Nicholas Nickleby: Intro comments and Chapters 1 - 10

[Kelly]

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this chapter and now, reading through your comments, I'm happy I am reading this alongside all of you! Thank you for such a warm welcome into my first group read.

My favorite sentence of the chapter was: "...he quite forgot his brother for many years; and if at times a recollection of his old play-fellow broke upon him through the haze in which he lived - for gold conjures up a mist about a man more destructive of all his old senses and lulling to his feelings than the fumes of charcoal -it brought along with it a companion thought, that if they were intimate he would want to borrow money of him..."

I thought of Scrooge when he is traveling with the Ghost of Christmas Past and Belle accuses him of loving only money now, having changed right before her eyes and how he has another idol instead of her. Scrooge had a mist about him, like Ralph.

[Peter]

So many good comments above. This novel presents us with an epigraph for each chapter. Looking at the epigraph for chapter 1 ‘Introduces all the Rest’ certainly does focus us and suggest that before we even begin to read the chapter Dickens may be signaling what is about to unfold within the chapter.

Saying that makes me wonder about the phrase ‘all the Rest.’ Will this chapter exclude a person/persons who will not appear in this chapter but who will prove to be essential to the plot? Dickens does like his readers to stay inquisitive. We must keep in mind as 21C readers that Dickens original readers approached and read his novels differently than we do.

Yes, the first chapter is a delight to read and I agree that the manner in which Dickens presents the history of the Nickleby family is extremely effective. The first paragraph of the first chapter begins with a marriage. Isn’t the phrase ‘thus two people who cannot afford to play cards for money, sometimes sit down to a quiet game for love’ wonderful? The first paragraph introduces the concept of love and marriage. Might that be an indication that the trope of love and marriage will be a focus in the novel?

[Beth]

Peter wrote: "Isn’t the phrase ‘thus two people who cannot afford to play cards for money, sometimes sit down to a quiet game for love’ wonderful?"

Yes! It reminded me of my maternal grandparents, who played cribbage together for years and kept a running tally of who had won in a steno notebook. Pages and pages of hashmarks, speaking of many quiet, companionable, and mildly competitive hours together.

[Bionic Jean, "Dickens Duchess"]

Kelly wrote: " I thoroughly enjoyed reading this chapter and now, reading through your comments, I'm happy I am reading this alongside all of you! Thank you for such a warm welcome into my first group read..."

That's brilliant Kelly! Thank you for saying 😊 I'm never quite sure how much extra stuff to write, but assume that if it's all separated out, people can choose which parts to read - and hopefully comment on! So the summary is a simple retelling, as accurate as I can make it and including some short, choice quotations and any illustrations for it that I can find. (I always try to put at least one, to help with scrolling! 😉) My background research is headed "And a little more ..." and my reactions are just posted like anyone else's. Plus the links at the beginning hopefully help.

Yes! I think you have already captured Ralph Nickleby to a "T" by picking up that he is like an early incarnation of Scrooge. We'll have to see if he has a similar story arc, or whether his meanness never changes 🤔

[Beth]

Late letting you know but I'm excited to join my first Big Read with this group! (Though I will definitely get behind pretty quickly.) I'm reading this with my husband as our current "bedtime story" book and suspect he's hoping it will get more exciting as the money discussions in Ch 1 weren't exactly conducive to staying awake!

That said, Dickens' humour kept a subject that normally turns my brain to mush engaging. My (limited) experience of his other works is that he was quite au fait with all the financial jargon. I shall have to hope for more of Jean's fabulous research and notes to help me out if this is to be a running theme!

Enjoying it so far and excited to get into the meat of the story, and really enjoying everyone else's insights.

Perhaps a silly question from a first-timer but are the breaks between installments just one day, or longer? (Trying to gauge how much chance I will have to catch up!)

[Bionic Jean, "Dickens Duchess"]

Beth - Welcome to your first read with us YAY! I'm so glad you're enjoying it, and some passages with dialogue will really read aloud well, so I hope your husband enjoys it too!

Yes, it's just one day's break between installments, which are listed at the beginning, and the only other exception is that chapter 6 is spread over 2 days (it's obvious why when we get there!) We can edit it of course if need be, so but so far it's worked 😁

Thank you for your lovely comment 🥰

Lee wrote: "Oh my gosh!! I was thinking our reading began on Tuesday so I’m already a day behind!!!"

Ooops! Never mind Lee; I know you will catch up. What worries me is when people say they'll join quite a lot later, as I think they will miss out on so much. Our group reads are ... a bit different from most.

Enjoy beavering away! 😁

[Bionic Jean, "Dickens Duchess"]

Peter wrote: "makes me wonder about the phrase ‘all the Rest.’ Will this chapter exclude a person/persons who will not appear in this chapter but who will prove to be essential to the plot?..."

That's a great point Peter!

