Nicholas Nickleby, Enjoying a Dickens Classic... Great Characters... Great Story...

“It will be our aim to amuse, by producing a rapid succession of characters and incidents, and describing them as cheerfully and pleasantly as in us lies” Charles Dickens on the announcement of his latest novel Nicholas Nickleby

The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby

A Review of the Classic by Jim Romano

Hey 1000 Bookies!! Today we open our portal and arrive in the late 1830s in London, England to review the Dickens classic, The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby. However, for the fun of it, the official name of the story is The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby, Containing a Faithful Account of the Fortunes, Misfortunes, Uprisings, Downfallings and Complete Career of the Nickleby Family. That title is quite the mouthful, I think you can tell that Dickens was being paid by the word. A reader can always count on Dickens to use an extra 25 words when two words suffice—it is part of his charm. I personally believe that Charles Dickens is one of, if not the greatest writers the world has ever produced. His works have brought about entertainment as well as tremendous social change from the reform of education to the reform of the poor laws in Britain to largely creating a major holiday out of a minor one. He wrote about real events like the French Revolution and the Gordon Riots. One only has to look at the entire Christmas holiday season to see the impact Charles Dickens has on this world to this day—he literally was the man who invented Christmas.

Nicholas Nickleby is over 750 pages long and can be a difficult slog to keep your attention the entire way through. Because of my love for The Christmas Carol, I had already resolved to read all of the works of Charles Dickens in my lifetime, but keeping focus is usually my downfall. This time, my strategy was to read two chapters of the book per day. I found the story so captivating that I wanted to keep reading to discover what happened next, but the 2-chapter rule was productive. This classic for the most part held my attention, which if you ask my wife is not inconsequential. I encourage you to read it but only if you have a desire for the classics, you will not be disappointed.

Nicholas Nickleby was the third novel by Dickens. Like all the major novels of Charles Dickens, the book was serialized in several chapter increments beginning in March 1838 and ending in November of 1839. Additionally, for 13 months Dickens was writing the serialized Nickleby and the serialized Oliver Twist overlapping sections for readers. The novel has everything you love about a comedic Dickens novel—outlandish names, unforgettable characters, his social commentary and quest for social justice. I love Dickens’ novels for his characters. Dickens writes so many memorable ones from Mr. Jingle to Sam Weller, from Fagin to the Artful Dodger, from Mr. Crummles to Smike, from Pip to Miss Havisham, from Lucy Manette to Madame Defarge, from The Ghost of Christmas Present to Tiny Tim. The only modern writer who I believe emphasizes characters as creatively is Stephen King. By the way, King attempted to serialize a novel, The Green Mile, in a homage to Dickens.

“Nicholas Nickleby is made up, nevertheless, of all manner of different kinds of writing—melodrama, political satire, class comedy, social criticism, domestic farce—while it’s loose, episodic narrative style allows Dickens to push the story at almost any moment in whatever direction happens to appeal” according to Professor Mark Ford, in his introduction of the novel. The story begins with a history of the Nickleby Brothers, Ralph and Nicholas. One pursued a career, becoming very wealthy and the other pursued a happy family life. However, Nicholas died young, leaving a family fairly poor. The widow and two children left their home to come to London to appeal to their Uncle Ralph Nickleby for assistance. To say that Ralph Nickleby is not a nice guy would be an understatement—he is but one villain in a long line in Dickens novels. Honestly, Ralph Nickleby makes Scrooge look like a Mother Theresa before the ghosts. Ralph wants his nephew and niece to work. He apprentices Kate Nickleby with a dressmaker and obtains Nicholas a “situation” at an all-boys boarding school in Yorkshire.

Dotheboys school (I kid you not) in Yorkshire is where Nicholas ends up under the headmaster, Mr. Squeers (I really kid you not). Dickens uses the book to attack these types of schools which were popular at the time in England. These institutions were advertised as these wonderful places but were money making schemes. Dotheboys School is simply terrible. The boys were starved and beaten by Squeers and his wife. The two Squeers children also enjoy the torture they witness. These schools were more often according to Mark Ford “a cheap and convenient way of disposing of unwanted or illegitimate offspring. The chilling statement ‘No Vacations’ invariably figured in their promotional literature”. Nicholas meets Smike, a boy sent at a young age and left there. The money stopped so the Squeers family uses him as a slave basically. They beat him and poison him. Nicholas takes pity and attempts to help and protect this boy. Eventually Nicholas cannot watch the torture anymore and rebels giving Mr. Squeers a well-deserved beating. Smike and Nicholas run away. Nicholas and Smike become devoted to each other, and he states of Smike, “He well deserves all the kindness I can show him, and a great deal more. He is the most grateful, single-hearted, affectionate creature that ever breathed.”

