The TV show that has the whole world hooked

Self-help books are seen as a modern phenomenon, but they originated in the Victorian era. One famous example is Samuel Smiles' 1859 text Self Help, published one year before Great Expectations, which collected hundreds of examples of people who worked hard on themselves to achieve success. They taught that by applying yourself, you could move through the ranks of society. Dickens alludes to such texts and ideas in the novel: the title itself is a reference to Pip's desire to improve himself and his rank, and many other characters have the same cut-throat aims.

Are we the burnt-out generation? Is Squid Game, the Netflix smash-hit South Korean horror show, tapping into our deepest post-lockdown anxieties about returning to the rat race?

Is Boris Johnson a Great British Disgrace? Scandals that would have sunk other politicians appeared to have no effect on him. His gaffes and blunders became part of his brand.

Can anyone be an entrepreneur? Steven Bartlett has been coming up with business ideas since he was 10. But he believes that few young people today have the drive that he does. 

The juxtapositionPlacing two things together to show the difference between them. between Miss Havisham's money, which she inherited from her father, and Magwitch's money, which he earned, proves that social class is about far more than merely wealth. Whilst Pip is proud to have privileged Miss Havisham as a benefactor, he renounces his money when he discovers that it in fact came from the convict. Yet we can still see the equalising effects of the Industrial RevolutionA period of sudden, rapid industrialisation that transforms a country from an agricultural to an industrial economy., which upended the class system, in Great Expectations. The book features no aristocratic characters, and it is clear that wealth is no longer merely hereditarySomething which is passed from parent to child. . Now that the opportunity to be a gentleman is no longer bestowed by birthright alone, characters grapple with the real meaning of concepts like gentilitySocial superiority shown by good taste, behaviour and manners.. Pip ultimately concludes that it is something earned through one's character, rather than a title that is automatically earned by coming into money.

Is social mobility a myth? The UK civil service is dominated by privately educated Latin speakers, a new report revealed yesterday. For some, it is proof: hard work does not equal success.

Is society too focused on the idea of self-improvement? For years, politicians have promised that hard work equals success. Now one leading philosopher says the idea of merit is a myth.

Is Marcus Rashford an exception or an inspiration? The Premier League striker grew up poor and hungry, but is now using his fame to fight for children going hungry during the lockdown.

For the Victorians, crime fiction was a new but popular genre, which tended towards glamourising the lives of criminals. Dickens' portrayal of criminality is, on the whole, much more measured, despite its evocativeBringing images or feelings to mind. descriptions of prison and exile. Though characters like Compeyson are traditional swindlers, the convict Abel Magwitch is a benevolentWell-meaning and kind. actor who supports Pip's ascent through the social ranks to become a gentleman. Through Magwitch, Dickens highlights the irony of Victorian respectability: Pip validates his new, higher class status by becoming respectable and refined, but his position is built on the criminality of the previous generation.

Could a range of options be more just? The dual-verdict system of "guilty" or "not guilty" is seen as a pillar of many legal systems. But some say we need a new formula for the modern world.

Rise and fall of a political greased piglet

Is all war a crime? As Putin is accused of outrages in Ukraine, some protest that the term, "war crime" makes no sense. Does it imply that some kinds of killing are justified?

Can free will exist if the future is known in advance? The world's most powerful spy software company is launching a tool that can use phones to alert police of future crimes.

Great Expectations is one of only two of Dickens' novels written entirely in the first person. This sets the scene for a story which, at its heart, is pure bildungsroman, examining the moral, psychological and social lessons learned by its protagonist throughout his life. In the Victorian era, self-improvement through education and social refinement was an important principle, but education is not merely a means for social mobility in the novel. Education through life experience and moral reflection serve the characters much better by the end of the novel than any classical learning.

Do we need lessons in small talk? Worried that its students are losing the art of conversation, a British university has announced a new module to help them learn to break the ice.

Is social censure strangling free speech? Writer Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie is the latest public figure to wade into the debate on "cancel culture", claiming that it is damaging our creativity.

Should Oxbridge be abolished? UK exam boards have started checking grades. Critics say students from private schools have an unfair advantage when applying to top universities.

The traditional family unit is subverted throughout Great Expectations. Conventional parent-child relationships are almost nowhere to be found, but characters like Joe, Mrs Joe and Miss Havisham take on a parental role. These adoptive family units are often dysfunctional and damaging, and children are manipulated unknowingly by the schemes of their guardians, particularly matriarchal figures such as Mrs Joe and Miss Havisham. The novel emphasises the role of generational trauma. Just as Joe and his mother were abused by his father, Joe and Pip are abused by the controlling and perpetuallyConstantly. enraged Mrs Joe. And just as Miss Havisham was jilted by her lover, she teaches Estella to treat Pip equally sadisticallyEnjoying hurting other people. .

What if all men could give birth? Freddy McConnell is legally male, but was born female and is biologically able to carry children. His mother says it is an experience all men should have.

Should parental responsibility end at 18? Judges all over the world are forcing young people to leave their parent's homes. Now some argue it is time to redefine our notion of adulthood.

Is Hunter Biden brave to publish his life story? The book, out yesterday, describes his battle against addiction and the role of his father Joe Biden in putting his life back on track.