We all know how much Charles Dickens likes his mysteries - even though this one was unplanned, and at this point he hadn't decided where on earth to go with it! That's why he gave it such a broad all-encompassing title: "“The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby, Containing a Faithful Account of the Fortunes, Misfortunes, Uprisings, Downfallings, and Complete Career of the Nickleby Family”. I can imagine him thinking, "Really, that should cover any eventualities which might occur to me!" 😆

Adding to your point about the epigrammatic title, (more on this later) perhaps we could go even further back and examine this overall title. It's not only an all-encompassing one, and one where he used a pseudonym - but also - as you can see from the cover, he says "edited" by Boz. Why might this be?

Two things occur to me. One reason might be to give us the impression of reality; these are events that happened. But I think it might be also to give an impression of many voices contributing. It is "edited", he feels, as the characters are real people in his mind, clamouring for their story to be told ... just as in the famous posthumous painting of him. "Dickens's Dream".

But everyone may well think this is me being fanciful. 😆

[Bionic Jean, "Dickens Duchess"]

Peter and Beth and ...

"thus two people who cannot afford to play cards for money, sometimes sit down to a quiet game for love"

Several people picked this up, and it is a lovely image, which nearly passed me by (because my family always did play that way, rather than gambling, just as yours did Beth.) You are spot on of course Peter with your idea about keeping love and marriage in mind as a theme.

I think I pointed out near the end of chapter 1, where Mrs Nickleby is apparently revising her thoughts about her husband, and considering his profligacy. That always strikes me as particularly unfair since it was she who first told him: "Speculate with it,’ said Mrs. Nickleby."

Perhaps their marriage was not so idyllic after all.

[Bionic Jean, "Dickens Duchess"]

Chapter 2: Of Mr Ralph Nickleby, and his Establishments, and his Undertakings, and of a great Joint Stock Company of Vast National Importance

Although Ralph Nickleby does not belong to a recognised profession, he does very well for himself. He lives in a spacious but not desirable house in Golden Square, an area of London that:

“is not exactly in anybody’s way to or from anywhere. It is one of the squares that have been; a quarter of the town that has gone down in the world, and taken to letting lodgings … the region of song and smoke”.

He has lived there many years, and:

“knew nobody round about, and nobody knew him, although he enjoyed the reputation of being immensely rich.”

He might be a lawyer, or a kind of general agent; it does not seem to matter which.

Ralph is waiting in his office, and plans to go to a meeting in Parliament. He tells his clerk, Newman Noggs that he is expecting a letter and orders Noggs to bring the letters to him if they come.

“[Newman Noggs] was a tall man of middle age, with two goggle eyes whereof one was a fixture, a rubicund nose, a cadaverous face, and a suit of clothes (if the term be allowable when they suited him not at all) much the worse for wear, very much too small, and placed upon such a short allowance of buttons that it was marvellous how he contrived to keep them on.”



"Newman Noggs from the tile-page of the Household Edition of Charles Dickens's The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby, illustrated by Fred Barnard - 1875

Ralph Nickleby’s office is paid a visit by Mr. Bonney, who seems very excited about the meeting they are about to attend. Mr. Bonney compliments Ralph Nickleby on his extraordinary clerk. Ralph tells him that Noggs was yet another person who had been ruined by investing. He started drinking, and came to Ralph for a loan. Ralph wouldn’t give him the loan, but says that out of loyalty for their past business relationship, he had hired him as a clerk. The man is a little crazy, he says, but he is useful. Nogg’s silent tongue is desirable in a trade where you don’t want your business discussed. What Ralph Nickleby does not tell Mr Bonney is that he pays Noggs a pittance; less than the usual wages given to a thirteen year old boy.

The Parliament meeting is on whether a petition for a business called “The United Metropolitan Improved Hot Muffin and Crumpet Baking and Punctual Delivery Company” should be granted. The company promises to make good profits, but is presented as wanting to have its base in a district that already has muffin sellers.

Mr. Bonney discredits the current muffin business, claiming that the muffin sellers were debauched drunks. Their prices were too high for the poor to be able to afford their muffins, which leads to the poor seeking other vices (such as alcohol) to quench their hunger. The muffin boys were mistreated. That is why Sir Matthew Pupker had created this bill, he says, which will discourage private selling of muffins and allow the government to supply the people quality muffins at reduced prices. Another member even proposes that it should be made mandatory for citizens to buy the muffins.

Parliament agrees in favour of the bill, deciding that:

“there was no speculation so promising, or at the same time so praiseworthy, as the United Metropolitan Improved Hot Muffin and Crumpet Baking and Punctual Delivery Company.”

and Mr Nickleby and the other directors go to lunch on expenses, deciding to claim only 3 guineas (£3.3 shillings) each for it, since the company is new.

