It was now too late and too far to go back, and I went on. And the mists had all solemnly risen now, and the world lay spread before me A terrifying encounter with an escaped convict in a graveyard on the wild Kent marshes; a summons to meet the bitter, decaying Miss Havisham and her beautiful, cold-hearted ward Estella; the sudden generosity of a mysterious benefactor -- these form a series of events that change the orphaned Pips life forever, and he eagerly abandons his humble origins to begin a new life as a gentleman. Dickenss haunting late novel depicts Pips education and development through adversity as he discovers the true nature of his great expectations. This definitive edition uses the text from the first published edition of 1861. It includes a map of Kent in the early nineteenth century, and appendices on Dickenss original ending and his working notes, giving readers an illuminating glimpse into the mind of a great novelist at work.