"Bleak House" by Charles Dickens follows the intertwining lives of numerous characters as they become entangled in the long-running legal case of "Jarndyce and Jarndyce." The novel satirizes the British Court of Chancery, portraying its inefficiencies and delays. The story centers around Esther Summerson, a young woman raised by an aunt, and her relationships with various characters, including John Jarndyce, a kind gentleman, and Lady Dedlock, a wealthy woman with a secret past.