Bleak House is often described as an early "whodunnit" or mystery novel. Dickens incorporates elements of the sensational newspaper story and of the "penny dreadful" into the tale at both grand and small scales. Some of the mysterious and murderous elements of this aspect of the novel also pertain to the Gothic genre, as Dickens describes a city choked with overstuffed graveyards and the starving, skeletal poor. The threat of death is never far away.
In addition, Bleak House is a key example of the genre of satirical fiction. There's almost no element of British life in the Victorian period that doesn't get dosed with biting satirical wit. In this novel, Dickens addresses and lampoons the British legal system and its contributions to class inequality, the figures of the social climber, the fame-hunting charity aficionado, and the distant aristocrat, and the strict and unbending moral and social codes of Britain in the 1800s.
This satire is reliant on the novel's realism. As with most of Dickens's novels, many aspects of English life in Bleak House are presented in a Realist way, with a great deal of attention to detail and period-specific language and imagery. Particularly in Esther's "Narratives," the novel also functions as an example of psychological Realism as it explores the motivations behind characters' personalities and actions. It's also a Bildungsroman, or a novel concerned with personal development. Bleak House follows a narrative of the growth and change of the personalities of several characters as a key through-line, charting the development of Esther in particular as she moves from childhood to adulthood. The book is also a love story, both in Esther's "Narratives" and for many other characters. Complicated romances and the lengths people go to secure or destroy them are a key plot element, from Esther, Mr. Woodcourt, and Mr. Jarndyce to smaller figures like Mr. and Mrs. Rouncewell.
