The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby

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The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby, (or Nicholas Nickleby for short) is a comic novel of 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.

Like nearly all of Dickens' works, the novel has a contemporary setting. Much of the action takes place in London, with the exception of several chapters taking place in Dickens' hometown of Portsmouth, as well as settings in Yorkshire and Devon.

The tone of the work is burlesque, with Dickens taking aim at what he perceives to be social injustices. Many memorable characters are introduced, including Nicholas' malevolent uncle Ralph, and the villainous Wackford Squeers, who operates a squalid boarding school at which Nicholas temporarily serves as a tutor.

While some consider the book to be among the finest works of 19th century comedy, Nicholas Nickleby is occasionally criticized for its lack of character development. It has been adapted for stage, film or television at least seven times. Perhaps the most extraordinary version was produced in 1980 when a large-scale stage production of the novel was produced on Broadway by Nelle Nugent. It was a theatrical experience which lasted more than ten hours with intermissions and a dinner break. It was first performed by the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) and in 1982 the RSC had the show recorded for Channel 4, with it becoming the channel's first drama. The production received both critical and popular acclaim. All of the actors played multiple roles because of the huge number of characters, except for Roger Rees, who played Nicholas (due to the large amount of time he was on stage).

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Publication

Nicholas Nickleby was originally issued in 19 monthly numbers; the last was a double-number and cost two shillings instead of one. Each number comprised 32 pages of text and two illustrations by Phiz:

  • I - March 1838 (chapters 1-4);
  • II - April 1838 (chapters 5-7);
  • III - May 1838 (chapters 8-10);
  • IV - June 1838 (chapters 11-14);
  • V - July 1838 (chapters 15-17);
  • VI - August 1838 (chapters 18-20);
  • VII - September 1838 (chapters 21-23);
  • VIII - October 1838 (chapters 24-26);
  • IX - November 1838 (chapters 27-29);
  • X - December 1838 (chapters 30-33);
  • XI - January 1839 (chapters 34-36);
  • XII - February 1839 (chapters 37-39);
  • XIII - March 1839 (chapters 40-42);
  • XIV - April 1839 (chapters 43-45);
  • XV - May 1839 (chapters 46-48);
  • XVI - June 1839 (chapters 49-51);
  • XVII - July 1839 (chapters 52-54);
  • XVIII - August 1839 (chapters 55-58);
  • XIX-XX - September 1839 (chapters 59-65).
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External links

Template:Wikisourcepar Analysis of central theme

  • N Nickleby - The theme of Nicholas Nickleby - a detailed examination.

Online editions

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