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The Old Curiosity Shop (New Oxford Illustrated Dickens)
 
 

The Old Curiosity Shop (New Oxford Illustrated Dickens) (Hardcover)

by Charles Dickens (Author), Earl of Wicklow (Introduction)
4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (9 customer reviews)

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Product details

  • Hardcover: 574 pages
  • Publisher: Oxford University Press; Reissue edition (Dec 1951)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 019254506X
  • ISBN-13: 978-0192545060
  • Product Dimensions: 19.2 x 12.2 x 4 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 597,581 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Product Description

Product Description
`... holding her solitary way among a crowd of wild, grotesque companions; the only pure, fresh, youthful object in the throng.' `Little Nell' cares for her grandfather in the gloomy surroundings of his curiosity shop. Reduced to poverty the pair flee London, pursued by the grotesque and vindictive Quilp. In a bizarre and shifting kaleidoscope of events and characters the story reaches its tragic climax, an ending that famously devastated the novel's earliest readers. Dickens blends naturalistic and allegorical styles to encompass both the actual blight of Victorian industrialization and textual echoes of Bunyan, the Romantic poets, Shakespeare, pantomine and Jacobean tragedy. Contrasting youth and old age, beauty and deformity, innocence and cynicism, The Old Curiosity Shop is a compelling mixture of humour and brooding meance. This edition uses the Clarendon text, the definitive edition of the novels of Charles Dickens, and includes the original illustrations. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

About the Author
Charles John Huffam Dickens was born on February 7, 1812 in Portsmouth, Hampshire, England. In 1824, his father was imprisoned for debt, so Charles was sent to work in a shoe-dye factory. He later became a clerk in a law firm, a shorthand reporter in the courts, and a parliamentary and newspaper reporter. In 1833, Dickens began to contribute short stories and essays to periodicals, heralding the start of a glittering and prolific literary career. He married Catherine Hogarth in 1836, with whom he had nine surviving children before they separated in 1858. Dickens died suddenly at home on June 9, 1870, leaving behind an internationally acclaimed canon of work, including Oliver Twist (1837), Nicholas Nickleby (1838), David Copperfield (1849-50), Bleak House (1852-53), Little Dorrit (1855-57), A Tale of Two Cities (1859), Great Expectations (1860-61) and Our Mutual Friend (1864-65). He was buried in Westminster Abbey. Michael Slater is Professor of Victorian Literature at Birkbeck College in the University of London. He was editor of The Dickensian (1968-77) and President of the International Dickens Fellowship (1988-90). He has published many books and articles on Dickens. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Inside This Book (Learn More)
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
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Customer Reviews

9 Reviews
5 star:
 (6)
4 star:
 (2)
3 star:    (0)
2 star:
 (1)
1 star:    (0)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
4.4 out of 5 stars (9 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars The essence of Charles Dickens , 28 Jul 2006
By Catfish "Ania" (Cambridge, UK) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)   
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.
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15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars An amazing piece of work, 10 April 2003
By Steven Brown - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
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!!

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9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Quite engrossing, 17 Jul 2001
By A Customer
"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

5.0 out of 5 stars Curiosity Shop
This is the first Dickens novel I have read since childhood and it certainly won't be the last. It is relatively short by Dickens standards but not the sort of book you would want... Read more
Published 22 days ago by John Stark

4.0 out of 5 stars A Good Read
I have just finished reading this book and I must say that I found it a little disjointed, although there were some real gems of characters in it - Swiveller, the Brasses, Quilp... Read more
Published 22 months ago by L. Spurling

4.0 out of 5 stars Twee heroine but revel in the characters
The basic set up of this story may have pulled at Victorian heart stings but I thought it just silly : Nell, a young girl (12 I think) is brought into poverty by her uselss... Read more
Published on 3 Aug 2006 by David Morley

5.0 out of 5 stars Quite Delightful
I found this Charles Dickens novel quite what I expected: vividcharacters, demonic villains, comedy and tragedy together. I especiallyliked Mr. Swiveller and Marchionette. Read more
Published on 28 April 2004 by Ganime B. Akin

5.0 out of 5 stars An amazing piece of work
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... Read more
Published on 10 April 2003 by Steven Brown

2.0 out of 5 stars Old Curiosity Flop
Giving this book a rating of 5 stars does a grave disservice to the works of Charles Dickens. The Old Curiosity Shop has, at best, the elements of a fine novel, but does not... Read more
Published on 13 Feb 2002

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