''The Old Curiosity Shop'' is one of two novels (the other being ''
Barnaby Rudge
''Barnaby Rudge: A Tale of the Riots of Eighty'' (commonly known as ''Barnaby Rudge'') is a historical novel by British novelist Charles Dickens. ''Barnaby Rudge'' was one of two novels (the other was ''The Old Curiosity Shop'') that Dickens publ ...
'') which
Charles Dickens
Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English writer and social critic. He created some of the world's best-known fictional characters and is regarded by many as the greatest novelist of the Victorian e ...
published along with short stories in his weekly serial ''
Master Humphrey's Clock
''Master Humphrey's Clock'' was a weekly periodical edited and written entirely by Charles Dickens and published from 4 April 1840 to 4 December 1841. It began with a frame story in which Master Humphrey tells about himself and his small circle o ...
'', from 1840 to 1841. It was so popular that New York readers stormed the wharf when the ship bearing the final instalment arrived in 1841. ''The Old Curiosity Shop'' was printed in book form in 1841.
The plot follows the life of
Nell Trent
Nell Trent, also referred to as Little Nell, is a fictional character in the 1841 novel ''The Old Curiosity Shop'' by Charles Dickens. The novel's main character, she is portrayed as infallibly good and virginal. An orphan, she leads her grandfath ...
and her grandfather, both residents of The Old Curiosity Shop in London.
Queen Victoria
Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 21 ...
read the novel in 1841 and found it "very interesting and cleverly written".
Plot
Background
The events of the book seem to take place around 1825. In Chapter 29, Miss Monflathers refers to the death of
Lord Byron
George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron (22 January 1788 – 19 April 1824), known simply as Lord Byron, was an English romantic poet and Peerage of the United Kingdom, peer. He was one of the leading figures of the Romantic movement, and h ...
, who died on 19 April 1824. When the inquest rules (incorrectly) that
Quilp
Daniel Quilp is one of the main antagonists in the novel ''The Old Curiosity Shop'' by Charles Dickens, written in 1840. Quilp is a vicious, ill-tempered and grotesque dwarf and is the villain of the story. Quilp is as near as Dickens ever came to ...
committed suicide, his corpse is ordered to be
buried at a crossroads with a stake through the heart, a practice banned in 1823. Nell's grandfather, after his breakdown, fears that he shall be sent to a madhouse, and there chained to a wall and whipped; these practices went out of use after about 1830. In Chapter 13, the lawyer Mr. Brass is described as "one of Her Majesty's attornies" , putting him in the reign of
Queen Victoria
Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 21 ...
, which began in 1837, but given all the other evidence, and the fact that Kit, at his trial, is charged with acting "against the peace of our Sovereign Lord the King" (referring to
William IV
William IV (William Henry; 21 August 1765 – 20 June 1837) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and King of Hanover from 26 June 1830 until his death in 1837. The third son of George III, William succeeded h ...
), this must be a slip of the pen.
Synopsis
''The Old Curiosity Shop'' tells the story of
Nell Trent
Nell Trent, also referred to as Little Nell, is a fictional character in the 1841 novel ''The Old Curiosity Shop'' by Charles Dickens. The novel's main character, she is portrayed as infallibly good and virginal. An orphan, she leads her grandfath ...
, a beautiful and virtuous young girl of "not quite fourteen". An orphan, she lives with her maternal grandfather (whose name is never revealed) in his shop of odds and ends. Her grandfather loves her dearly, and Nell does not complain, but she lives a lonely existence with almost no friends her own age. Her only friend is Kit, an honest boy employed at the shop, whom she is teaching to write. Secretly obsessed with ensuring that Nell does not die in poverty as her parents did, her grandfather attempts to provide Nell with a good inheritance through gambling at cards. He keeps his nocturnal games a secret, but borrows heavily from the evil
Daniel Quilp
Daniel Quilp is one of the main antagonists in the novel ''The Old Curiosity Shop'' by Charles Dickens, written in 1840. Quilp is a vicious, ill-tempered and grotesque dwarf and is the villain of the story. Quilp is as near as Dickens ever came to ...
