The great English novelist Charles Dickens's novel Bleak House (1852–1853) centers on the life of the young orphan Esther Summerson. After leaving boarding school, she finds herself in the care of a chance benefactor, Mr. Jarndyce, and upon leaving boarding school, she finds herself living at his ancient estate, known as Bleak House, which is the subject of one of the most famous Supreme Court of Chancery cases, Jarndyce v. Jarndyce. While gradually settling into her new home and making new acquaintances, circumstances draw her into a complex web of human destinies, personal feelings, criminal intrigues, and other people's family secrets—and one of these secrets, as it soon becomes clear, has a direct connection to Esther herself.