HARD TIMES
Published 1854
| Scene: | Coketown (an English factory town) and the Country. |
| Time: | About 1850 |
CHARACTERS
| Mr. Gradgrind | A believer in "facts" | |
| Mrs. Gradgrind | His wife | |
| Louisa | Their daughter | |
| Tom | Their son | |
| Josiah Bounderby | A pompous mill owner and banker | |
| Later, Louisa's husband | ||
| "Mrs. Pegler" | His mother | |
| Mrs. Sparsit | His housekeeper | |
| Mr. M'Choakumchild | A schoolmaster | |
| Sleary | The proprietor of a circus | |
| "Signor" Jupe | The clown | |
| Cecelia Jupe | His daughter. Known as "Sissy" | |
| Stephen Blackpool Rachel | Mill workers | |
| James Harthouse | A man of the world | |
| "Merrylegs" | Signor Jupe's performing dog | |