, a malicious, grotesquely deformed, hunchbacked dwarf moneylender. In the end, he gambles away what little money they have, and Quilp seizes the opportunity to take possession of the shop and evict Nell and her grandfather. Her grandfather suffers a
breakdown
Breakdown may refer to:
Breaking down
*Breakdown (vehicle), failure of a motor vehicle in such a way that it cannot be operated
*Chemical decomposition, also called chemical breakdown, the breakdown of a substance into simpler components
*Decompo ...
that leaves him bereft of his wits, and Nell takes him away to the
Midlands
The Midlands (also referred to as Central England) are a part of England that broadly correspond to the Kingdom of Mercia of the Early Middle Ages, bordered by Wales, Northern England and Southern England. The Midlands were important in the Ind ...
of England, to live as beggars.
Convinced that the old man has stored up a large and prosperous fortune for Nell, her wastrel older brother, Frederick, convinces the good-natured but easily led Dick Swiveller to help him track Nell down, so that Swiveller can marry Nell and share her supposed inheritance with Frederick. To this end, they join forces with Quilp, who knows full well that there is no fortune, but sadistically chooses to 'help' them to enjoy the misery it will inflict on all concerned. Quilp begins to try to track Nell down, but the fugitives are not easily discovered. To keep Dick Swiveller under his eye, Quilp arranges for him to be taken as a clerk by Quilp's lawyer,
Mr. Brass. At the Brass firm, Dick befriends the mistreated maidservant and nicknames her 'the
Marchioness
A marquess (; french: marquis ), es, marqués, pt, marquês. is a nobleman of high hereditary rank in various European peerages and in those of some of their former colonies. The German language equivalent is Markgraf (margrave). A woman wi ...
'. Nell, having fallen in with a number of characters, some villainous and some kind, succeeds in leading her grandfather to safety in a far-off village (identified by Dickens as
Tong, Shropshire
Tong is a village and civil parish in Shropshire, England. It is located between the towns of Shifnal, Newport and Brewood. It is near junction 3 of the M54 motorway and A41 road. The population of the village which was included in the civil p ...
), but this comes at a considerable cost to Nell's health.
Meanwhile, Kit, having lost his job at the curiosity shop, has found new employment with the kind Mr and Mrs Garland. Here he is contacted by a mysterious 'single gentleman' who is looking for news of Nell and her grandfather. The 'single gentleman' and Kit's mother go after them unsuccessfully, and encounter Quilp, who is also hunting for the runaways. Quilp forms a grudge against Kit and has him framed as a thief. Kit is sentenced to
transportation
Transport (in British English), or transportation (in American English), is the intentional movement of humans, animals, and goods from one location to another. Modes of transport include air, land (rail and road), water, cable, pipeline, ...
. However, Dick Swiveller proves Kit's innocence with the help of his friend the Marchioness. Quilp is hunted down and dies trying to escape his pursuers. At the same time, a coincidence leads Mr Garland to knowledge of Nell's whereabouts, and he, Kit, and the single gentleman (who turns out to be the younger brother of Nell's grandfather) go to find her. Sadly, by the time they arrive, Nell has died as a result of her arduous journey. Her grandfather, already mentally infirm, refuses to admit she is dead and sits every day by her grave waiting for her to come back until, a few months later, he dies himself.
Framing device
''
Master Humphrey's Clock
''Master Humphrey's Clock'' was a weekly periodical edited and written entirely by Charles Dickens and published from 4 April 1840 to 4 December 1841. It began with a frame story in which Master Humphrey tells about himself and his small circle o ...
'' was a weekly serial that contained both short stories and two novels (''The Old Curiosity Shop'' and ''Barnaby Rudge''). Some of the short stories act as
frame stories
A frame is often a structural system that supports other components of a physical construction and/or steel frame that limits the construction's extent.
Frame and FRAME may also refer to:
Physical objects
In building construction
*Framing (con ...
to the novels.
Originally the conceit of the story was that
Master Humphrey
Master Humphrey is the narrator and main character in Dickens's serial, ''Master Humphrey's Clock''. He is also the unnamed narrator of the first three chapters of Dickens's 1841 novel ''The Old Curiosity Shop
''The Old Curiosity Shop'' is o ...
was reading it aloud to a group of his friends, gathered at his house around the grandfather clock in which he eccentrically kept his manuscripts. Consequently, when the novel begins, it is told in the first person, with Master Humphrey as the narrator. However, Dickens soon changed his mind about how best to tell the story, and abandoned the first-person narrator after chapter three. Once the novel was ended, ''Master Humphrey's Clock'' added a concluding scene, where Master Humphrey's friends (after he has finished reading the novel to them) complain that the 'single gentleman' is never given a name; Master Humphrey tells them that the novel was a true story, that the 'single gentleman' was in fact Master Humphrey himself, and that the events of the first three chapters were fictitious, intended only to introduce the characters. This was Dickens's
after-the-fact explanation of why the narrator disappeared and why (if he was their near relation) he gave no sign in the first three chapters of knowing who they were. At least one editor thinks this device "need not be taken seriously."
