The Old Curiosity Shop
“The lascivious and repellent dwarf Quilp who dogs saintly Little Nell and her feckless grandfather is one of Dickens’ most vividly nasty creations. Anton Lesser is wonderful in all the intricacies of this powerful fable—a sound investment for winter evenings.”
Observer (London)
Death, innocence, sacrifice, and corruption—The Old Curiosity Shop is vintage Dickens. Provoking an unprecedented outpouring of public grief when it was first published, it follows the story of Little Nell and her feckless grandfather. Forced to leave their magical shop of curiosities in London, they are pursued across the English countryside by the grotesquely evil dwarf Quilp. They escape—but at what cost? Part tragedy, part allegory, this is Dickens at his most intense; drawing on his own experiences, he weaves a story of extraordinary emotional power.
Praise