The Trials and Tribulations of Nicholas and Kate Nickleby
When his father dies penniless, Nicholas Nickleby, his sister Kate and their mother travel to London to seek help from his uncle, Ralph Nickleby. Unfortunately, far from accepting the care of the bereaved family as an honourable duty, the avaricious man of business sees his relations as a burden, taking an instant dislike to his nephew Nicholas in particular. To pay their way, the moral and kind-hearted young man is sent to work for the vicious schoolmaster Wackford Squeers of Dotheboys Hall in Yorkshire, while his sister joins the house of Madame Mantalini, milliner and dressmaker. But this is just the beginning. Their journey takes in colourful theatricals, feckless husbands, aristocratic rakes and knowing servants as they find themselves in a vibrant world of unimagined cruelty and unexpected kindness. Will the family find its way or will all hopes be dashed by the jealousy, greed and wrongdoing of others?
Listen Up
As I've found before (See my post about 'Tess of the D'Urbervilles') listening to this 831-page classic was much more successful for me than reading it. In particular, I don't think I'd have appreciated the wordplay going on in the character names if I had simply read rather than heard them. As you'd expect, it's very much in the wordy style of someone paid per page and writing for an audience that has more time and far fewer distractions. Purists would probably despair at this, but at the end of the day I'd rather listen to, enjoy and finish a classic on audio than start reading it, struggle and give up, mistakenly thinking that it's rubbish or not for me. As it is, I loved listening to 'Nicholas Nickleby', switching between the audio and the paperback, and wanted to start another Dickens as soon as I had finished it.
Funny Business
One thing that really surprised me was how funny 'Nicholas Nickleby' was. Whether I'd have picked up on all of it if I'd just read rather than listened to the book I couldn't say, but this book managed to be laugh-out-loud funny, absurd and satirical. There were definite elements of Jane Austen's Mrs Bennet in Nicholas' and Kate's mother, for example. The humour contrasted with the tragic tale of Smike and the casual cruelty of Sir Mulberry Hawk and Lord Verisopht, among others. I genuinely cried and laughed, and began to understand why Victorians hankered for each instalment of Dickens' books.
The Voice of Dickens
As you may have guessed, I've learned a bit about the author from various books, documentaries and podcasts, and this meant a lot of things in this novel made sense in a way they wouldn't have without this background knowledge. For example, there's a section where Nicholas, pretty much out of the blue, has a rant about authorship and copyright, which makes perfect sense when you know how this was a major issue for the Dickens in an age where there were no copyright laws and his work was regularly - and badly - pirated. He was scarred by childhood poverty and keen to gain financial security from his writing, so this lack of ownership and control was a literal and psychological threat for him. This is also an example of something interesting though; Dickens regularly breaks the 'rules' of creative writing (such as the author's voice / opinions being invisible) and I can imagine 'Nicholas Nickleby' would be quite different if the novelist had worked with a modern editor.
Overall
I enjoyed 'Nicholas Nickleby' far more than I expected to and now have a better understanding of why Dickens is still so loved. He may exaggerate, be melodramatic, go off topic, and use excessive levels of coincidence to create and solve plotlines, but this novel is entertaining, emotional and immersive. He expertly evokes people and places, creating characters with ticks and traits that we see in those around us today, perhaps even in ourselves. Dickens' was clearly a great observer, noticing the best and worst of human nature before reflecting it back at us for entertainment and contemplation. I can't wait to read / listen to more.
Now, what next..?
This post is based on two editions of 'Nicolas Nickleby' by Charles Dickens; the paperback published in 2011 by Vintage Classics and an audio version read by Alex Jennings and published in 2014 by Bolinda Digital. I recommend the TV programmes 'Charles Dickens with Gyles Brandreth' (part of a really good series about UK authors), 'Miriam's Dickensian Christmas', 'Armando's Tale of Charles Dickens' and pretty much anything featuring writer Lucinda Hawksley.