Dickens's original artistic intent was to keep the short stories and the novels together, and the short stories and the novels were published in 1840 in three bound volumes under the title ''Master Humphrey's Clock'', which retains the original full and correct ordering of texts. However, Dickens himself cancelled ''Master Humphrey's Clock'' before 1848, and describes in a preface to ''The Old Curiosity Shop'' that he wishes the story to not be tied down to the miscellany within which it began. Most later anthologies published the short stories and the novels separately.
Characters
Major
*
Nell Trent
Nell Trent, also referred to as Little Nell, is a fictional character in the 1841 novel ''The Old Curiosity Shop'' by Charles Dickens. The novel's main character, she is portrayed as infallibly good and virginal. An orphan, she leads her grandfath ...
, the novel's main character. Portrayed as infallibly good and angelic, she leads her grandfather on their journey to save them from misery. She gradually becomes weaker throughout the journey, and although she finds a home with the help of the schoolmaster, she sickens and dies before her friends in London find her.
*Nell's Grandfather, Nell's guardian. After losing both his wife and daughter, he sees Nell as the embodiment of their good spirits. His grandson Fred is seen as the successor to his son-in-law, who he felt unworthy of his daughter. As such, he shows him no affection. He is paranoid about falling into poverty and gambles to try to stave that off; as his money runs out, he turns to Quilp for loans to continue to furnish for Nell the life he feels she deserves. After believing Kit has revealed his secret addiction, he falls ill and is mentally unstable afterwards. Nell then protects him as he had done for her. Although he knows Nell is dead, he refuses to acknowledge it and does not recognise his brother whom he had protected in their childhood. He dies soon after Nell, and is buried beside her.
*Christopher "Kit" Nubbles, Nell's friend and servant. He watches out for Nell when she is left in the shop alone at night (although she doesn't know he's there) and will 'never come home to his bed until he thinks she safe in hers'. After Quilp takes over the shop, he offers her a place in his house. His mother is concerned about his attachment to Nell, and at one point jokes, 'some people would say that you'd fallen in love with her', at which Kit becomes very bashful and tries to change the subject. He is later given a position at the Garlands' house, and becomes an important member of their household. His dedication to his family earns him the respect of many characters and the resentment of Quilp. He is framed for robbery, but is later released and joins the party traveling to recover Nell.
![Quilp by Kyd 1889](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/01/Quilp_by_Kyd_1889.jpg)
*
Daniel Quilp
Daniel Quilp is one of the main antagonists in the novel ''The Old Curiosity Shop'' by Charles Dickens, written in 1840. Quilp is a vicious, ill-tempered and grotesque dwarf and is the villain of the story. Quilp is as near as Dickens ever came to ...
, the novel's primary villain. He mistreats his wife, Betsy, and manipulates others to his own ends through a false charm he has developed over the years. He lends money to Nell's grandfather and takes possession of the curiosity shop during the old man's illness (which he had caused by revealing his knowledge of the old man's bad gambling habit). He uses sarcasm to belittle those he wishes to control, most notably his wife, and takes a sadistic delight in the suffering of others. He eavesdrops so as to know all of 'the old man's' most private thoughts, and teases him, saying 'you have no secrets from me now'. He also drives a wedge between Kit and the old man (and as a result between Kit and Nell) by pretending it was Kit who told him about the gambling.
*
Richard "Dick" Swiveller, in turn, Frederick Trent's manipulated friend, Sampson Brass's clerk, and the Marchioness' guardian and eventual husband. He delights in quoting and adapting literature to describe his experiences. He is very laid back and doesn't seem to worry about anything, despite the fact that he owes money to just about everybody. Following Fred's departure from the story, he becomes more independent and eventually is seen as a strong force for good, securing Kit's release from prison and the Marchioness' future. His transformation from an idle and vacant youth to a key helpmate bridges the depiction of the main characters that are either mostly villainous or goodly in nature.
*The Single Gentleman, who is never named, is the estranged younger brother of Nell's grandfather. He leads the search for the travelers after taking lodging in Sampson Brass' rooms and befriending Dick, Kit, and the Garlands.
Minor
*Mrs. Betsy Quilp, Quilp's mistreated wife. She is mortally afraid of her husband but appears to love him in spite of everything, as she was genuinely worried when he disappeared for a long period.
