"Great Expectations revolves around the life of an orphan nicknamed Pip. The novel, set in the 19th centur y, traces the psychological growth of Pip in three stages: his childhood in the marshes of Kent, his journey from the rural environs to the London metropolis, and finally his reluctant reconciliation with the vanity of false promises and values. The cast includes the cold yet ethereal Estella, the kind-hearted blacksmith Joe, the 'pale young gentleman' Herbert Pocket and the affluent, eccentric spinster Miss Havisham, among others. George Bernard Shaw said of the novel, 'All of one piece and consistently truthful.'"