[Bionic Jean, "Dickens Duchess"]

And a little more …

Golden Square

Golden Square is in Soho, which is avoided by many folk even now, having a sleazy reputation. It is a West London square established in the 1670s, having originally been the site of a plague pit. It is not an obvious area for somebody involved with making money to live, so Dickens is hinting that Ralph’s business dealings might be shady, just from this address.

[Bionic Jean, "Dickens Duchess"]

And yet more …

The Commercial Crisis of the 1820s

Speculation at this time in joint-stock companies led to the collapse of banks and the ruin of thousands of people - such as Nicholas’s father in the previous chapter. Dickens is extending this with his satirical description of “the United Metropolitan Improved Hot Muffin and Crumpet Baking and Punctual Delivery Company”, which is clearly a racket - a scam - to make money for Ralph Nickleby and his cronies. It reminds us of (view spoiler)[Mr. Merdle (hide spoiler)] in Little Dorrit, and even more (for those who know the novel), of Augustus Melmotte, who is painted as a charlatan from the beginning in The Way We Live Now by Anthony Trollope.

Both were possibly based on John Sadleir, an Irish financier and politician, who became notorious for his bank swindles. We will have to hope that Ralph Nickleby is not in this order of roguishness!

[Bionic Jean, "Dickens Duchess"]

Garden v. Yard

The English definition of a “back yard” is “a small space surrounded by walls at the back of a house, usually with a hard surface.”

It is never used for any area outside the house which has any planted flower beds or cultivated trees, nor any place people would choose to spend time. Charles Dickens writes a good description of a neglected back yard:

“a few hampers, half-a-dozen broken bottles, and such-like rubbish, may be thrown there, when the tenant first moves in … [with] stunted everbrowns [i.e. dead evergreens! 😆] and broken flower-pots.”

For working and lower middle class English people at this time, to have a garden would be aspirational, viz:

“People sometimes call these dark yards ‘gardens’”

When suburbia began to be developed, with the building of the railways (as discussed in other reads), people tended to move out and live in small houses with a patch of garden, where they would grow a small patch of grass (a lawn) and have a few flowerbeds, or beds for vegetables. The old tenements in cities would still have back yards, and still do now. If they are rented they are often untended as Charles Dickens describes, but some living there will have pride in them and might add their own decorative plants in tubs, and ornaments.

[Bionic Jean, "Dickens Duchess"]

My personal addition about yards and gardens … (under a spoiler to save space)

In England it is usually considered an insult to refer to someone’s “yard” rather than their “garden” (view spoiler)[as some American visitors learned to their cost, from my mother-in-law! In England, working, middle and upper classes now will all refer to their “gardens” (the aristocrats have an “estate” or “park”) whether rented or owned. However, it was not always so. When I say it used to be “aspirational”, it is a matter of class.

For example, my grandmother, born in 1880, referred to her “back yard” even though the terraced house was actually one of the better ones in the area. At first it was paved and enclosed by a wall, but by the time I came along there was a huge hexagonal raised flower bed which I was told (many times!) had an air raid shelter underneath. The back yard also had a toilet (the only one was outside) and a coal bunker.

My parents’ first rented house just before the middle of the twentieth century was similar, but when they bought one on a mortgage, although it was still a terraced house just a bit larger, the terminology had changed and the area behind was called a back garden and the front was called the front garden. There was no front door, but a door in a passage between the houses. People became proud of their flowerbeds and bit of grass. Those without them sometimes rented allotments, to grow food and flowers (my family did both) in the mid and late 20th century.

Ironically enough the modern English way in the urban and suburban 21st century is often to cut down the ornamental trees, pave over both front and back gardens, and have plants in tubs, for convenience. In our road, we are the only ones to still have a planted garden at the front, but nobody would ever dream of claiming their paved area to be a “yard”.

Gosh, this is hard to explain! (hide spoiler)]

[Bionic Jean, "Dickens Duchess"]

The Illustrators:

Fred Barnard

Although the original steel-engraving illustrations month by month in 1838-1839 were by Hablot Knight Browne (Phiz), the second illustrator of the book edition in England was Fred Barnard in the Household Edition volume of 1875. There is no illustration by Hablot Knight Browne for chapter 1 or 2; as I mentioned he made 2 illustrations for each of 20 installments. Therefore I posted the wrapper by Hablot Knight Browne yesterday, and today I posted Fred Barnard's vignette of Newman Noggs, from the title page of the next edition.

Charles Dickens provided Hablot Knight Browne with very specific directions - but sometimes it was at very short notice!

Fred Barnard was luckier. He was a friend, so he would have learned a lot about the development of the 1838-39 series from the original illustrator himself. In 1875 he made 59 illustration of his own, which sometimes owe a lot to Phiz, and sometimes are clearly all his own style, as we will see. He did have the benefit of knowing later events in the story, which Hablot Knight Browne did not have. This illustration is from the title page, and shows a character we have just met in chapter 2: Newman Noggs.