*
Mr. Sampson Brass, an attorney (what would now be called a solicitor) of the Court of the King's Bench. A grovelling, obsequious man, he is an employee of Mr. Quilp, at whose urging he frames Kit for robbery.
*Miss Sarah "Sally" Brass, Mr. Brass' obnoxious sister and clerk. She is the real authority in the Brass firm. She is occasionally referred to as a "dragon", and she mistreats the Marchioness. Quilp makes amorous advances towards her, but is rebuffed.
*Mrs. Jarley, proprietor of a travelling waxworks show, who takes in Nell and her grandfather out of kindness. However, she only appears briefly.
*Frederick Trent, Nell's worthless older brother, who is convinced that his grandfather is secretly wealthy (when in actuality he was the primary cause of the old man's poverty, according to the single gentleman). Initially a major character in the novel and highly influential over Richard Swiveller, he is dropped from the narrative after chapter 23. Briefly mentioned as travelling to Great Britain and the wider world following his disappearance from the story, before being found injured and drowned in the
River Seine
)
, mouth_location = Le Havre/Honfleur
, mouth_coordinates =
, mouth_elevation =
, progression =
, river_system = Seine basin
, basin_size =
, tributaries_left = Yonne, Loing, Eure, Risle
, tributarie ...
after the story's conclusion. The character was named after the novelist's younger brother,
Frederick Dickens
Frederick William Dickens (4 July 1820 – 20 October 1868) was the son of John and Elizabeth Dickens and was Charles Dickens's younger brother, who lived with Charles when he moved on to Furnival's Inn in 1834. He was the inspiration for two di ...
.
*Mr. Garland, a kind-hearted man, father of Abel Garland and employer of Kit.
*The Small Servant, Miss Brass' maidservant. Dick Swiveller befriends her and, finding that she does not know her age or name (Sally Brass simply refers to her as "Little Devil") or parents, nicknames her The Marchioness and later gives her the name Sophronia Sphynx. In the original manuscript, it is made explicit that the Marchioness is in fact the illegitimate daughter of Miss Brass, possibly by Quilp, but only a suggestion of this survived in the published edition.
*Isaac List and Joe Jowl, professional gamblers. They are fellow guests at the public house where Nell and her grandfather, unable to get home, pass a stormy night. Nell's grandfather is unable to resist gambling with them and fleeces Nell of what little money she has to this end. That same night, he also robs her of even more money.
*Mr. Chuckster, the
dogsbody
A dogsbody, dog's body, or less commonly dog robber is someone who does menial or drudge work.''Oxford English Dictionary'', 3rd edition, 2010''s.v.''/ref> Originally, in the British Royal Navy, a dogsbody was a semi-sarcastic colloquialism for a ...
of the notary Mr. Witherden, who employs Mr. Abel Garland. He takes a strong dislike to Kit after Mr. Garland overpays Kit for a job and Kit returns to work off the difference; he shows his dislike at every opportunity, calling Kit 'Snobby'.
*Mr. Marton, a poor schoolmaster. He befriends Nell and later inadvertently meets her and her grandfather on the roads. Nell approaches him to beg for alms, not realising who he is. She faints from a combination of shock and exhaustion, and, realising she is ill, he takes her to an inn and pays for the doctor, and then takes her and her grandfather to live with him in the distant village where he has been appointed parish clerk.
*Thomas Codlin, proprietor of a travelling
Punch and Judy
Punch and Judy is a traditional puppet show featuring Mr. Punch and his wife Judy. The performance consists of a sequence of short scenes, each depicting an interaction between two characters, most typically Mr. Punch and one other character w ...
show.
*Mr. Harris, called 'Short Trotters', the puppeteer of the Punch and Judy show.
*Barbara, the maidservant of Mr. and Mrs. Garland and future wife of Kit.
*The Bachelor, brother of Mr. Garland. Lives in the village where Nell and her grandfather end their journey, and unknowingly alerts his brother to their presence through a letter.
*Mrs. Jiniwin, Mrs. Quilp's mother and Quilp's mother-in-law. She resents Quilp for the way he treats her daughter, but is too afraid to stand up to him.
