Great Expectations
Read Great Expectations by Charles Dickens in German and English, a parallel text graded reader with audio. Available in CEFR levels A2, B1, B2, and C2.
About this book
On the marshes, beneath a sky striped red and black, a small orphan named Pip is tending his family's graves when a voice cracks the silence. "Hold your noise!" A man rises from among the tombstones, an escaped convict in irons, and tilts the boy backward with every threat until Pip promises to bring him a file and food. Great Expectations opens in fear and mud, and everything that follows grows from that one memorable morning.
Available editions
Read a sample
Der Nachname meines Vaters war Pirrip.
My father’s family name was Pirrip.
Mein eigener Vorname war Philip.
My own first name was Philip.
Aber als ich ein Baby war, konnte ich diese Namen nicht deutlich sagen.
But when I was a baby, I could not say those names clearly.
Ich konnte nur ein kurzes Wort sagen: Pip.
I could only say one short word: Pip.
Also nannte ich mich Pip.
So I called myself Pip.
Und so fingen alle an, mich Pip zu nennen.
And that is how everyone started to call me Pip.
Ich weiß, dass Pirrip der Familienname meines Vaters war, weil es auf seinem Grabstein steht.
I know that Pirrip was my father’s family name because it is on his tombstone.
History
- Written by Charles Dickens in English
- Adapted by Line by Line Publishing in 2026