When the name of the cruel schoolmaster is Wackford Squeers you just know it's going to be good. Nicholas himself can sometimes be a bit prissy but this serves well as a foil for the many extreme characters that surround him (and he's a lot more feisty than the relatively milquetoast David Copperfield). This is classic Dickens at the height of his powers.

My generic comment about Charles Dickens:
First of all, although I am a partisan of Dickens' writing and have read and relished most his works, More...

-spoilers-

Ackroyd states that Dickens’s concentration on ‘Nicholas Nickleby’ suffered because of the author’s concurrent concern with the launching of a new journal. I’m not sure how accurate the following conjecture is, but I’d put money on Chapter 35 being the moment when distraction kicked in.

‘Nicholas Nickleby’ is the worst I’ve read of Dickens. In it, Dickens attempts to capitalise on the picaresque tropes which stood him in good stead in ‘The Pickwick Papers’, and relies on the power of h More...

The first Dickens I read. I wanted to read Nicholas Nickleby so much since I love the adaptation starring the ever so gorgeous Charlie Hunnam as Nicholas. Compared to other Dickens that I have read, Nicholas Nickleby is lighter. Basically, it tells Nicholas’ journey to reach success. Not only that, he also reveals some dark secrets of his family. I enjoyed this a lot, due to the fact that when reading it, I always imagined Mr. Hunnam’s face *ehm*.

The characters are also remarkable. Our hero Nic More...

I have a titular affinity with this novel since it incorporates many common misspellings of my surname: Nicols, Nichols, Nickles, Nicholas, Nicolls and (once) Amber Juliana Swami. Dickens’s third novel unites the comedic episodes of The Pickwick Papers with the melodramatic realism of Oliver Twist in a brilliant 832-page (OWC edition) adventure filled with more manipulative drama than Lot 45 on Hollywood Studios (known as the Robin Williams Crap Mound). Unlike the aforesaid former comic actor’s More...

This is one of the crap dodgily picaresque (= not really got a plot) very early Dickens which have no merit at all except being complete fun and a joy to read. But they have no purpose. Just joy and fun. So you can probably skip this.

Wackford Squeers and Ralph Nickelby, together make Bill Sikes look very common in his (Sikes) evil ways. I thought I had experienced an extreme Dickens character in Bill Sikes from Twist, but the sheer pseudo-intellectualism coupled with brute dishonesty of Squeers and the cold, calculating avarice of Ralph push Sikes into a byword of bad deeds. Again, Dickens crafts wonderfully rich and diverse character, though mostly male(which male characters are developed in more detail). Understanding that More...

When I first went to the UK and was doing my version of A Tour Round the Whole Island of Great Britain, which involved many hours alone on British Rail and in B&Bs, this was the only book I took with me - and it was the only one I needed. Because of their length, you could probably say the same about any of Dickens' novels, but somehow this story of two young people going out for the first time to travel through the world on their own (albeit by necessity and not by choice) and meeting all k More...

Wow, what a trial. I loved Great Expectations, I tolerated Oliver Twist, but Nicholas Nickleby was a bear to get through. I bought the book years ago in error, thinking it was on a college course reading list. This book sat on my shelf until I finally decided to take a crack at it last fall. After about 200 pages, I put it down and it just kind of sat there. Then I decided to download a pdf copy from google books in an effort to read a little bit each day at work on my lunch break. Didn’t enjoy More...

What a book. I had no idea what infinite charms 19th-century literature holds for me. I have never read Dickens strictly for pleasure before, but this is the book to do it. Nicholas Nickleby is not a wimp! That's what I loved about it. He stands up for himself in a way that I always longed for in, say, Great Expectations. He is quite an admirable character. Also, what an awesome villain. It's the same inexplicable hatred for our hero as in Othello. And, of course, the ending is satisfying and ti More...