Literary significance and criticism
Probably the most widely repeated criticism of Dickens is the remark reputedly made by
Oscar Wilde
Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde (16 October 185430 November 1900) was an Irish poet and playwright. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, he became one of the most popular playwrights in London in the early 1890s. He is ...
that "One would have to have a heart of stone to read the death of little Nell without dissolving into tears...of laughter". Nell's deathbed is not actually described, however. Of a similar opinion was the poet
Algernon Swinburne
Algernon Charles Swinburne (5 April 1837 – 10 April 1909) was an English poet, playwright, novelist, and critic. He wrote several novels and collections of poetry such as ''Poems and Ballads'', and contributed to the famous Eleventh Edition ...
, who commented that "a child whom nothing can ever irritate, whom nothing can even baffle, whom nothing can ever misguide, whom nothing can ever delude, and whom nothing can ever dismay, is a monster as inhuman as a baby with two heads".
The Irish leader
Daniel O'Connell
Daniel O'Connell (I) ( ga, Dónall Ó Conaill; 6 August 1775 – 15 May 1847), hailed in his time as The Liberator, was the acknowledged political leader of Ireland's Roman Catholic majority in the first half of the 19th century. His mobilizat ...
famously burst into tears at the finale, and threw the book out of the window of the train in which he was travelling.
The excitement surrounding the conclusion of the series was unprecedented. (However, stories that Dickens fans stormed the docks in New York City, eager for the latest installment of the novel, or news of it, are apocryphal.) In 2007, many newspapers claimed that the excitement at the release of the last instalment of ''The Old Curiosity Shop'' was the only historical comparison that could be made to the excitement at the release of the last
Harry Potter
''Harry Potter'' is a series of seven fantasy literature, fantasy novels written by British author J. K. Rowling. The novels chronicle the lives of a young Magician (fantasy), wizard, Harry Potter (character), Harry Potter, and his friends ...
novel, ''
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
''Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows'' is a fantasy novel written by British author J. K. Rowling and the seventh and final novel of the main ''Harry Potter'' series. It was released on 21 July 2007 in the United Kingdom by Bloomsbury Publi ...
''.
The
Norwegian
Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to:
*Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe
*Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway
*Demographics of Norway
*The Norwegian language, including the ...
author
Ingeborg Refling Hagen
Ingeborg Refling Hagen (19 December 1895 – 30 October 1989) was a Norwegian author, poet, and artistic director. Her writings and activities in support of the arts made her a significant cultural figure in Norway during much of the 20th century. ...
is said to have buried a copy of the book in her youth, stating that nobody deserved to read about Nell, because nobody would ever understand her pain. She compared herself to Nell, because of her own miserable situation at the time.
Allusions to actual history, geography
A shop named 'The Old Curiosity Shop' can be found at 13–14 Portsmouth Street,
Holborn
Holborn ( or ) is a district in central London, which covers the south-eastern part of the London Borough of Camden and a part ( St Andrew Holborn Below the Bars) of the Ward of Farringdon Without in the City of London.
The area has its roots ...
, London, WC2A 2ES, and is now owned by the
London School of Economics
, mottoeng = To understand the causes of things
, established =
, type = Public research university
, endowment = £240.8 million (2021)
, budget = £391.1 millio ...
. The building dates back to the sixteenth century (1567) in an area known as
Clare Market
Clare Market is a historic area in central London located within the parish of St Clement Danes to the west of Lincoln's Inn Fields, between the Strand and Drury Lane, with Vere Street adjoining its western side. It was named after the food mark ...
, but the shop name was added after the novel was released, as it was thought to be the inspiration for Dickens's description of the antique shop. At one time it functioned as a dairy on an estate given by
King Charles II to one of his many mistresses. It was built using timber from old ships, and survived the bombs of the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
.
Nell and her grandfather meet Codlin and Short in a churchyard in
Aylesbury
Aylesbury ( ) is the county town of Buckinghamshire, South East England. It is home to the Roald Dahl Children's Gallery, David Tugwell`s house on Watermead and the Waterside Theatre. It is in central Buckinghamshire, midway between High Wy ...
. The horse races where Nell and her grandfather go with the show people are at
Banbury
Banbury is a historic market town on the River Cherwell in Oxfordshire, South East England. It had a population of 54,335 at the 2021 Census.
Banbury is a significant commercial and retail centre for the surrounding area of north Oxfordshire ...
. The village where they first meet the schoolmaster is
Warmington, Warwickshire
Warmington is a village and civil parish in the Stratford-on-Avon district of Warwickshire, England. It is located on the border with Oxfordshire, around 5 miles (8 km) northwest of Banbury. The civil parish had, according to the 2001 Cen ...
