakes a living byrobbingcorpsesfound in
theriverThames. Hisformerpartner, RogueRiderhood, turnshim in forthemurder of John
HarmonafterHarmon'sbodyissupposedlydraggedfromtheriver. A searchismounted to find and arrestGaffer, but
he isdiscovereddead in hisboat.
Summary
Ourcommonfriendfeatures a youngEnglishmanwhoreturns to hischildhoodcity to receive a succulentinheritance,
to which he will be entitled to marry a beautifulgirl he doesnotknow. However, in thosesamedays a
corpseisfound in theriver, and thepoliceidentifyitwiththename of John Harmon, preciselythefuturemillionaire.
Itisfromthisfactthatdevelops a catchingplot, which has as protagonists, amongothers, thecouple of
oldmenwhocaredfor John in hischildhood, and who come to belong to thefunds. In addition, they are a
diversegroup of personageswhocreatevariedtricks to extractsomeslice of said sum; a
mysterioussecretarywhohelpstheelderlymanagetheresourcestheyobtainforJohn'sdisappearance, as well as
theinfallible English nobles who are experts in theprejudices and idioms of theday, lawyers, beggars,
hardworking, poorwomenwhostrive to survive and many more.
Personal Opinion
Charles Dickens’slastcompleted novel, Our Mutual Friend, isamonghisgreatestworks,
containingperhapsthemostmatureexpression of hisartisticabilities.
Also central to the novel isthetheme of therelationshipsamongmarriage, money, and societalvalues.
Thisthemeisworkedout in thetwoimportantmarriages in the novel, thosebetweenHarmon and Bella, Eugene and
Lizzie. In each of thesemarriages, moneyisanimportantissue.
Our mutual friendis a workworthy of reading, which shows usthemostbrilliant of Dickens and
hisimmensecapacity to reflecthis time withfaithfulaccuracy, and mostremarkable, usinganattractive,
entertainingstorythat has a denouementthatmany of yourreaderswill be amazed.