In between these two English illustrators there were two American editions, illustrated by Sol Eytinge Jr and Felix Octavius Carr Darley, both of whom we have seen illustrate other works by Charles Dickens.

[Bionic Jean, "Dickens Duchess"]

I enjoyed the first meeting with Newman Noggs, and straightaway wondered if this was when Charles Dickens’s idea for Scrooge and Bob Cratchit began … just the relationship, as the characters are evidently a bit different. There’s a hint of Ralph Nickleby’s true nature being shown in his face (hidden in a joke about his powdered wig!):

“there was something in its very wrinkles, and in his cold restless eye, which seemed to tell of cunning that would announce itself in spite of him.”

I also liked the idea of the “crippled tree” in his back yard, which could perhaps be a metaphor or personification of Ralph Nickleby’s mean avaricious nature … or am I being too fanciful there? I loved the “rheumatic sparrows”!

Noggs seems quite eccentric. Did you pick up about his watch and padlock? One of Dickens’ favourite motifs there. Perhaps it will signify more than Noggs “working out his time”, though if he used to be a gentleman, as Ralph Nickleby tells Mr Bonney, he must feel trapped by his current situation (i.e. the padlock?)

I really enjoyed the ironic portrait of “The United Metropolitan Improved Hot Muffin and Crumpet Baking and Punctual Delivery Company” - so droll and sarcastic!

Over to you.

[Paul]

Bionic Jean wrote: "I really enjoyed the ironic portrait of “The United Metropolitan Improved Hot Muffin and Crumpet Baking and Punctual Delivery Company” - so droll and sarcastic!"

One wonders whether the satire was aimed at belittling the grifters (such as Ralph) who formed these companies and knew full well that they were effectively valueless shells or whether he was belittling the gullibility of those who were willing to buy the shares only to watch the original owners dump their shares and leave the "speculators" holding nothing.

[Peter]

Bionic Jean wrote: "Peter wrote: "makes me wonder about the phrase ‘all the Rest.’ Will this chapter exclude a person/persons who will not appear in this chapter but who will prove to be essential to the plot?..."

Th..."

Jean. Yes. The wide sweeping title of the novel covers every nook and cranny of plot possibilities. You can’t go wrong if you throw a blanket over all Literature. 😊

Perhaps the phrase ‘Edited by Boz’ is a way of Dickens stepping further away from self-identification. A pseudonym gives one layer of anonymity. Being an editor is yet another step behind a curtain.

While NN is a novel that has a focus on the theatre perhaps its author was not as yet ready to step onto the stage, identify himself, and take a personal bow. That said, the counter argument works too. Dickens could never be referred to as a person who was ever shy about making his beliefs, desires, and wants very clear to his publishers.

[Jenny]

Thanks for all the information on yard vs garden Jean! I always wondered about that when reading Brittish books. Also, what is a terraced house?
I was struck by the image of the young orphan muffin boy who had his leg amputated and now plied his trade on crutches- a precursor to Tiny Tim perhaps?
I shall have to go back over this as I am very confused about Parliament being involved right now!

[Kathleen]

With this second chapter, I feel we've really landed in a Dickens world. I love all the description! I may be getting off on the wrong foot with Noggs, but I thought more of Uriah Heep than Bob Cratchit. Maybe it was the way he cracked his knuckles.

The background info is so helpful, Jean, especially on the commercial crisis. And your notes on yard versus garden clears up some long-term confusion on my part. :-)

[Peter]

Just as chapter 1 gives us a wide perspective of the Nickleby family tree chapter 2 zooms in very close on the character of Ralph Nickleby. Hopefully, he will not be the best branch of the family tree we will meet in the novel, but with Dickens’s extended focus on Ralph’s character and his activities I feel he may be a central part of this story.

I find the introduction of the character of Newman Noggs to be wonderful. Does any writer create more interesting and unique minor characters than Dickens? Often Dickens will play a major character in a novel off a minor character so the reader can get to understand both characters better. I hope we see much more of Newman Noggs.

[Lois]

I'm just getting started and will catch up. But I loved this comment in my edition's foreword (written by Moreland Perkins, University of Maryland, 1983), when asked, if one can watch a performance, why should one read the book?
"What can the reading provide that the seeing and hearing cannot? I have not space here to consider the general question, nor can I fully answer this question as applied to Nicholas Nickleby. So I choose just one of the several rewards which reading this novel offers that watching the play cannot: the enjoyment of Dickens' humor as expressed in innumerable descriptive passages and in a style so distinctively Dickens' own that for a playwright to assign these passages to an actor in the play would be impossible."

[Bionic Jean, "Dickens Duchess"]

That's really interesting! Thank you for sharing that, Lois. Which edition are you reading?