. They meet Mrs. Jarley near the village of
Gaydon, Warwickshire
Gaydon is a civil parish and village in Warwickshire, England, situated between Leamington Spa and Banbury. In the United Kingdom Census 2001, 2001 census, the parish had a population of 376,
increasing to 446 at the 2011 Census.
The village ...
. The town where they work at Jarley's Waxworks is
Warwick
Warwick ( ) is a market town, civil parish and the county town of Warwickshire in the Warwick District in England, adjacent to the River Avon. It is south of Coventry, and south-east of Birmingham. It is adjoined with Leamington Spa and Whi ...
. The heavily industrialised town where Nell spends the night by the furnace is
Birmingham
Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...
(after they have travelled on the
Warwick and Birmingham Canal
The Grand Union Canal in England is part of the British canal system. It is the principal navigable waterway between London and the Midlands. Starting in London, one arm runs to Leicester and another ends in Birmingham, with the latter str ...
). The town in which Nell faints and is rescued by the school master is
Wolverhampton
Wolverhampton () is a city, metropolitan borough and administrative centre in the West Midlands, England. The population size has increased by 5.7%, from around 249,500 in 2011 to 263,700 in 2021. People from the city are called "Wulfrunian ...
in the
Black Country
The Black Country is an area of the West Midlands county, England covering most of the Metropolitan Boroughs of Dudley, Sandwell and Walsall. Dudley and Tipton are generally considered to be the centre. It became industrialised during its ro ...
. The village where they finally find peace and rest and where Nell dies is
Tong, Shropshire
Tong is a village and civil parish in Shropshire, England. It is located between the towns of Shifnal, Newport and Brewood. It is near junction 3 of the M54 motorway and A41 road. The population of the village which was included in the civil p ...
.
Other real locations used in the novel include
London Bridge
Several bridges named London Bridge have spanned the River Thames between the City of London and Southwark, in central London. The current crossing, which opened to traffic in 1973, is a box girder bridge built from concrete and steel. It r ...
,
Bevis Marks
Bevis Marks, classified as part of the A1211, is a short street (about 150 m long) in the ward of Aldgate in the City of London. Traffic runs northwest in a one-way direction into Camomile Street, and parallel to Houndsditch which runs sou ...
,
Finchley
Finchley () is a large district of north London, England, in the London Borough of Barnet. Finchley is on high ground, north of Charing Cross.
Nearby districts include: Golders Green, Muswell Hill, Friern Barnet, Whetstone, Mill Hill and H ...
, and
Minster-on-Sea
Minster-on-Sea is a civil parish in the English county of Kent. It is on the Isle of Sheppey and thus forms part of the borough of Swale. It was created in 2003.
The main populated area is the seaside town of Minster on the north coast. The s ...
.
It is reported by local Coventry historian David McGrory that Charles Dickens used Coventry's Whitefriers gatehouse in ''The Old Curiosity Shop''. This gatehouse building still exists in Much Park Street.
Adaptations
![Dickens Statue](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fc/Dickens_Statue.png)
* There were several
silent film
A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, when ...
adaptations of the novel including two directed by
Thomas Bentley
Thomas Bentley (23 February 1884 – 23 December 1966) was a British film director. He directed 68 films between 1912 and 1941. He directed three films in the early DeForest Phonofilm sound-on-film process, ''The Man in the Street'' (1926), '' ...
:
** ''
The Old Curiosity Shop
''The Old Curiosity Shop'' is one of two novels (the other being ''Barnaby Rudge'') which Charles Dickens published along with short stories in his weekly serial ''Master Humphrey's Clock'', from 1840 to 1841. It was so popular that New York r ...
'' (1914)
** ''
The Old Curiosity Shop
''The Old Curiosity Shop'' is one of two novels (the other being ''Barnaby Rudge'') which Charles Dickens published along with short stories in his weekly serial ''Master Humphrey's Clock'', from 1840 to 1841. It was so popular that New York r ...
'' (1921)
* ''Nelly'', an opera based on the novel, by Italian composer
Lamberto Landi
Lamberto Landi (Lucca, September 2, 1882 – Lucca, July 6, 1950)[Biography ...](_blank)
, was composed in 1916; it premiered in Lucca in 1947.