I was reading this novel on my own using Kurzweil Classic Literature -- this is a program that reads the text aloud to me while the actual word is highlighted, so you get both visual and audio stimulation at the same time -- I actually liked this setup, and found that it made me pay closer attention to the different writing styles of different authors. This novel came into circulation about the same time as Hardys', but Dickens' novels were much more popular and universal. They were widely read More...

Say What You Like, this Nick's a Dick

Dickens was only 26 when he started writing Nicholas Nickelby - and it bloody shows.

After the knockabout good-natured comedy of The Pickwick Papers and the rage-driven sucker-punch of Oliver Twist, the prolific young writer had built up a head of hyperactive steam and really had the bit between his teeth for this one. He hadn't even finished Oliver Twist before he launched into writing this. It's a rags-to-riches story of a young middle-class gent and his mis More...

Have you experienced joblessness? Have you ever been among the ranks of the unemployed with an eye to every "help wanted" ad? You have talents, energy, virtue, and desire. Well, then Nicholas Nickleby is someone you need to meet!! And what a delight he is. He overflows with all the above traits in addition to being witty, adventurous, good-looking, and fun-to-be-with. But please, do not touch him on a point of honor (his or his friends) because you'll find yourself with a bloody nose.
It matters More...

Club Read

Loved this book in college, but found myself mildly annoyed this time round by extended segments that seemed neither to enrich character, further the plot or provide any interesting detail on life in Victorian London. Fairly early, the presentation of Mrs. Nickleby nattering and circumlocution became too tedious, grossly exceeding any reasonable word-count for detailing her often mis-directed verbosity. Likewise, the interplay of the Mantalinis seemed overdone, a comic trope of the you More...

Originally published on my blog here in October 2000.

One of the most successful of all Dickens' early novels, Nicholas Nickleby will always be remembered for its portrayal of the wonderfully named brutal school, Dotheboys Hall. The plot of the novel is a variation of the young man coming to terms with the world theme. After his father's death, Nicholas Nickleby and his sister Kate need to earn their livings for the first time. They turn to their rich uncle Ralph for help, not realising that he i More...

I think I enjoyed this one even more than Pickwick Papers and Oliver Twist. I mean, at first I was worried it was going to be more of the same all the way through, when Nicholas was introduced to the schoolmaster and his poor little waif charges that resembled the children in Oliver Twist. Then in Chapter 6, he started up with the unrelated short stories again, like in Pickwick Papers, but fortunately, that was the only appearance of such filler.

When Nicholas Nickleby Sr. dies after making some More...

Victorian literature is the literature produced during the reign of Queen Victoria (1837–1901), tend to be idealized portraits of difficult lives, perseverance and love in civil society….
The main elements in Victorian and pre-Victorian literature, are mostly hidden loves, jelousy, planned marriages for money and social positions, women’s situation both in family and the society, and the roll of Church which dominate all over the society. One can not deny the roll of Victorian novels, specially w More...

So often there's a particular scene or series of scenes from a book that stay with me and the ones from Nicholas Nickleby are the early ones between him and Smike. On page 97 of this edition Nickleby sees Smike on his knees before the stove. Smike shrinks back expecting a blow but Nickleby says, 'You need not fear me ... are you cold?' Smike says he's not cold but Nickleby can see he's shivering. He thinks, 'There was such an obvious fear of giving offence in his manner, and he was such a timid, More...

The day I finished reading Great Expectations, I made a promise to myself that I would read every book ever written By Charles Dickens. I'm glad to say that fulfilling this promise is one of the best journeys I have ever taken.

Dickens is simply a giant among writers, immortal as long as the written word is valued. It was hearing Eli Siegel's lecture, THE TRIAL OF MR. PICKWICK: A consideration of Chapter 33 of Charles Dickens' Pickwick Papers, at the Aesthetic Realism Foundation in Soho, NY, that More...

A virtual cornucopia of characters entwined in a kaleidoscope of intrigues and plots, Nicholas Nickleby by Charles Dickens provides the reader with a colorful view of mid-nineteenth Century England. I hesitate in referring young master Nickleby as the main character as he shares that role with so many others. I suppose it would have been both imprudent and impracticable for Dickens to name all this story’s characters in the title and decided on just Nicholas. The tale begins as the Nickleby’s ar More...

