One of the pleasures for me in rereading some of Dickens’s more massive works is the plethora of characters and plots and the author’s skill in linking them all up. Our Mutual Friend is one of those books, and it was chosen from my list by the latest Classics Club spin.
The novel begins when Jesse Hexam, a waterman, and his daughter Lizzie fish a body out of the Thames. A sequel to this incident is related by Mortimer Lightwood, a man of law, at a party. He tells the story of a man named Harmon who became fabulously wealthy dealing in dust. He had two children. He threw off his daughter for marrying a man with no money, and when his son came from school to defend his sister, he threw him off, too. When Harmon dies, he leaves the lowest mound of dust to an old family servant, Mr. Boffin, and the rest to his son, John Harmon, as long as John marries the girl his father has chosen for him. The son is located after an absence of twelve years, but then he is drowned after returning, a body of a gentleman having been found with only Harmon’s card on his person.
Brought to identify the victim is a young man named Julian Handford, but he is unable to identify the body. When next we see this mysterious young man, he is called John Rokesmith and has soon offered himself as secretary to Mr. Boffin, the residual legatee to Harmon’s estate, now wealthy.
The Boffins are honest and unsuspecting people who, we learn, were the only comfort for John Harmon in his younger years. Since they have inherited John Harmon’s estate, they decide to offer a home to Bella Wilfer, the girl that the elder Harmon had picked out to be wife for his son, reasoning that they have deprived her of wealth. Our first meeting with Bella is not the best. She is both angry at being parceled out to be a wife for a man she never met without her consent and yet determined to marry money, because she is sick of being poor. The ubiquitous Mr. Rokesmith has taken a room at her parents’ house.
The Wilfer family comprise Mr. Wilfer, described as a cherub, with a generous and pleasant disposition; Mrs. Wilfer, a grand, bitter lady who terrifies her husband; Bella, a beautiful spoiled girl; and Lavinia, a little shrew. To her credit, though, Bella likes the unsophisticated Boffins and accepts their invitation.
This is just the beginning of a complex story that features a character with a secret identity; a murder; a man consumed by jealousy; the pursuit of a beautiful but socially inferior girl by an idle member of society; an attempted murder; betrayal by an employee; a selfish brother; an unselfish sister; a kind old Jewish man who suffers many insults; a doll’s dressmaker; and much more. This novel is so complex, but it features characters that you care about, characters that you hate, passages that make you laugh, others that bring a tear. In short—everything you expect from Dickens. Although not as well known as some of his novels, this is one of my favorites—after Bleak House and maybe tied with David Copperfield.
What? Me Read? 
I haven’t read this one yet, but I love the sound of it – Lavinia the little shrew I’m looking forward to! I’ll put it on my next classics list!
Oh, good! This is one of my favorites, so I hope you like it!
It’s ages since I’ve successfully read a Dickens novel. The length overwhelms me these days. But I have always meant to read this one. I wonder if seeing an adaptation might whet my appetite.
There is a good one out there. I thought it starred Matthew MacFayden, but the only one I can find is from 1998, and doesn’t star him, is in fact a little too early for him. However, I remember it being good. It also seems like there was a version in 2025, but I’m having more trouble finding out about it. Maybe it wasn’t finished?
I’ve only read this once, years ago, but it’s one that I remember particularly loving. I’m glad you enjoyed your reread. I would like to read it again one day too, although I still have some other Dickens novels I haven’t read yet.
I think I’ve read everything he wrote at least once, maybe not some of his short stories.
I agree about Dickens’ skill of introducing lots of characters and plot lines and having them all connect in some way by the end. To me he does this brilliantly!! David Copperfield is also one of my favorites. I haven’t read this one yet though. :)
I agree. It’s just amazing to see how he brings the plot to a satisfying conclusion… and even more so when we remember how he wrote these books as serials in a journal. How he ever kept his characters and the plot line clear in his head from week to week, especially with this most intricate one, I cannot imagine!
Either he had a heck of a brain or he kept notes.
I agree – it’s amazing how he kept up with all that. I can’t help but wonder if he kept some sort of notebook where he made notes for his stories.
Oh, you should!
It’s because of all the zillions of characters and sideplots that I can read his books again and again and still find stuff that I’ve forgotten. Glad you enjoyed your re-read of this one! I’m pretty sure if dust was still valuable, I’d be a millionaire… ;)
Yes, that’s how I feel, although I probably haven’t read this one for a few years. I probably read it last when I got the fancy leather one from Folio Society that’s pictured there with my glasses on it, maybe 10 years ago or so.
I need to reread this! I agree it is one of the best.
Good idea!
Click click click. That is the sound of me adding this book to my TBR. I like Dickens even though he does write awfully long books.
My review for the spin was for Madame Bovary.
https://headfullofbooks.blogspot.com/2026/06/classic-review-madame-bovary.html
Oh, good! Now Madame Bovary is something else again.
I have some of his Christmas novellas on my Classics Spin list, and from memory David Copperfield. I want to read the longer books but I am also aware that would be a huge time commitment! I am not sure I have that kind of time right now!
You’ll probably enjoy the longer books more if you have some leisure to read them.