Nicholas Nickleby in Never too Late to Read Classics

Apr 07, 2021 Laura (Reading is a Doing Word) rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: books-i-own, 2021-read, classics-trad-and-modern, dickens

Nicholas Nickleby is the 3rd of Dickens’ works I’ve read as part of my #ayearofdickens2021 challenge. It fits nicely after the Pickwick papers and Oliver Twist and seems to marry elements of the two preceding works.
The story primarily follows the fortunes of the Nickleby family - Nicholas, his sister Kate and his mother. Having fallen on hard times after the death of his father Nicholas and his family are compelled to seek assistance from his Uncle Ralph. Ralph is a selfish, plotting moneylender Nicholas Nickleby is the 3rd of Dickens’ works I’ve read as part of my #ayearofdickens2021 challenge. It fits nicely after the Pickwick papers and Oliver Twist and seems to marry elements of the two preceding works.
The story primarily follows the fortunes of the Nickleby family - Nicholas, his sister Kate and his mother. Having fallen on hard times after the death of his father Nicholas and his family are compelled to seek assistance from his Uncle Ralph. Ralph is a selfish, plotting moneylender and reluctant to help the family. He takes a particular dislike to Nicholas, which only grows as events progress.
The story is similar to Pickwick in its relatively episodic nature - we follow Nicholas as he moves around the country trying to make his living. He encounters a cast of wonderfully varying characters. There are light hearted moments with the Kenwigses and Crummles and darker moments back in London with Ralph and Gride etc.
It’s similar to Oliver in exposing the cruelty and deprivation suffered in Yorkshire Schools and following the fate of poor Smike who had, throughout his life,been neglected and cruelly treated.
Nicholas and his sister Kate are charming and likeable and offer good contrast to one another. Mrs Nickleby is a character similar to Mrs Bennet from Pride and Prejudice - wholly self absorbed and holding a higher opinion of herself than is justified.
For me it was the characters that made this enjoyable. I wanted Nicholas and Kate to prosper, I felt love and sympathy for Smike, I hated Ralph, Wackford Squeers and Sir Mulberry Hawk. The Cheerybles, Browdies and Newman Noggs were all good friends to Nicholas and humorous in their own unique ways.
In this novel Dickens once again examines class injustice and the lot of those in poverty. He exposes the hypocrisy of the rich but also recognises genuine charity and good nature when it appears. There’s a character for almost every shade of humanity here and they all contribute to the Nicklebys’ story.
I enjoyed following the fortunes of Nicholas and Kate, but for now Mr Pickwick still has my heart.
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