The ultimate coming of age story from Charles Dickens, Great Expectations tells of the rise of the book's narrator, Pip. When Pip shows kindness to an escaped convict, he changes the course of his life without even knowing it. Raised by his older sister and her husband, Pip is an unhappy child who becomes a visitor to a wealthy spinster, Miss Havisham. Pip becomes an apprentice blacksmith but then receives word that he has an anonymous benefactor who wishes him to study to become a gentleman. Thinking that Miss Havisham is acting in his interests, Pip eventually finds that the money is coming from another source. He is forced to examine his principles and chart a new course for his life.