Old Curiosity Shop

Little Nell Trent lives in the quiet gloom of the old curiosity shop with her ailing grandfather, for whom she cares with selfl ess devotion. But when they are unable to pay their debts to the lecherous and demonic money-lender Daniel Quilp, the shop is seized and they are forced to fl ee, thrown into a shadowy world in which there seems to be no safe haven. The Old Curiosity Shop an instant bestseller that captured the hearts of the nation.

Phiz - real name Hablot Knight Browne - worked together with Charles Dickens for over 20 years, illustrating some of the best known characters in English literature. This book profiles the life of Phiz, which was as rich and colourful as any of Dickens' own creations.

”The greatest writer of his time.”-Edmund Wilson “One of the great poets of the novel, a genius of his art”-Edgar Johnson ”His characters are marvelous, his insights wonderful...you don’t expect reality but you get something bigger and better.”-Ruth Rendell The Old Curiosity Shop was initially published in a weekly serial, “Master Humphrey’s Clock”, between 1840 and 1841. Charles Dickens’ story of the frail and innocent orphan had become such a phenomenon that New Yorkers stormed to the wharf in expectation of the ship carrying the final episode from England. The Old Curiosity Shop, ultimately published in book form in 1841, is considered a lesser known work from Dickens, yet its moving story is one of the finest examples of sentimental Victorian literature. Nell Trent, the protagonist of this novel, is an overwhelmingly good little girl who is orphaned into the care of her Grandfather, the purveyor of an odds and ends shop. Her grandfather is a benevolent man, yet he hides behind a dark secret; he has been consumed with the habit of gambling; eventually he gambles away his shop to his creditor Daniel Quilp, one of the most heinous of all of Dickens’ villains. Nell and her grandfather flee London and, in their pursuit, they encounter a range of characters that are both goodhearted and the embodiment of evil. The Old Curiosity Shop is an insightful tragedy of sorrows that that brilliantly paints the range of human intention. With an eye-catching new cover, and professionally typeset manuscript, this edition of The Old Curiosity Shop is both modern and readable.

This eBook edition of "The Old Curiosity Shop" has been formatted to the highest digital standards and adjusted for readability on all devices. The Old Curiosity Shop tells the story of Nell Trent, a beautiful and virtuous young girl of "not quite fourteen". An orphan, she lives with her grandfather in his shop of odds and ends. Secretly obsessed with ensuring that Nell does not die in poverty, 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, 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. Grandfather suffers a breakdown that leaves him bereft of his wits, and Nell takes him away to the Midlands of England, to live as beggars.

The Old Curiosity Shop tells the story of Nell Trent, a beautiful and virtuous young girl of "not quite fourteen". An orphan, she lives with her grandfather in his shop of odds and ends. Secretly obsessed with ensuring that Nell does not die in poverty, 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, 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. Grandfather suffers a breakdown that leaves him bereft of his wits, and Nell takes him away to the Midlands of England, to live as beggars.