Set in the north of England during the 19th century, Hard Times is the story of Thomas Gradgrind, a schoolmaster, who has strong and overbearing views on how his children, Louisa and Tom, should behave in order to become 'models in society'. As the children get older their father's teachings start to impact significantly on their lives, Gradgrind starts to question his own resolve and begins to wonder whether he has been misguided and blind to their needs. Set against a background of wealth and poverty where the rich rule and the poor are left to suffer, 'Hard Times' is more than a vehicle highlighting social injustice, it is also full of drama, romance, comedy, pathos and a tantalizingly elusive, but none-the-less compelling, sliver of 'hope'.