Martin Chuzzlewit

Mid-19th century Britain—and America—come to life in this darkly humored classic by Charles Dickens.

Martin Chuzzlewit the elder is an old man whose death will result in a vast inheritance—but for whom is the question. Though his avaricious and sycophantic relatives hope to benefit from his demise, Martin has other plans. He raises an orphan, Mary Graham, who looks after him and draws an income—so long as the old man lives. But young Martin—named for his grandfather who has raised him along with Mary—falls in love with the orphan, which threatens to spoil the elder Chuzzlewit's plans. After the two argue, Young Martin leaves home, and Old Martin disinherits him. A darkly comic novel of greed, hypocrisy, and redemption, this work by Dickens is enhanced by the masterful recording by theatre great—and star of a BBC production of Martin Chuzzlewit—Paul Scofield.