The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby

by Charles Dickens

Overview

Nineteenth century England. When Nicholas Nickleby’s father dies and leaves his family destitute, his uncle, the greedy moneylender, Ralph Nickleby, finds Nicholas a job teaching in a repulsive school in Yorkshire. Nicholas flees the school taking with him one of the persecuted boys, Smike, and they join a troop of actors. Nicholas then has to protect Smike, while trying to stop his Uncle Ralph taking advantage of his sister Kate, and later his sweetheart, Madeline Bray, whose father is in debtors prison. A young, compassionate man struggles to save his family and friends from the abusive exploitation of his cold-hearted, grasping uncle. After many adventures Nicholas finally triumphs over his Uncle, although his success is also tinged with sadness.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9788381151689
Publisher:	Ktoczyta.pl
Publication date:	02/13/2017
Sold by:	Libreka GmbH
Format:	eBook
Pages:	1132
File size:	3 MB
Age Range:	6 Years

About the Author

Charles Dickens was born on February 7, 1812, in Landport, Portsea, England. He died in Kent on June 9, 1870. The second of eight children of a family continually plagued by debt, the young Dickens came to know not only hunger and privation,but also the horror of the infamous debtors’ prison and the evils of child labor. A turn of fortune in the shape of a legacy brought release from the nightmare of prison and “slave” factories and afforded Dickens the opportunity of two years’ formal schooling at Wellington House Academy. He worked as an attorney’s clerk and newspaper reporter until his Sketches by Boz (1836) and The Pickwick Papers (1837) brought him the amazing and instant success that was to be his for the remainder of his life. In later years, the pressure of serial writing, editorial duties, lectures, and social commitments led to his separation from Catherine Hogarth after twenty-three years of marriage. It also hastened his death at the age of fifty-eight, when he was characteristically engaged in a multitude of work.

Mark Ford is currently lecturer at University College, London and writes regularly for the London Review of Books, The Times Literary Supplement and the Guardian.

Date of Birth:

February 7, 1812

Date of Death:

June 18, 1870

Place of Birth:

Portsmouth, England

Place of Death:

Gad's Hill, Kent, England

Education:

Home-schooling; attended Dame School at Chatham briefly and Wellington

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

"As is typical of Charles Dickens, Nicholas Nickleby contains a myriad of characters, and as is typical of Simon Vance, he skillfully handles each one. . . . Like the novel itself, Vance delivers a performance that is both poignant and humorous." —-AudioFile

Editorial Reviews

Let me put it simply and plainly. The Royal Shakespeare Company in THE LIFE AND ADVENTURES OF NICHOLAS NICKLEBY is one of the great theatrical experiences of our time.

NY Post

...it is big, sweeping theatre of a kind you are unlikely to encounter more than once in a lifetime.

NY Daily News

The play delves into Dickensian bathos, preposterous coincidences, abrupt reversals of fortune, the collision of improbable goodness with impossible evil—and emerges triumphant, soaring with spirit. In the process it displays the grandest theatrical techniques, affirms the rightness of love and friendship, revives pleasures and poignancies that have all but vanished from modern narrative art.

Time

The indestructible Dickens story includes high drama and low comedy, vividly drawn characters in the author's bravura style, melodramatic situations and contrasting subtle scenes...the playgoing experience of a lifetime.

Variety

"As is typical of Charles Dickens, Nicholas Nickleby contains a myriad of characters, and as is typical of Simon Vance, he skillfully handles each one. . . . Like the novel itself, Vance delivers a performance that is both poignant and humorous." ---AudioFile

From the Publisher

As is typical of Charles Dickens, NICHOLAS NICKLEBY contains a myriad of characters, and as is typical of Simon Vance, he skillfully handles each one. In an epic listen, Vance's smooth, pleasant voice regales listeners with the title character's search for his place in the world after the death of his father. Capturing the essence of characters ranging from noblemen to country folk, the seasoned narrator appropriately injects his voice with smugness, innocence, and everything in between. The pacing is perfect—Vance rapidly delivers Mrs. Nickleby's comedic ramblings and slows his speech to a crawl when portraying the simple Smike. His female voices are particularly noteworthy, sounding soft and natural. Like the novel itself, Vance delivers a performance that is both poignant and humorous. M.D. 2012 Audies Winner © AudioFile 2012, Portland, Maine

JULY 2012 - AudioFile