The Old Curiosity Shop: A Tale (Penguin Classics)
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Product Description
Product Description
Described as a "tragedy of sorrows", this story tells of a girl uprooted from a secure and innocent childhood. Cast into a world where evil takes many shapes, little Nell meets the stunted, lecherous Quilp, whose demonic energy dominates the book. Sometimes fairytale and sometimes myth, this is Victorian life at its most bleak.
About the Author
Charles Dickens (1812-70) was a political reporter and journalist whose popularity was established by the phenomenally successful PICKWICK PAPERS (1836-7). His novels captured and held the public imagination over a period of more than thirty years. He is considered one of the greatest novelists in the English language.
Norman Page is Emeritus Professor at the University of Nottingham and the University of Alberta, Canada. His books include A Dickens Companion and A Dickens Chronology.
--This text refers to the Paperback edition.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
43 of 43 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This is the story of a little girl called Nell, who together with her grandfather, must run away from a succession of villains in an almost epic journey! You'll find everything here that you love about Charles Dickens: humour, satire, drama, unforgettable characters, laughter, and tears (I read somewhere that when Dickens read The Old Curiosity Shop at his public readings, the audience would actually burst into mass tears!) There are moments of heart-warming joy and moments of despair, and I think anyone with empathy and imagination will love this classic tale of good and evil.
A word of warning though: if you buy an edition with annotations, don't read them!! I made this fatal mistake, and was informed by a note in the middle of the novel about the fate of one of the main characters and what happens to the person at the end. What a spoiler! It ruined the whole pleasure of reading for me and I only managed to finish because the narrative was so lovely... if it had been any other novel I would surely not have bothered to go on to the end. Allow yourself the pleasure of reading this novel for its warmth and literary greatness - don't touch the notes.
A word of warning though: if you buy an edition with annotations, don't read them!! I made this fatal mistake, and was informed by a note in the middle of the novel about the fate of one of the main characters and what happens to the person at the end. What a spoiler! It ruined the whole pleasure of reading for me and I only managed to finish because the narrative was so lovely... if it had been any other novel I would surely not have bothered to go on to the end. Allow yourself the pleasure of reading this novel for its warmth and literary greatness - don't touch the notes.
18 of 19 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I had bought this book in a multi-buy deal with other classics, and somehow it managed to sit on my bookshelf for almost a year before I got round to reading it - by the time I had finished it, I was kicking myself that it been wasting away for so long!
There are so many things going on it, and although some things are just *too* coincidental, it never fails to grab you into the story. Couple this with the fact that Dickens can draw a wonderful picture of London of his time, and you feel part of the whole thing.
The characters are wonderful as well - my favourites being Quilp, the evil dwarf, and Richard Swiveller (his antics 'working' in the office were always highly amusing).
In short, a real rollercoaster of a novel, thoroughly recommended!!
13 of 14 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
"The Old Curiosty Shop" carries with it a heart-wrenching reputation, and therefore I resolved to read it. This reputation, as with that of it's creator himself, is not misplaced.
Certainly, the novel is not what one would term realistic - there are a few too many happy coincidences for that. However, this shortcoming is completely compensated for by the sheer vividness of the world Dickens creates. Each character can almost be seen by the reader, and simultaneously each evokes their own unique emotion, from passionate hatred to empathy and warmth.
As for it being heart-wrenching, nobody with a soul should be able to read this undeniable classic without being destinctly moved. Like most works by Charles Dickens, "The Old Curiosity Shop" carries with it the irresistible human understaning and quiet wit of it's creator, and as such is a novel that should be read by everybody.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
"No - never to return ..."
Over the years, and after reading all of Dickens' works multiple times, I have re-read The Old Curiosity Shop. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Keen Reader
Perhaps the most difficult Dickens for the modern reader
I think this Dickens novel is the one that's probably hardest for a modern day reader to appreciate. Read more
Published 5 months ago by H. M. Holt
Beautiful!
This book really is quite surprising for £1.99! With really detailed illustrations- can't wait to read it! Also there is an explanation odf some of the phrases used. Enjoy!
Published 6 months ago by Chloe1897
What about the shop?
Not one of my favourite Dickens novels. The shop was little more than a convenient starting point for the comparison of hard city life and the theory of idealistic rural life. Read more
Published 6 months ago by Marilynj
The Old Curiosity Shop
Please be aware the reviews of this book posted here contain spoilers and seemingly have been written by people who have the wit they were given. Read more
Published 8 months ago by Nom Da Ploom
Worth satisfying your curiosity
At the outset of the book Little Nell lives with her grandfather, owner of The Old Curiosity Shop in London. Read more
Published 11 months ago by Adrenalin Streams
Curiosity Shop Dickens
Still havent finished this after buying it almost a year ago. There is something creepy about Dickens portrayal of young girls and I was not looking forward too his depiction of... Read more
Published 12 months ago by lenny barratt
My least favourite Dickens
I found this rather dull in many places. Some of the characters are quite funny and some quite touching, but none of them the really memorable literary creations that appear in... Read more
Published 17 months ago by John Hopper
A characterful study of good versus evil
This novel is a study of juxtaposition, like much of Dickens' work between: good and evil, cynicism and innocence, youthful idealism and reality. Read more
Published 22 months ago by Mr. Timothy W. Dumble
A dwarf named Quilp - a novel of immense stature
During those moments of sponge-like absorption, when facts about fish fingers being invented by Mr Birdseye and thousands of other grains of information crystalize into sandcastles... Read more
Published on 19 April 2010 by Des
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