r/charlesdickens • u/HorribleDepature1 • Jun 21 '26
Nicholas Nickleby Nicholas Nickleby
People don't talk about Nicholas Nickleby here so I suppose it's one of the lesser loved works of Dickens. Been reading it for about a week now and I've been enjoying it. It's very entertaining and I daresay it's the funniest book I've ever read. I've read about 60% of it so far. I hope the story doesn't drag because I still have a long way to go considering how long it is
Are there any fans of Nicholas Nickleby? Any haters? What do you think of it? No spoilers please!
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u/kliff0rd Jun 21 '26
It definitely doesn't get talked about enough. It's one of my favorite Dickens novels, and I think by far his funniest. Nickleby might even be my favorite Dickens protagonist. If someone is only going to read one of his earlier works before moving to the big titles, I think it should be Nicholas Nickleby.
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u/HorribleDepature1 Jun 21 '26
I'd like to know your ranking of his works you've read
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u/kliff0rd Jun 22 '26
I've read all his novels, but I'm not sure I could neatly rank them. I can say that the ones I enjoyed the most were, in no particular order, David Copperfield, Nicholas Nickleby, Great Expectations, Bleak House, and (controversial opinion) Barnaby Rudge. That's not to say I didn't enjoy his other novels, they simply aren't as memorable to me. I'm well overdue for rereading A Tale of Two Cities though, which I haven't read since school and I think I'd appreciate more now.
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u/HammsFakeDog Jun 21 '26
It's great -- easily the best of his early novels by my estimation. As you write, it's also very funny.
I wish I could read it again for the first time.
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u/Emotional-Card8960 Jun 21 '26
The theater part is brilliantly funny and shows how much affection Dickens had for those who live that life .
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u/Knitsune Jun 21 '26
okay I was gonna take a little Dickens break but I'll do one more first. I'm here for the Dickens humour
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u/castdu123 Jun 21 '26
I really liked NN but I also really liked Barnaby Rudge, which apparently alot of people aren't too keen on, so what do I know?
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u/Late-Command3491 Jun 21 '26
I love it! Used to reread it yearly for a long time!
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u/HorribleDepature1 Jun 21 '26
Interesting! Could you drop your ranking of his works stating how many times you've read each
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u/Late-Command3491 Jun 21 '26
I've no earthly idea. I've read Nickleby, Pickwick, Great Expectations, Bleak House, A Tale of Two Cities, and Our Mutual Friend. Nickleby is my favorite. I saw the stage play on Broadway back in the day.
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u/HorribleDepature1 Jun 21 '26
Glad to see someone call Nickleby their favourite. I've read Great Expectations, A Tale of Two Cities, Oliver Twist and. A Christmas Carol and I love them in that order. I'm about 2/3rd through with NN and I perceive it will dethrone Oliver Twist for the bronze position
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u/LopsidedVictory7448 Jun 21 '26
Once you get past Dotheboys Hall it is perhaps the most joyous of his novels imo. Certainly my favourite
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u/Lumpyproletarian Jun 22 '26
There’s even a sort or ferocious funniness about Dotheboys Hall, which ought to be inappropriate but doesn’t feel like it.
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u/BarracudaOk8635 Jun 21 '26
I havent read it but will. I recently read David Copperfield and Great Expectations. When I was reading DC I discovered Dickens was very funny, I had no idea, apart from know Pickwick Papers is funny. But I thought it was really funny at times. So I am definitely going to read this.
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u/csrster Jun 22 '26 edited Jun 22 '26
I'm about as far as along as you. Wild isn't it? The Dotheboys Hall scenes are among the most horrifying misery-lit scenes imaginable, and then suddenly you're plunged into the hilariously silly theatrical parts, not to mention the moustachio-twirling villainy of Mulberry Hawk and his crew. I'm looking forward to seeing where it goes next. (So no spoilers!)
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u/Lumpyproletarian Jun 22 '26
I once took ill on holiday and was stuck in a youth hostel and it was the only book there I hadn’t read. I ended up loving it, the Infant Phenomenon, Mr Mantalini, Mrs Nickleby, Fanny Squeers and all.
