'It is a pleasant world we live in, sir, a very pleasant world. There are bad people in it, but if there were no bad people, there would be no good lawyers.'
One of Dickens's most beloved novels, and even revered by Queen Victoria, The Old Curiosity Shop was so popular that its arrival to New York when first published prompted readers to storm the wharf where the ship was due to dock.
Serialised from 1840, The Old Curiosity Shop follows the tale of kind and innocent Little Nell, and her grandfather – both residents to a shop selling eccentric gifts and antiques. Determined to provide a secure future for Nell, her grandfather takes up gambling, and soon becomes indebted to the evil-hearted Daniel Quilp, a malicious moneylender. Their shop is seized by Quilp, and Nell and her grandfather are forced to flee London, facing hardship and poverty in the countryside. A deeply heartbreaking narrative and a classic Dickensian story, The Old Curiosity Shop movingly explores the naivety of innocence and corruption of greed. This audiobook edition is beautifully narrated by Juliet Stevenson.
Charles Dickens (1812 – 1870) was an English writer and social critic. He is regarded by many as the greatest novelist of the Victorian era. His works enjoyed unprecedented popularity during his lifetime and, by the twentieth century, critics and scholars had recognized him as a literary genius. His novels and short stories are widely read, performed and adapted today.