Looking up Moreland Perkins I find he is a Professor Emeritus of Philosophy, and is 97! (Evidently thinking a lot and enjoying Dickens keeps you young 😁)

[Bionic Jean, "Dickens Duchess"]

Paul - Do you think it's both? Devious inventors of the scam and gullible opportunistic people falling for it?

Peter - "Being an editor is yet another step behind a curtain" Great point! Dickens is ever the observer; the watcher, isn't he? And he often includes others in his books who look on, sometimes literally behind that curtain or door.

[Paul]

Bionic Jean wrote: "Paul - Do you think it's both? Devious inventors of the scam and gullible opportunistic people falling for it?"

As I read I definitely thought both. The magnitude of the sarcasm was so enormous and blatant. Even though Dickens had lived through the poverty side of the wealth/poverty dichotomy, it's tough to imagine someone so intelligent as Dickens having sympathy with a bankruptcy self-inflicted through a combination of greed and gullible stupidity.

[Beth]

Jenny wrote: "I shall have to go back over this as I am very confused about Parliament being involved right now!"

I have to assume that Parliament must approve the company's initial stock offering. But financial matters aren't my strong suit. Maybe someone else could explain?

It's interesting that in 1820, 100 years after the South Sea Bubble, speculation bubbles/insider fraud were still healthy and active in England. History goes in circles, sometimes.

Golden Square is a bustling and noisy place, but not a particularly cheerful one. It seems to be one that a certain group of immigrants (or so I imagine these to be) ends up drifting to. Dickens was great at depicting these scruffy kinds of neighborhoods.

I know that we're supposed to leave the 21st century behind us (in front of us?) with these reads, but speaking of the immigrants, I have a hard time with how these are depicted - not as unfortunate as the descriptions of Fagin, but not designed to elicit much sympathy, either.

The dark-complexioned men who wear large rings, and heavy watch-guards, and bushy whiskers, and who congregate under the Opera Colonnade, and about the box-office in the season, between four and five in the afternoon, when they give away the orders . . .

What does "give away the orders" mean, here?

[Bionic Jean, "Dickens Duchess"]

Jenny wrote: "Also, what is a terraced house?..."

It's a house in a row of houses; the houses are joined together and share side walls.

Paul - I agree

[Kelly]

Bionic Jean wrote: "My personal addition about yards and gardens … (under a spoiler to save space)

In England it is usually considered an insult to refer to someone’s “yard” rather than their “garden” as some America..."

This is very interesting and I think you explained it well!

I will give you a little quirk of the area of the United States I live in. I live in Ohio between the cities of Cleveland and Akron (the northeastern part of the state). If anyone is familiar with the small patch of grass between the sidewalk and the street, well, there is an ongoing battle between Clevelanders and Akronites over what this patch is called. In Cleveland, we call it by its correct name, the "tree lawn". In Akron, they call it the "devil strip". As I am from Cleveland originally and my husband is from Akron originally, it's made for some interesting conversations that our kids roll their eyes at.

Side note: we moved from Ohio to the state of North Carolina, which is where all of our children were born. We came back to Ohio to be near our extended family again. So our kids do not have the same investment in the "tree lawn"/"devil's strip" argument as we do ;-)

[Bionic Jean, "Dickens Duchess"]

Jenny and Beth - A petition is a formal written request sent in to Parliament by members of the public calling for some form of action by the Government.

The text says:

"the petition in favour of the bill was agreed upon", so I thought

"Parliament agrees in favour of the bill"

would be clear ... but British law is not self-evident! Hope it's OK now. There is an article by a Norman Russell in "the Dickensian" journal, which says that passing an act of incorporation would have been extremely expensive, so it is more likely that the principals of the company are declaring this intention as means of boosting the price of their shares. Wow! It's even more devious than I had thought!

As we know, after a period of feverish speculation in 1825 and 1826 there was widespread commercial panic and the demise of "bubble" companies with ridiculous names like this muffin one.

[Kelly]

Bionic Jean wrote: "Chapter 2: Of Mr Ralph Nickleby, and his Establishments, and his Undertakings, and of a great Joint Stock Company of Vast National Importance

Although Ralph Nickleby does not belong to a recognise..."

I LOVE these summaries. They are beyond helpful to me!

[Beth]

Bionic Jean wrote: "Noggs seems quite eccentric. Did you pick up about his watch and padlock? One of Dickens’ favourite motifs there. Perhaps it will signify more than Noggs “working out his time”, though if he used to be a gentleman, as Ralph Nickleby tells Mr Bonney, he must feel trapped by his current situation (i.e. the padlock?)"

The watch and padlock belong to Ralph. The fourth paragraph of Ch 2 describes his dress (blue and green evoke a peacock to me, but surely not?), then

". . . and the latter garment was not made low enough to conceal a long gold watch-chain, composed of a series of plain rings, which had its beginning at the handle of a gold repeater in Mr. Nickleby's pocket . . ."

