The story begins in the High Court of Chancery, where the case of Jarndyce and Jarndyce has gone on for generations and has “become so complicated that no man alive knows what it means.” The current issue concerns two young wards of the court, Ada Clare and Richard Carstone, who are seeking permission to take up residence with a distant cousin, Mr. John Jarndyce. Later, the lawyer Mr. Tulkinghorn stops by the London home of Sir Leicester Dedlock and Lady Honoria Dedlock. She is also connected with the suit, and, as the lawyer goes over affidavits with her, she takes a sudden interest in the handwriting on one of the documents.
Esther Summerson is then introduced into the story. She was raised by her unfeeling godmother, who died when Esther was almost 14 years old. She then learned that her godmother was actually her aunt and that Mr. Jarndyce was now her guardian. He paid for her education in a boarding school and then engaged her to be a companion to Ada. The three young people arrive at Jarndyce’s home, Bleak House, to a warm welcome. As the novel goes on, Richard tries and discards several vocational options in the belief that he will inherit a substantial sum when the lawsuit is settled, and he and Ada fall in love.