Bleak House is the great writer’s grandest, most virtuosic achievement.

The older Dickens got, the darker his books. With Great Expectations, he asks: How long can a society ignore the nefarious, corrupt or compromised sources of its wealth?

Dickens wrote fourteen and a half novels, which means that any devotee of his work runs the risk of running out. We recommend the titles below to fill the void and expand your sense of both his literary scene and his legacy.

Critical reception of Dorrit was mixed, but in keeping with the swing toward appreciation of the darker Dickens, it now stands as proof of his genius.

Every time I read the book I think, the story of a boy who overcomes adversity and grows up to be a writer? That’s the most cliché first-novel idea around. Except that it was Dickens’ eighth, and it marked a departure.

Our Mutual Friend has one major flaw, for which I can’t quite forgive it. But it also has some of Dickens’ strangest, most haunting characters.

Everyone knows that famous first sentence. And before I read the novel, I assumed it was a meaningless series of hyperboles. Imagine my mortification to find that it is, in fact, a model first sentence, one for the ages.

For decades after Dickens’ death, Pickwick remained his most beloved book.

Dickens’ shortest novel is very taut, and occasionally some sharp little passage arrives that reminds you of his more expansive greatness.

When the death scene in Dombey and Son was published, all of England was apparently prostrated by grief.

Honestly, little Oliver’s a bit dull. The novel’s best side is its dark side, and Dickens knew it.