The Life And Adventures Of Nicholas Nickleby Volume Ii Scholars Choice Edition

Author : Charles Dickens
Publisher :
ISBN 13 : 9781973345855
Total Pages : 428 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (458 download)

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Download or read book The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby written by Charles Dickens and published by . This book was released on 2017-11-20 with total page 428 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: NICHOLAS NICKLEBYNicholas Nickleby; or, The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby is a novel by Charles Dickens. Originally published as a series from 1838 to 1839, it was Dickens' third novel.The novel focuses on the life and adventures of Nicholas Nickleby, a young man who has to support his mother and sister after his father's death.Nicholas Nickleby's father died unexpectedly after losing all his money in a bad investment. Nicholas, his mother and little sister, Kate, are forced to abandon their comfortable lifestyle in Devonshire and travel to London to seek the help of their only relative, Nicholas' uncle, Ralph Nickleby. Ralph, a cold and ruthless businessman, has no desire to help his poor relationship and hates Nicholas, who reminds him of his dead brother, on sight. He gets a poorly paid job as an assistant to Wackford Squeers, who runs Dotheboys Hall School in Yorkshire. Nicholas is initially suspicious of Squeers (a very unpleasant man with an eye) because he is gruff and violent towards his young charges, but he tries to calm his suspicions. As Nicholas boards the stagecoach for Greta Bridge, he receives a letter from Ralph's clerk, Newman Noggs. A once wealthy businessman, Noggs lost his fortune, became drunk, and had no choice but to seek work with Ralph, whom he hates. The letter expresses his concern as an innocent young man and offers help if Nicolas ever needed it. Once in Yorkshire, Nicholas realizes that Squeers runs a scam: he receives unwanted children (most of whom are illegitimate, crippled or deformed) for a high price, and starves and mistreats them using money sent by their parents, who only want to divert them from their way, to fill their own pockets. Squeers and his monstrous wife whip and beat the children regularly, while spoiling their own son. The lessons are not better; they show how little Squeers is educated and uses lessons as pretexts to send boys to chores. While there, Nicholas befriends a simple boy named Smike, who is older than other "students" and now acts as an unpaid servant. Nicholas draws the attention of Fanny Squeers, the simple and cunning girl of her employer, who deludes herself into thinking that Nicholas is in love with her. She tries to reveal her affections during a game of cards, but Nicholas does not understand its meaning. Instead, he ended up flirting with his friend Tilda Price, to the dismay of John Browdie, Fanny and Tilda's friendly and brutal fiancée. After being approached again by Fanny, Nicholas tells him downright that he does not return his affections and wishes to free himself from the horrible atmosphere of Dotheboys Hall, gaining his enmity.CHARLES DICKENSCharles John Huffam Dickens (February 7, 1812 - June 9, 1870) was an English writer and social critic. He has created some of the most famous fictional characters in the world and is considered by many to be the greatest novelist of the Victorian era. His work enjoyed unprecedented popularity during his lifetime, and in the 20th century critics and scholars had recognized him as a literary genius. His novels and short stories have a lasting popularity.Born in Portsmouth, Dickens left school to work in a factory when his father was incarcerated in a debtors' prison. Despite his lack of formal education, he published a weekly newspaper for 20 years, wrote 15 novels, five short stories, hundreds of short stories and non-fiction articles, taught and played extensively, was a tireless writer and campaigned vigorously for children's rights education and other social reforms.The literary success of Dickens began with the 1836 serial publication of The Pickwick Papers. In a few years he had become an international literary celebrity, famous for his humor, his satire and his observation of character and society. His novels, mostly published monthly or weekly, were the pioneers of the serial publication of narrative fiction, which became the dominant Victorian mode for novel publishing.