The Old Curiosity Shop, Part 1
by Charles Dickens
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Heart-wrenching tale of Little Nell and her doting grandfather who flee from cold and brutal London in the 1840s to escape debt and to roam the English countryside as beggars.Tags
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This is the only work from Dickens which first hit me via a different media, namely a really poor BBC telly presentation. It was so bad, I stayed away from it and only relented when I realized there were just a few books of Mr. Dickens still waiting for my perusal. Thankfully, the Master wrote better than the BBC could adapt, and I am one happy reader, as usual with my favorite author.
While the characters of Nell (angelic) and Quilp (evil) are too stereotyped for this book to be fully successful, I understand that Dickens was writing for an audience awaiting serialized updates. This explains the sudden disappearance of the Narrator, who re-appears (I think, this is just the first volume) as someone else later. Dickens has his usual show more treasure trove of characters who seem to materialize with no connection, until you read further and discover the golden threads.
This volume ends with Nell and Grandfather finding a resting place with the Schoolmaster and the Bachelor. It rather feels like waiting for the next edition of the Harry Potter series, our equivalent of what Dickens' devoted readers must have felt in the 19th century.
Meanwhile, the brandy-and-hot-water streak continues. Without fail, every time I pick up a book of Dickens, inevitably I feel the need for that concoction because he always makes me believe I am in a cold, foggy, forbidding location...even when I am sitting in 87 degree weather in sunny California.
Book Season = Winter (always with Dickens) show less
While the characters of Nell (angelic) and Quilp (evil) are too stereotyped for this book to be fully successful, I understand that Dickens was writing for an audience awaiting serialized updates. This explains the sudden disappearance of the Narrator, who re-appears (I think, this is just the first volume) as someone else later. Dickens has his usual show more treasure trove of characters who seem to materialize with no connection, until you read further and discover the golden threads.
This volume ends with Nell and Grandfather finding a resting place with the Schoolmaster and the Bachelor. It rather feels like waiting for the next edition of the Harry Potter series, our equivalent of what Dickens' devoted readers must have felt in the 19th century.
Meanwhile, the brandy-and-hot-water streak continues. Without fail, every time I pick up a book of Dickens, inevitably I feel the need for that concoction because he always makes me believe I am in a cold, foggy, forbidding location...even when I am sitting in 87 degree weather in sunny California.
Book Season = Winter (always with Dickens) show less
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Author Information
2,578+ Works 313,139 Members
Charles Dickens, perhaps the best British novelist of the Victorian era, was born in Portsmouth, Hampshire, England on February 7, 1812. His happy early childhood was interrupted when his father was sent to debtors' prison, and young Dickens had to go to work in a factory at age twelve. Later, he took jobs as an office boy and journalist before show more publishing essays and stories in the 1830s. His first novel, The Pickwick Papers, made him a famous and popular author at the age of twenty-five. Subsequent works were published serially in periodicals and cemented his reputation as a master of colorful characterization, and as a harsh critic of social evils and corrupt institutions. His many books include Oliver Twist, David Copperfield, Bleak House, Great Expectations, Little Dorrit, A Christmas Carol, and A Tale of Two Cities. Dickens married Catherine Hogarth in 1836, and the couple had nine children before separating in 1858 when he began a long affair with Ellen Ternan, a young actress. Despite the scandal, Dickens remained a public figure, appearing often to read his fiction. He died in 1870, leaving his final novel, The Mystery of Edwin Drood, unfinished. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Common Knowledge
- Canonical title
- The Old Curiosity Shop, Part 1
- Original publication date
- 1840-1841
- Disambiguation notice
- This is only Part I of The Old Curiosity Shop. Please do not combine with the full-length work, The Old Curiosity Shop. Thank you.
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- Members
- 145
- Popularity
- 226,237
- Reviews
- 1
- Rating
- (3.71)
- Languages
- 9 — Dutch, English, French, Norwegian (Bokmål), Portuguese (Portugal), Russian, Spanish, Swedish, Turkish
- Media
- Paper, Audiobook, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 16
- ASINs
- 14