[Bionic Jean, "Dickens Duchess"]

Beth wrote: "What does "give away the orders" mean, here?..."

When Dickens talks of the "Opera Colonade", he means the exterior of the Opera House, Haymarket, which had been extended during 1816-17.



(photo by K. B. Thompson in 2008)

So although some descriptions of ethnic communities can make us wince, in this case I suspect the "dark-complexioned men who wear large rings, and heavy watch-guards, and bushy whiskers" might be actors, or working for the theatre, and giving out programmes or playbills. It's just a hunch though!

There's more about the history of this theatre here.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theatre...

[Kelly]

Kathleen wrote: "With this second chapter, I feel we've really landed in a Dickens world. I love all the description! I may be getting off on the wrong foot with Noggs, but I thought more of Uriah Heep than Bob Cra..."

The cracking knuckles can be compared to Uriah's "writhing"? A nervous habit for two quirky and less than desirable people? I first thought of Bob Cratchit like Jean; I want Noggs to end up being a good guy.

[Kathleen]

I wondered if the definition of muffin has changed. The Oxford Learner’s Dictionary says this

“ /ˈmʌfən/ a small cake in the shape of a cup, often containing small pieces of fruit, etc”

In US cities that I’m familiar with, muffins might be found at Starbucks's rather than sold singly. One item sellers are more likely to have donuts, pretzels or cookies.

I’m delighted that we’ve started our journey together. To celebrate, I think I’ll bake some muffins!

[Kelly]

I read chapter two over a few meals today - both at my kitchen table! I worked a "split" shift at the library today, so I got to go home to have lunch and I enjoyed finishing up this chapter in my quiet house while the family was all off at work and school.

I enjoyed the line about Ralph that says, "The tradesmen held that he was a sort of lawyer, and the other neighbours opined that he was a kind of general agent; both of which guesses were as correct and definite as guesses about other people's affairs usually are, or need to be."

What does it mean that Mr Bonney's white hat "was so full of papers that it would scarcely stick upon his head"?

[Bionic Jean, "Dickens Duchess"]

Kelly wrote: "I LOVE these summaries. They are beyond helpful to me!.."

Oh good, I'm so pleased, thank you Kelly! 🥰 I've already given up on the Net ones (it lasted a day LOL) as they are extremely poor at identifying irony, and so give an incorrect meaning. I just do my best to simplify without personal interpretation, which is tricky 🤔

"tree lawn"/"devil's strip" Wow - I like the colourful description! Thanks.

[Connie]

I also had to look up the phrase, ". . . when Mr Seguin gives away the orders." The Penguin edition notes say that Mr Arthur Seguin was a comedian and bass singer who performed at Drury Lane, and "orders" were free passes to the theatre.

Thanks for all the helpful information about yards and gardens, Jean.

[Beth]

Bionic Jean wrote: "might be actors, or working for the theatre, and giving out programmes or playbills. It's just a hunch though!"

I think you're right! At least some of the tenants are musicians who perform in the Opera House, as well, as can be seen in paragraph 2. I can only assume that Golden Square is within easy walking distance of Haymarket so these folks can get to work without paying cab fees. (a quick peek at an online map says it's less than a mile away, quite an easy distance for a culture that is accustomed to walking everywhere.)

[Bionic Jean, "Dickens Duchess"]

Kathleen wrote: "I wondered if the definition of muffin has changed ..."

Oh dear, I intended to write a note about this I as realised that US muffins are different. An English muffin is a type of bread!

English muffins are made with yeast or sourdough, and are similar to crumpets (which I call pikelets - a regional Yorkshire name) which are made only using baking soda. You toast them on one side and eat them with butter spread over the holes on the top. Yum! 😊

But it gets confusing as we now have American muffins, which here are like large cupcakes (or what English people used to call buns.) Dickens and the London street vendors did not have sweet confectionery in mind, but a hot toasted bread-like product.

[Bionic Jean, "Dickens Duchess"]

Ah thanks Connie - free passes (or complimentary tickets, as we would say!) Yes, very likely 😊

It's gone midnight here, so I must resume tomorrow. Thanks all!

[Shirley (stampartiste)]

Like others have already said, Jean, I so much appreciate your giving us non-Britishers an insight into what things are: yard vs. garden vs. allotment, terraced houses, muffins, crumpets,... in addition to the workings of Parliament.

I'm afraid I am lost as to why Parliament would get involved in the formation of a business. You mentioned in Message 160, "That is why Sir Matthew Pupker had created this bill, he says, which will discourage private selling of muffins and allow the government to supply the people quality muffins at reduced prices. Does this mean that the government is essentially a partner in the business, or is this a case of government picking winners and losers?

