The Old Curiosity Shop in Reading the Classics

Apr 16, 2013 Henry Avila rated it liked it · review of another edition

In the slums of London in the mid 1800's, on a dirty, lonely and obscure street, a crumbling house still stands, The Old Curiosity Shop. Inside lives an old man (never named), and his pretty, young granddaughter, Nell Trent in the back of the building. An older, lazy brother of Nell's, Frederick is always coming to the house, trying to get some more cash ( he already has wasted, too much) from the grandfather, he needs for his drinking. The almost worthless merchandise the store has, strange nic In the slums of London in the mid 1800's, on a dirty, lonely and obscure street, a crumbling house still stands, The Old Curiosity Shop. Inside lives an old man (never named), and his pretty, young granddaughter, Nell Trent in the back of the building. An older, lazy brother of Nell's, Frederick is always coming to the house, trying to get some more cash ( he already has wasted, too much) from the grandfather, he needs for his drinking. The almost worthless merchandise the store has, strange nick- nacks, that people will not buy. Old furniture, weird toys, ugly statues anything that the public would hate, they have. The very impoverished gentleman has a secret vice, that keeps the two very poor. The grandfather every night, leaves the 13 -year- old girl alone in the gloomy, creepy house, with only a little candle to shine her surroundings. He goes into the darkness and comes back in the early light, tired, discouraged, and silent about his doings. In the neighborhood lives a dwarf, Daniel Quilp, so evil that the wealthy man, loves nothing better than to cause everyone around him trouble. He laughs so hard at their misery, that Quilp, all call him just this name, rolls in the ground with uncontrollable mirth... He married a very attractive woman Betsy, at the urging of her mother and she lives, the wife, to regret it both do, all three in fact, the mother -in -law stays with the couple. The power of this small, intelligent man to terrorize his family, his big head , repulsive face, filthy mouth, crooked legs, violent ways he enjoys greatly . The always scheming dwarf, lends money to Nell's grandfather but the old man soon loses it, and barrows some more. Of course it is never paid back, and Quilp very quickly takes the grandfather's house ( quite legally), and sells all the merchandise inside, anything for a few pounds, usually much less. Little Nell and her grandfather must vacate too, fleeing, afraid of Quilp who thinks, they have money hidden from him. Anything is better than to live in the unclean streets, both dream of paradise the open country air, rivers flowing by, a beautiful blue sky, trees climbing high above them, flowers everywhere, yes the two to survive, from the tyranny of the dwarf and the city, must leave. Their long travels on dusty, hot roads, hungry, thirsty , tired and the rains come down, no friends, no money living in the open, sleeping in the cold ground but the relatives are devoted to each other ... Meeting Punch and Judy artists, a woman in a wagon with waxworks to display, ill mannered canal workers that give them a lift to a city in their boat, odd gypsies and friendly people, also, who assist the travelers. But they can never remain , the curious ask too many questions and Quilp is still after them. Walking on a road, at the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, heading to a grimy city, experiencing phenomenal growth, constant noises from the machines nearby, smoke coming out, polluting the area, darkness in the daytime, workers in their soiled clothes living in shacks, the children playing in the filth. Another world is developing, the puzzled Nell sees, it doesn't look like England anymore. But the fugitives must keep on going, until they find, Utopia ... ...more

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