Dickens traveled to Yorkshire in 1838 to research these schools. He would write, “We hear something of an action for damages against the unqualified medical practitioner, who has deformed a broken limb in pretending to hear it. But, what of the hundreds of thousands of minds what have been deformed for ever by the incapable pettifoggers who have pretended to form them!” Because of Nicholas Nickleby the Yorkshire schools were almost all closed 10 years after the publication of the novel. The story shone a light on the problems with these schools and instituted change, his books were a natural disinfectant.

Nicholas Nickleby contains many wonderful minor characters. After the escape at the school, Nicholas and Smike eventually end up in a theatre group run by Mr. Victor Crummles. Dickens always had a soft spot for the theatre and wanted to be an actor. The theatre troop is the comic relief in the story as Nicholas navigates the stage and the actors. The ensemble includes Mrs. Crummles, The Infant Phenomenon, Mr. Folairs, Miss Snevellicci and Mr. Lenville. He is given a job as a writer, translator and actor. He seems to enjoy the stage and Mr. Crummles. There is Newman Nogs, Ralph’s clerk, who cannot stand his employer and secretly helps Nicholas. Nicholas makes the acquaintance of the Cheeryble brothers, Ned and Charles. They are wealthy investors who hire Nicholas as a clerk. At this point The Nicklebys form a family with everyone they met along the way who were good to them and they were good toward. “When I talk of home, I talk of mine,--which is yours of course…When I speak of home, I speak of the place where—in default of a better—those I love are gathered together; and if that place were a gypsy’s tent, or a barn, I should call it by the same good name notwithstanding.”

The story contains a love story or Nicholas searching for love. Nicholas is pursued first by Fanny Squeers, who sets her sights on him. She tells all her friends they are engaged, and Nicholas barely has spoken to her. A tea party with neighbors goes awry and Nicholas makes another enemy at Dotheboys school. Nicholas meets Ms. Snevellicci the actress in the theatre but he dodges her also. Then Nicholas meets the beautiful Madeline Bray. Madeline is close with his employers and the Cheerybles want Nicholas to watch out for her. Eventually Madeline is used as a pawn for Ralph to exact revenge on Nicholas. Of course since this is a story with a happy ending, you probably know what will happen between Madeline and Nicholas.

I have a favorite scene in the book. Charles and Ned Cheeryble are described as “fairy god fathers” to Nicholas and the entire Nickleby family. Ralph Nickleby wants to destroy and ruin Nicholas, and is always trying to strike at him. The Cheerybles always move to thwart the schemes with the help of Newman Nogs. Finally, Charles Cheeryble confronts Ralph Nickleby with all the damage he has done and warns him to cease. I love when people stand up for others and for what is right. There is a line in the fight between Ralph and Charles Cheeryble that I love, and it makes me think it’s a precursor to A Christmas Carol, Ralph yells at Charles, “Not a word, I tell you, sir, not a word. Virtuous as you are, you are not an angel yet, to appear in men’s houses whether they will or no and pour your speech into unwilling ears. Preach to the walls I tell you; not to me”.

In 2002, a modern movie version of Nicholas Nickleby was released with an all-star cast. Ann Hathaway, Charlie Hunnam, Jaime Bell, Alan Cumming, Jim Broadbent, Nathan Lane, and Christopher Plummer headline the movie. If you do not read the book, I would recommend watching the movie. The movie of course excises much of the book and many characters but the plot is generally the same. Nicholas Nickleby was an enjoyable book for me. Alls well that ends well for Nicholas and most of his friend. I understand that unless you have a thirst for the classics or Charles Dickens this novel might not catch your attention. If you are up to the challenge you may be happy you did.