Regarding Chapter 2:

I thought it was so funny how Dickens kept writing over and over and over again, "United Metropolitan Improved Hot Muffin and Crumpet Baking and Punctual Delivery Company." It had to be extremely tedious, but on the other hand, it really added to the sarcastic sense that this company was so grand!

I loved Dickens' memorable description of Newman Noggs: He had "two goggle eyes whereof one was a fixture,... and the communication of a fixed and rigid look to his unaffected eye, so as to make it uniform with the other, and to render it impossible for anybody to determine where or at what he was looking..." I adore the way Dickens creates these characters with their own peculiarities that stay with you throughout the story.

[Dee]

I am listening to NN on Audible read by B.J. Harrison. Every time he reads the title of the company, I am reminded of the old nursery rhyme __DO YOU KNOW THE MUFFIN MAN? who lives on Drury Lane. I wondered if the rhyme were connected to NN.

Evidently not! AI tells me this was a warning in the 16th century to children lured to their deaths in the lane by a man who sold muffins. The world has always been plagued by evil.

Thank you to Jean for all her preparation and the valuable information presented. Interesting comments echoing some of my own thoughts and questions.

[Jim]

I wonder if Dickens might have been indulging in some sort of stimulant when he wrote that scene of the "public meeting". With his ridicule generator operating at full throttle, he presents us with a wonderful burlesque of that ancient and dishonorable tradition known as "pump and dump", dear to the hearts of flim-flammers and snake oil salesmen everywhere! Absolutely over-the top!

[Sue]

Two chapters in and I already feel that I am more familiar with Ralph than during my first reading of NN. This chapter is over the top in the best ways with the descriptions of the proposed company, how it will benefit all the impoverished muffin-less people of Britain. I think they only lacked a preacher, though I may have missed that!

[Paul]

Jim wrote: "I wonder if Dickens might have been indulging in some sort of stimulant when he wrote that scene of the "public meeting". With his ridicule generator operating at full throttle, he presents us with..."

Further to the whole notion of satirizing the obvious "pump and dump" nature of the new public company, Dickens also wrote,

"... if the government had one object more at heart than another, that one object was the welfare and advantage of the United Metropolitan Improved Hot Muffin and Crumpet Baking and Punctual Delivery Company."

I wonder if it was Dickens' intention to lump the government and its parliamentarians into the hapless gullible half of the world or the self-serving capitalist side of the world who approved the company with the full intention of going along for the ride and taking advantage of the scam to enrich themselves?

The rather unctuous and slimy description of the reaction of the Irish and Scotch members to the meeting's passage of the resolution would lead me to believe that Dickens was putting them on the crooked side of his morality ledger.

[Chris]

Jean: I echo everyone's comments about all the extra info you provide. I had no idea SoHo was a sleazy place nor the difference between yards and gardens. So thanks! When reading about Noggs, I initially thought he might be the model for Cratchit as well. The illustration you provided of Noggs, dispelled that idea.

[Dee]

Jean: A request. Could you, please, post the last page number of each chapter from the edition you are using of NN. I would like to track my journey on Goodreads updates. Thank you.

[Bionic Jean, "Dickens Duchess"]

Shirley (stampartiste) - "Does this mean that the government is essentially a partner in the business, or is this a case of government picking winners and losers?"

The latter. The government would have the monopoly, so nobody else would be able to supply muffins, which were a popular street food for the working class of the time. But since the directors were only submitting the petition to draw attention to their own company, and not intending to finance it to follow through, it was an act of supreme cynicism.

Dee - "I am reminded of the old nursery rhyme __DO YOU KNOW THE MUFFIN MAN? who lives on Drury Lane."

This is a perfect example! Yes, it may refer to a wicked man, but only works because everyone knew about the muffin man!



Drawing by Paul Sandby 1759

And Drury Lane is theatreland 😊 This is a good article, which explains that as well as street food, Victorian households had many of their fresh foods delivered, such as muffins, which were delivered door-to-door by a vendor known as a muffin man. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Muf...

There is also a whole section on street food in The Victorian City: Everyday Life in Dickens' London by Judith Flanders - one of our side reads.

Thank you for your kind words, both 🥰 And Chris and Kathleen too!

[Jenny]

Oh, thanks Jean- I get it now! I understood the part about parliament agreeing in favor of the bill, but didn't understand what exactly the bill was for- I missed the incorpration bit!
I had an (american) english muffin for breakfast while preparing to read chapter 3 😁

[Bionic Jean, "Dickens Duchess"]

Connie - I think you especially will find the linked article on the Theatre Royal Haymarket (under the photograph) fascinating!

