Charles Dickens: An Overview:
http://www.victorianweb.org/authors/dickens/dickensov.html
This site is dedicated to exploring Charles Dickens within the context of Victorian literature, politics and culture. There is commentary explaining the economic context of Dickens's works, a bibliography of useful resources on- and off-line, a biography of Dickens, a list of online versions of most of Dickens's writings and a biography of the author as well. There is also a collection of essays that is one of the more extensive Dickens archives on the web.
Charles Dickens' Hard Times: Romantic Tragedy or Proletariat Propaganda?:
http://www.pillowrock.com/ronnie/hardtimes.htm
This somewhat humorous essay offers a valuable interpretation of Dickens' "politics" in more modern terms. The bibliography is also useful for students who are looking for information on the basic economic theories that Dickens is responding toand that offer a response to his theories as well.
Dickens on the Web:
http://www.fidnet.com/~dap1955/dickens/dickens_web.html
This site offers links to over forty web-sites that offer literary criticism, biographical material and entertainment-related resources. Not all of the information listed pertains to Hard Times and the more popular novels have more coverage but there is a good amount of information available and the site is definitely valuable for information on Dickens's personal life, literary style and historical context. In the event that you are interested in joining a Dickens appreciation society, this site will refer you to the proper authorities.