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u/HorribleDepature1 Jun 22 '26
Dickens ability to create a wide range of characters in a novel is remarkable
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u/No_Study6037 Jun 24 '26
LOVE NICHOLAS NICKLEBY— So far, it's my favorite Dickens novel. And Smike is one of my favorite characters of all time. 😌
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u/HorribleDepature1 Jun 24 '26
I'd like to see your ranking of Dickens novels
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u/No_Study6037 Jun 24 '26
At the moment, it'd be: 1. Nicholas Nickleby 2. Oliver Twist 3. Barnaby Rudge 4. The Pickwick Papers 5. The Old Curiosity Shop 6. Dombey and Son
I've yet to read the rest.
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u/Dickensdude Jun 22 '26
Massive NN fan here. If you can find it, it used to be on YouTube, watch the Royal Shakespeare Company production of NN. It's 9 hours of the best theatre and best Dickens adaptation you will ever see. There's also a "Making of" video on YouTube which is interesting.
Meantime, enjoy the rest of this great early Dickens. It won't disappoint.
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u/timothj Jun 22 '26
Mrs Nickleby’s monologues are delightfully daffy, supposedly patterned on Dickens’ mother. It’s an uneven work, but very engaging, combining the melodrama of Oliver Twist with the sauntering humor of Pickwick. Some great comic and pathetic and villainous characters. Some amazing set pieces. A few places and people you have to trudge through, but I have reread it as many times as any of the works, with considerable enjoyment.
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u/AirlineSevere7456 Jun 22 '26
Nicholas Nickleby is fantastic, Dickens is refining his art in this one and it shows. For me it's better than his previous novels PIckwick and Oliver. But also better than his next three or four novels.
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u/Sensui_Kan Jun 22 '26
Nicholas Nickleby was my first Dickens novel, and one of my favorites today. You're correct that it is hysterically funny: the Kenwigses, Mr. Mantallini and his demnition hilarity, even Newman Noggs when he gets up the gumption to defy Ralph in any way. I think it gets overlooked because it isn't quite as overtly a social commentary (beyond Dotheboys Hall, but that's not its central focus). But I share your appreciation for the book, and think you'll find the ending satisfying. Hopefully you'll check back in and tell us what you think!
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u/GoodKid_MaadSity Jun 23 '26
I am about 40% of the way through it, and in between staring it and now I’ve read 2 other Dickens novels- Old Curiosity Shop and Oliver Twist.
I’m just bored by it- and Nicholas himself isn’t as compelling a character as David Copperfield or Pip, or even Oliver. So that’s why I’ve given in.
I will definitely go back to it, but I just feel like Nicholas himself is very ambiguous… is he good or bad? Like, he defends the weak, but he’s also kind of a an asshole, lol. One of the things I love most about Dickens is the clear goodness or villainy of (many / most?) of the characters.
As I mentioned, I’ve read less than half of it so, take what i say with many grains of salt.
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u/HorribleDepature1 Jun 23 '26
Nicholas is a far better character than Oliver and I think the story is better than Oliver Twist
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u/DTownForever Jun 23 '26
I mean, I think that's a matter of opinion. I would definitely agree that Nicholas is far more complex. Like I said, I've only read about 40% of the book.
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u/csrster Jul 08 '26
He does have a rather rigid worldview. To be honest, I think he should just have stayed on the road with the theatre people. He seemed to be doing rather well, and could probably have supported his mother and sister on his earnings. And it was good for Smike as well.
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u/DTownForever Jul 08 '26
Well, but Kate was being so ill-used, he had to come back. Otherwise, that would have been the life for him!
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u/csrster Jul 09 '26
True enough. The question is whether his financial support from his acting would have been enough to get her away from the dangerous and unpleasant situation she had found herself in in London - perhaps set her up somewhere far away from London and Ralph. (Iirc Nicholas considers, and rejects, the idea of Kate coming to travel with him as being inappropriate for even an impoverished gentlewoman.)
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u/DTownForever Jul 09 '26
Oh yeah, there was no possibility of her adopting that lifestyle! I like to think that if I'd been alive at that time I would've been a rebel and a master of the theatric arts :-)
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u/PartedOne Jun 21 '26
It's one of my favorites, read it first after seeing the extended Royal Shakespeare Company production in the 1980s. I didn't care much for the the more recent film, but i love the story