The Old Curiosity Shop

Nov 12, 2025 5:44 PM

Author:Charles Dickens

With an essay by Lyn Pykett.

'But what added most to the grotesque expression of his face, was a ghastly smile, which, appearing to be the mere result of habit and to have no connexion with any mirthful or complacent feeling, constantly revealed the few discoloured fangs that were yet scattered in his mouth, and gave him the aspect of a panting dog'

The tale of Little Nell gripped the nation when it first appeared in 1841. Described as a 'tragedy of sorrows', the story tells of Nell uprooted from a secure and innocent childhood and cast into a world where evil takes many shapes, the most fascinating of which is the stunted, lecherous Quilp. Blending realism with non-realistic genres such as fairy-tale, allegory, and pastoral, the tale of Nell's tragedy contains some of Dickens most memorable comic and grotesque creations, including the dwarf Daniel Quilp, Dick Swiveller and Kit Nubbles.

The Penguin English Library - 100 editions of the best fiction in English, from the eighteenth century and the first novels to the beginning of the First World War.

Reviews

As austerity ripples on in this century, the book's combination of escapism and relevance continues to draw me in. The language is so inventive, the characters so brilliantly (often absurdly) captured, and their behaviour so close to pantomime, that it renders the whole a garishly compelling and thought-provoking read

—— Elle-Violet Bramley , Guardian

Black-as-pitch Hollywood farce

—— The Guardian

The Day of the Locust has scenes of extraordinary power. Especially I was impressed by the pathological crowd at the premiere, the character and handling of the aspirant actress and the uncanny medieval feeling of some of his Hollywood background set off by those vividly drawn grotesques

—— F. Scott Fitzgerald

A talented and somewhat neglected author... wonderfully imaginative and slightly disturbed

—— Daily Telegraph

It certainly packs a wallop

—— John Dos Passos

These novels say more about the way we live now- and the things that brought us to our present pass - than any other work of fiction I can think of

—— L.E. Sissman , New Yorker

What this novel does is so magnificent. One could say that this book has the power to unite us

—— TVA Television – Canada

[Serdar Ozkan] is already being mentioned together with Paulo Coelho, Richard Bach, and even Saint-Exupery.

—— Corriere della Sera, Italy

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