Bleak House being raised by Miss Barbary, Lady Dedlock's sister. Esther does not know Miss Barbary is her aunt. After Miss Barbary dies, John Jarndyce becomes Esther's guardian and assigns the Chancery lawyer "Conversation" Kenge to take charge of her future. After attending school for six years, Esther moves in with him at Bleak House. Jarndyce simultaneously assumes custody of two other wards, Richard Carstone and Ada Clare (who are both his and one another's distant cousins). They are beneficiaries in one of the wills at issue in "Jarndyce and Jarndyce"; their guardian is a beneficiary under another will, and the two
Bleak House the late nineteenth century, actress Fanny Janauschek acted in a stage version of "Bleak House" in which she played both Lady Dedlock and her maid Hortense. The two characters never appear on stage at the same time. In 1876 John Pringle Burnett's play, "Jo" found success in London with his wife, Jennie Lee playing Jo, the crossing-sweeper. In 1893, Jane Coombs acted in a version of "Bleak House". A 1901 short film, "The Death of Poor Joe", is the oldest known surviving film featuring a Charles Dickens character (Jo in "Bleak House"). In the silent film era, "Bleak House" was