[Biography](_blank)
at treccani.it
* The first
talkie
A sound film is a motion picture
A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, percep ...
version was a 1934 British
film
A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...
starring
Hay Petrie
David Hay Petrie (16 July 1895 – 30 July 1948) was a Scottish actor noted for playing eccentric characters, among them Quilp in ''The Old Curiosity Shop'' (1934), the McLaggen in ''The Ghost Goes West'' (1935) and Uncle Pumblechook in '' Great ...
as
Quilp
Daniel Quilp is one of the main antagonists in the novel ''The Old Curiosity Shop'' by Charles Dickens, written in 1840. Quilp is a vicious, ill-tempered and grotesque dwarf and is the villain of the story. Quilp is as near as Dickens ever came to ...
.
* The novel was serialised for television by the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...
in 1962, starring
Patrick Troughton
Patrick George Troughton (; 25 March 1920 – 28 March 1987) was an English actor who was classically trained for the stage but became known for his roles in television and film. His work included appearances in several fantasy, science fiction ...
as Quilp. No recordings of this production are known to exist.
* A British
musical
Musical is the adjective of music.
Musical may also refer to:
* Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance
* Musical film and television, a genre of film and television that incorporates into the narr ...
version of ''
The Old Curiosity Shop
''The Old Curiosity Shop'' is one of two novels (the other being ''Barnaby Rudge'') which Charles Dickens published along with short stories in his weekly serial ''Master Humphrey's Clock'', from 1840 to 1841. It was so popular that New York r ...
'' (titled ''Mr. Quilp'' in the United States) was released in 1975. The filmmakers were hoping to cash in on the recent success of ''
Oliver!
''Oliver!'' is a coming-of-age stage musical, with book, music and lyrics by Lionel Bart. The musical is based upon the 1838 novel '' Oliver Twist'' by Charles Dickens.
It premiered at the Wimbledon Theatre, southwest London in 1960 before op ...
'', which was also based on a Dickens classic, but the film was notably unsuccessful.
* An anime adaptation called Sasurai no Shoujo Nell (Wandering Girl Nell) aired in Japan from 1979 to 1980.
* In 1979, a
nine-part miniseries was created by the BBC and later released on DVD. There was no Frederick character and the story ends with the grandfather mourning at Nell's grave.
* In 1984, an
animated version was produced by Burbank Films in Australia.
*In 1995,
Tom Courtenay
Sir Thomas Daniel Courtenay (; born 25 February 1937) is an English actor. After studying at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, Courtenay achieved prominence in the 1960s with a series of acclaimed film roles, including ''The Loneliness of t ...
and
Peter Ustinov
Sir Peter Alexander Ustinov (born Peter Alexander Freiherr von Ustinov ; 16 April 192128 March 2004) was a British actor, filmmaker and writer. An internationally known raconteur, he was a fixture on television talk shows and lecture circuits ...
starred in a
Disney
The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...
made-for-television film adaptation as
Quilp
Daniel Quilp is one of the main antagonists in the novel ''The Old Curiosity Shop'' by Charles Dickens, written in 1840. Quilp is a vicious, ill-tempered and grotesque dwarf and is the villain of the story. Quilp is as near as Dickens ever came to ...
and the grandfather, with Sally Walsh as Nell.
* A
BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC' ...
adaptation was broadcast in 1998. The production starred
Tom Courtenay
Sir Thomas Daniel Courtenay (; born 25 February 1937) is an English actor. After studying at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, Courtenay achieved prominence in the 1960s with a series of acclaimed film roles, including ''The Loneliness of t ...
as
Quilp
Daniel Quilp is one of the main antagonists in the novel ''The Old Curiosity Shop'' by Charles Dickens, written in 1840. Quilp is a vicious, ill-tempered and grotesque dwarf and is the villain of the story. Quilp is as near as Dickens ever came to ...
,
Denis Quilley
Denis Clifford Quilley, OBE (26 December 1927 – 5 October 2003) was an English actor and singer.
From a family with no theatrical connections, Quilley was determined from an early age to become an actor. He was taken on by the Birmingham Rep ...
,
Michael Maloney
Michael Maloney (born 19 June 1957) is an English actor.
Life and career
Born in Bury St. Edmunds, Suffolk, Maloney's first television appearance was as Peter Barkworth's teenage son in the 1979 drama series ''Telford's Change''.
He made his ...
and
Teresa Gallagher
Teresa Gallagher is an American-born British actress.
Career
Gallagher is known for her role as Ellen Smith in ''The Bill'', for her appearances on radio in ''No Commitments'', ''Salem's Lot'', and '' Memorials to the Missing''. She play ...
.
* A second adaptation for
BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC' ...
