Nicholas Nickleby

source : Amazon.com
author : Charles Dickens

Nicholas Nickleby, a gentleman's son fallen upon hard times, must set out to make his way in the world. Along the way various older, money-grubbing villains attempt to injure him. Eventually, with the assistance of kind patrons, he and his family achieve economic security and a happy home. Sounds rather trite, doesn't it? Not with characters written by Dickens (Hard Times, Audio Reviews, LJ 5/1/98). Schoolmaster
Squeers would make a fine poster boy for child abusers. Ralph Nickleby's initial desire to injure Nicholas gradually develops into a full-blown obsession. Then there are the kind Cheeryble brothers, the gentle, much-abused Smike, and a host of other friends who provide comic relief. Martin Jarvis does an outstanding job of reading this book. His ingenues sound young (a frequent problem area for male readers) while his villains are deliciously evil. The only problems are with the abridgment. In several places, choppy editing has left brief, disconnected scenes and/or character cameos without relevance to the abridged tale. Still, this is a charming presentation and a wonderful bridge to a classic book. -- Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

(in full The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby) Novel by Charles Dickens, originally published in 20 monthly installments by "Boz" from 1838 to 1839 and published in book form in 1839. An early novel, this melodramatic tale of young Nickleby's adventures as he struggles to seek his fortune in Victorian England resembles The Pickwick Papers in structure, although not always in tone. Throughout, comic events are interspersed with Dickens' moving indictment of society's ill treatment of children and the cruelty of the educational system. -- The Merriam-Webster Encyclopedia of Literature

Reader's review
I read criticisms of this book that it is not one of Dickens' best. For me, it is up there with Great Expectations and David Copperfield as one of his most enjoyable novels (A Christmas Carol is a short story).

The social axe that Dickens had to grind in this story is man's injustice to children. Modern readers my feel that his depiction of Dotheboys Academy is too melodramatic. Alas, unfortunately, it was all too real. Charles Dickens helped create a world where we can't believe that such things happen. Dickens even tell us in an introduction that several Yorkshire schoolmasters were sure that Wackford Squeers was based on them and threatened legal action.

The plot of Nicholas Nickleby is a miracle of invention. It is nothing more than a series of adventures, in which Nicholas tries to make his way in the world, separate himself from his evil uncle, and try to provide for his mother and sister.

There are no uninteresting characters in Dickens. Each one is almost a caricature. This book contains some of his funniest characters.
To say this is a melodrama is not an insult. This is melodrama at its best. Its a long book, but a fast read. -- JR Pinto 

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