Dee - No, sorry I can't add page numbers as l'm using the kindle one I recommended (on our bookshelf) plus Gutenberg. I have a few printed editions out of the library, which I compared for the group earlier - but picking any one of these to add a daily page number would exclude everyone else! Perhaps your audio player will tell you percentages (mine does) in which case you can enter these. If not, then you could guess the percentage ... but there are 65 chapters which would mean 65 daily updates! For this reason I only add a few to my page, but link them all for everyone at the beginning of the thread.

Jim - I very much like how your expressed that!

And I love how we are all getting a feeling for the various characters already, after only 2 chapters! As Kathleen says "I feel we've really landed in a Dickens world."

So, here we go ...

[Bionic Jean, "Dickens Duchess"]

Chapter 3: 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

Ralph Nickleby meets Noggs after lunch and asks his clerk to give him the letter he is expecting. Noggs tells him that it has not come, and nobody has made inquiries about the matter. However, he has received a letter with a black wax border. Ralph recognises the writing as his sister-in-law’s and suspects, because of the black border, that his brother is dead. The letter confirms this, as well as telling him that his brother’s widow and two children are in London.

Ralph Nickleby is not pleased. His brother never did anything for him, he says, and he never saw Nicholas or his family. He resents the fact that they turn to him the moment that his brother dies.

He goes to the house where his brother’s widow is staying with her children, and tells the landlady Miss La Creevy that she should not allow them to rent rooms from her. He tells her that they are poor, and that he will not be responsible for paying their debts. With this knowledge Miss La Creevy says to him that she will evict them, because she cannot afford to lose money.

Ralph Nickleby meets his brother’s wife and children. There is a lady in deep mourning and:

“a slight but very beautiful girl of about seventeen, [and] a youth, who appeared a year or two older.”



“Mr Ralph Nickleby’s First Visit to His Poor Relations by Phiz (Hablot K. Browne), initial serial illustration for Charles Dickens’s Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby, Containing a Faithful Account of the Fortunes, Misfortunes, Uprisings, Downfallings and Complete Career of the Nickleby Family, edited by 'Boz', Part 1 - April 1838”

He is imperious and sneering with Nicholas, and rather offhand about his brother having died, which makes his nephew resent him:

“‘Husbands die every day, ma’am, and wives too.’
‘And brothers also, sir,’ said Nicholas, with a glance of indignation.
‘Yes, sir, and puppies, and pug-dogs likewise,’ replied his uncle, taking a chair.”



“The uncle and nephew looked at each other for some seconds without speaking - Fred Barnard - 1875”

The widow tells Ralph that her husband had died of a broken heart, and he says that that is not a proper diagnosis, and just used when people can’t pay their debts.

After learning her son Nicholas’s age, he asks his nephew what he intends to do. Nicholas says he doesn’t plan on being supported by his mother, and he doesn’t plan on begging assistance from his uncle either. Ralph does not like his nephew’s impudence.

“Uncle and nephew looked at each other for some seconds without speaking. The face of the old man was stern, hard-featured, and forbidding; that of the young one, open, handsome, and ingenuous. The old man’s eye was keen with the twinklings of avarice and cunning; the young man’s bright with the light of intelligence and spirit …

It galled Ralph to the heart’s core, and he hated Nicholas from that hour.”



“Mr. Ralph Nickleby makes the acquaintance of his Relations -
Harry Furniss - 1910”

Mrs. Nickleby tells Ralph that they have nothing left after paying the creditors. She had spent what little they had in coming to London to see him. She was hoping that he would help her children. Ralph asks what the daughter’s qualifications are, and is told that Kate is well educated. He plans to get her an apprentice position at a boarding school, and she replies eagerly that she is willing to do anything to make her way. His attitude softens towards her.

Ralph’s brother had not provided Nicholas with further education. Ralph criticises his brother for burdening his widow with a son who could not provide for her. Mrs. Nickleby does begin regret her choice in husbands, and Ralph gloats upon hearing how his brother came to ruin.

He asks his nephew if he is willing to work, and Nicholas says he is. Ralph shows him an advertisement for an assistant at a school. Though the salary is small, just £5 a year, he will get an education, food, and housing. Ralph Nickleby assures him that it will help Nicholas make his fortune later.

The advertisement asks for someone with a degree, but Ralph Nickleby says he is sure he can arrange it for Nicholas to be hired without one. Ralph tells Nicholas that he can take the situation, or he can try to find one for himself. However, lacking in friends, money, references, and training, he isn’t likely to find one that is legal. Nicholas asks what will become of his mother and sister, and Ralph says he will assist them towards independence if Nicholas takes the position. Nicholas agrees, suddenly enthusiastic. He envisions a happy future.

Nicholas decides his first impression of his uncle has been unfair. He goes with Ralph to the establishment to secure the position. Mrs. Nickleby also says to her daughter that she now thinks her brother-in-law is kind, despite his manner.

Although Mrs. Nickleby loved her husband, Ralph has made her aware of how foolish he was and how she is now a victim because of it.