I'm currently reading all of Dicken's novels in chronological order. This is the third book, and I am approaching the end. It's fascinating to watch the development of a writer by reading their books in order.

As is appropriate for a writer in the infancy of his writing, Dickens seems fascinated by children and their sufferings in his early books. This book was made between Oliver Twist and The Old Curiosity Shop, both of which have children as their protagonists. Nicholas Nickleby has a young m More...

What I really enjoy about Dickens is his portrayal of class conflict and social injustice in the 19th century which, unfortunately, is still relevant to the 21st century – that, and his ability to create such interesting scoundrels.

The main bad guy in this one is Ralph Nickleby, uncle to Nicholas. Uncle Ralph is an extremely wealthy loan shark and speculator, whose complete lack of morality would make him a perfect fit for 21st century Wall Street.

Dickens tells us “there are some men who, livin More...

This book is the same category as Oliver Twist. Lots of character. Lots of moralizing. Did like the book. Favorite quotes:

" Dreams are the bright creatures of poem and legend, who sport on earth in the night season, and melt away in the first beam of the sun, which lights grim care and stern reality on their daily pilgrimage through the world."

"... mourning is sometimes the coldest wear which mortals can assume; that it not only chills the breasts of those it clothes, but extending its influence More...

I actually listened to the BBC read version of this book while I was sick a couple of weeks ago. Although there is nothing quite like the feel and companionship of a physical book, in this case I have to say that nothing showcases Dickens like the audio version. BBC Radio 4 has an extensive selection of Dickens novels dramatized. They are so fantastic because they really capture the period with all the accompanying sound effects. If the text says that the Nicklebys were having tea, you'll hear t More...

Deliciously satirical Dickens, the author hell-bent on seeing evildoers get their come-uppance, and the innocent prevail, while ridiculing, with varying degrees of fierceness, everything he points his nib at. I recently read, and loved Bleak House, and while Nicholas Nickleby wasn’t quite that cohesive a story, perhaps because of the serial nature of its release, I still enjoyed it enormously (perhaps even more than Bleak House on the basis of the quality of writing). I worried, through the firs More...

Nicholas Nickleby; or, The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby is a comic novel by Charles Dickens. Originally published as a serial from 1838 to 1839, it was Dickens' third novel.

The lengthy novel centres around the life and adventures of Nicholas Nickleby, a young man who must support his mother and sister after his father dies. His Uncle Ralph, who thinks Nicholas will never amount to anything, plays the role of an antagonist.

Nicholas Nickleby is Dickens' third published novel. He return More...

Dickens is one of my favorite authors. However, it took me a while to get through this 800+ page novel replete with 19th Century language. One always wants to slow down and savor the wit, irony, and sarcasms scattered within the story. The way the various characters weave in and out of the story, bumping into the other characters is amazing. This book may have been written about 150 years ago, but many of its subjects and plots are relevant to our world today. What deeds will some greedy people More...

I was surprised to enjoy this more than I thought I would. Dickens' avowed purpose in writing it was to provide the public with a novel like The Pickwick Papers, full of funny episodes and lively characters, and since I wasn't terribly interested in Pickwick, I thought that boded ill for Nickleby. However, although the book is certainly episodic, following the adventures of its central hero, there's a plotline concerning his usurer uncle which travels through the book and provides it with a cohe More...

well.... very disappointed with the last 1/3 or 1/4... pretty much everything after the two romantic interests (of Nicholas and of Kate) are identified, the book deteriorates in familiar Dickensian sappy sentimentality and verbosity...
I acknowledge, that I listened to most of the book during a Caribbean vacation, and finished on the plane ride and then at home (driving to work), so these circumstances may have influenced my perceptions. But... where the first half of the book sparkled with witty More...