Bleak House character list below for the supposed inspiration of individual characters). Although not a character, the "Jarndyce and Jarndyce" case is a vital part of the novel. It is believed to have been inspired by a number of real-life Chancery cases involving wills, including those of Charles Day and William Jennens, and of Charlotte Smith's father-in-law Richard Smith. Much criticism of "Bleak House" focuses on its unique narrative structure: it is told both by a third-person omniscient narrator and a first-person narrator (Esther Summerson). The omniscient narrator speaks in the present tense and is a dispassionate observer. Esther Summerson tells her
Bleak House Books Bleak House Books Bleak House Books was an imprint of Big Earth Publishing. Before being acquired by Big Earth in 2005, Bleak House began as an independent publisher, releasing its first book in 2001. Bleak House was a publisher of hardboiled/"noir" books with real type protagonists, focusing more upon the people in the novels and the way they live in the world. Bleak House Books also kept a blog and produced podcasts in which various authors and other members of the publishing community were interviewed. Apart from publishing the majority of its books simultaneously, available upon publication date in both