Nicholas Nickleby

Following the success of Pickwick Papers and Oliver Twist, Nicholas Nickleby was hailed as a comic triumph and firmly established Dickens as a 'literary gentleman'. It has a full supporting cast of delectable characters that range from the iniquitous Wackford Squeers and his family, to the delightful Mrs Nickleby, taking in the eccentric Crummles and his travelling players, the Mantalinis, the Kenwigs and many more. Combining these with typically Dickensian elements of burlesque and farce, the novel is eminently suited to dramatic adaptation. So great was the impact as it left Dickens' pen that many pirated versions appeared in print before the original was even finished.
Often neglected by critics,Nicholas Nickleby has never ceased to delight readers and is widely regarded as one of the greatest comic masterpieces of nineteenth-century literature.

Michael Slater is Professor of Victorian Literature at Birkbeck College in the University of London. He was editor of The Dickensian (1968-77) and President of the International Dickens Fellowship (1988-90). He has published many books and articles on Dickens.

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Our hero confronts a large and varied cast, including Wackford Squeers, the fantastic ogre of a schoolmaster, and Vincent Crummles, the grandiloquent ham actor, on his comic and satirical adventures up and down the country. Punishing wickedness, befriending the helpless, strutting the stage, and falling in love, Nicholas shares some of his creator's energy and earnestness as he faces the pressing issues of early Victorian society. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

INTRODUCTION
BIBLIOGRAPHY
AUTHOR'S PREFACE
I Introducts all the rest
II Of Mr Ralph Nickleby,and his establishment,and his undertakings,and of a great
joint-stock company of vast national importance
III Mr Ralph Nickleby receives sad tidings of his brother,but bears up nobly
against the intelligence communicated to him.The reader is informed how he liked Nicholas ,who is herein introduced,and how kindly he proposed to make his fortune at once
IV Nicholas and his uncle wait upon Mr Wackford Squeers,the Yorkshire schoolmaster
V Nicholas starts for Yorkshire.Of his leave-taking and his fellow-travellers,and
what befell them on the road
VI In which the occurrence of the accident mentioned in the last chapter,affords an
opportunity to a couple of gentlemen to tell stories against each other
VII Mr and Mrs Squeers at home
VIII Of the internal economy of Dotheboys Hall
IX Of Miss Squeers,Mrs Squeers,Master Squeers,and Mr Squeers;and of various matters
and persons connected no less with the Squeerses than Nicholas Nickleby
……
NOTES