, first broadcast in 2002-03, was narrated by
Alex Jennings
Alex Jennings (born 10 May 1957) is an English actor of the stage and screen, who worked extensively with the Royal Shakespeare Company and National Theatre. For his work on the London stage, Jennings received three Olivier Awards, winning for ...
, with Emily Chenery (Nell), Phil Daniels (
Quilp
Daniel Quilp is one of the main antagonists in the novel ''The Old Curiosity Shop'' by Charles Dickens, written in 1840. Quilp is a vicious, ill-tempered and grotesque dwarf and is the villain of the story. Quilp is as near as Dickens ever came to ...
), Daniel Bliss (Kit),
Trevor Peacock
Trevor Edward Peacock (19 May 1931 – 8 March 2021) was an English actor, screenwriter and songwriter. He made his name as a theatre actor, later becoming known for his Shakespearean roles. Later in his career, he became best known for playing ...
(grandfather),
Clive Swift
Clive Walter Swift (9 February 1936 – 1 February 2019) was an English actor and songwriter. A classically trained actor, his stage work included performances with the Royal Shakespeare Company, but he was best known to television viewers for ...
,
Anna Massey
Anna Raymond Massey (11 August 19373 July 2011) was an English actress. She won a BAFTA Award for the role of Edith Hope in the 1986 TV adaptation of Anita Brookner's novel ''Hotel du Lac'', a role that one of her co-stars, Julia McKenzie, ha ...
and
Julia McKenzie
Julia Kathleen Nancy McKenzie (born 17 February 1941) is an English actress, singer, presenter, and theatre director. She has premièred leading roles written by both Alan Ayckbourn and Stephen Sondheim. On television, she is known for her BAFT ...
.
* A
television film adaptation was produced by
ITV
ITV or iTV may refer to:
ITV
*Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of:
** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...
, broadcast in the UK on 26 December 2007, and repeated on 14 December 2008.
* Little Nell is featured in the
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
, sculptural group
''Dickens and Little Nell'' (1890).
* Nell and her grandfather are featured prominently in the BBC's 2015 Christmas drama
''Dickensian'', which brings together many of Dickens's iconic characters in one story.
*
Russell T. Davies
Stephen Russell Davies (born 27 April 1963), better known as Russell T Davies, is a Welsh screenwriter and television producer whose works include '' Queer as Folk'', '' The Second Coming'', ''Casanova'', the 2005 revival of the BBC One sci ...
has expressed interest in adapting the novel for television.
Major editions
*1840–1841, UK, Chapman and Hall, Pub date (88 weekly parts) April 1840 to November 1841, Serial as part of ''Master Humphrey's Clock''
*1841, UK, Chapman and Hall (ISBN not used), Pub date ? ? 1841, hardback (first edition)
*1870, UK, Chapman and Hall (ISBN not used), Hardback
*1904, NY, Thomas Y. Crowell (ISBN not used), Pub date ? ? 1904, leatherbound
*1972, UK, Penguin English Library , with extensive notes; pub date ? 1972, reprinted six times
*1995, USA, Everyman's Library , Pub date ? ? 1995, paperback
*1997, UK, Clarendon Press (Oxford University Press) , Pub date 13 November 1997, hardback. This is considered the definitive edition of the book.
*2001, UK, Penguin Books Ltd , Pub date 25 January 2001, paperback (Penguin Classic)
References
External links
Online editions
The Old Curiosity Shop read online at Bookwise''The Old Curiosity Shop''at
Internet Archive
The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music, ...
.
''The Old Curiosity Shop''at
Google Books
Google Books (previously known as Google Book Search, Google Print, and by its code-name Project Ocean) is a service from Google Inc. that searches the full text of books and magazines that Google has scanned, converted to text using optical c ...
(scanned books original editions illustrated)
* (plain text and HTML)
''The Old Curiosity Shop''– complete book in HTML one page for each chapter.
''The Old Curiosity Shop''– Easy to read HTML version.
*
Other sites
''The Old Curiosity Shop''Map of Nell and her grandfather's journey from London through the Midlands to journey's end in Tong, Shropshire.
Review from 'The Lectern', March 2007.
''The Old Curiosity Shop''London Information
{{DEFAULTSORT:Old Curiosity Shop, The
1841 British novels
British novels adapted into films
British novels adapted into television shows
Chapman & Hall books
English novels
Novels about orphans
Novels by Charles Dickens
Novels first published in serial form
Novels set in London
Victorian novels
Works originally published in Master Humphrey's Clock