Dombey & Son is a long novel, originally published as a serial in 1846 - 1848.  Paul Dombey is a wealthy man, the head of a trading house, something like an import/export business, in London. He has high hopes that his newborn son will eventually enter and carry on the family business. As for his daughter, Florence, Mr Dombey is incapable of showing her any affection. Like other Dickens novels, Dombey & Son has many characters. It’s a sympathetic story, and has some soap-opera-like elements. But the characters — most of them, anyway — are complex in a way that is uniquely Dickens. The main themes are class, extreme wealth, poverty, marriage, and cruelty. Redemption, too, but only in the final chapters. The relationship between the rich Mr Dombey and his household servants is prominent. Likewise, Dombey’s relationship with his firm’s employees is a significant plot element.  I liked Dombey & Son. Dickens was an amazing writer, and even today, so long after its publication, Dombey & Son is well worth reading.