Hard Times was written by esteemed English Victorian-era author Charles Dickens. The work was first published in the weekly periodical known as Household Words from April to August of 1854 and then published in book format that same year.

Hard Times is considered a dystopian satire of the Victorian genre. The importance of one's imagination and the dangers of industrialization are two main themes and takeaways of the novel. Dickens reportedly used his novel to offer commentary on the horrors he'd witnessed in the factories of England and the issues with growing industrialization and its effects on people. He was known to use his novels to help shed light on various social conditions and problems.