Dickensians! discussion

NICHOLAS NICKLEBY

Installments 16 - 20: Chapters 49 - 65



Original Installment wrapper 1838-1839 by "Phiz" Hablot Knight Browne.

These were always green, to differentiate them from those of William Makepeace Thackeray's, which were always pale orange-yellow and printed in brown, but I've scanned it here in white for clarity!



Nicholas Nickleby - Nigel Havers in the excellent 1977 BBC series: 6 episodes

LINKS TO CHAPTERS

Previous thread

XVI
Chapter 49

Chapter 50

Chapter 51

XVII
Chapter 52

Chapter 53

Chapter 54

XVIII
Chapter 55

Chapter 56

Chapter 57

Chapter 58

XIX
Chapter 59

Chapter 60

Chapter 61

XX
Chapter 62

Chapter 63

Chapter 64

Chapter 65

Installment 16:

Chapter 49: Chronicles the further Proceedings of the Nickleby Family, and the Sequel of the Adventure of the Gentleman in the Small-clothes

Nicholas’s resolve to restrain his emotions crumbles as he sees Madeline on a regular basis. He enjoys indulging in fantasies about her.

The Nickleby family live in relative peace, except for the proceedings in which Mr. Snawley is trying to reclaim his son. Smike, “whose health, long upon the wane”, despite his effort to be cheerful begins to break under the stress, which alarms everyone:

“There were times, and often too, when the sunken eye was too bright, the hollow cheek too flushed, the breath too thick and heavy in its course, the frame too feeble and exhausted, to escape their regard and notice.”

Nicholas takes him to see a physician, fearing that Smike may have a common disease which is a death sentence [i.e. consumption, or as we call it tuberculosis]. The physician’s findings are inconclusive. Smike’s health had been compromised in his childhood, the doctor says, and his weak health may be due to that, and not the disease.

Smike does not get worse, saying “each day answer[ing] with a quiet smile that he felt better than he had upon the day before”, so Nicholas hopes this means he will recover. The narrator tells us that Nicholas would often reflect on these times many years later, remembering how Smike would seem so happy to be in Kate’s company.

Nicholas has risen in the Cheeryble brothers’ esteem, by handling the matter they trusted him with, with discretion. They start bestowing much-needed items on all the family, which makes the Nickleby’s home more comfortable. They also visit regularly, particularly Frank Cheeryble.

Mrs. Nickleby notices how attentive Frank is to her, and mentions it more than once, which makes Kate blush:

“‘Oh! attention to you, mama,’ rejoined Kate quickly—‘oh yes.’”

Her mother tells Kate that she plans to tell him he should marry a full-blooded Englishwoman and not this one in Germany. She doesn’t like it when English blood is muddied with the blood of foreigners. Kate tries to talk her out of this idea.

Miss La Creevy calls on them, and Mrs Nickleby is distracted into wondering about the coach driver. Miss La Creevy says she has seen Mr. Linkinwater on the road, and since Frank Cheeryble is with him, she does not doubt that they will be coming there, adding:

“For a young man, Mr Frank is not a very great walker; and I observe that he generally falls tired, and requires a good long rest, when he has come as far as this.”

Smike has gone up to his room, and Mrs. Nickleby comments how he always does this when Frank Cheeryble visits. She cannot understand this because she knows Smike likes anyone who likes Nicholas, and she is sure that Frank does. What’s more, Smike just sits in his room, moping in the dark with no candle. Nobody answers her, so Mrs Nickleby indulges herself in thinking of eccentric people she has heard of, fearing that this habit of Smike’s may make him eccentric.

Frank and Tim arrive, and Mrs Nicholas apologises that Nicholas is not there, and that Kate will have to fill in for him, to which Frank gallantly remarks:

“Miss Nickleby need be but herself … I—if I may venture to say so—oppose all change in her.”

Kate is flustered and quiet, avoiding speaking to Frank Cheeryble. Her mother notices, but thinks that it must be because she does not have her best frock on, and “dismissed it from her thoughts, and inwardly congratulated herself on being so shrewd and knowing.”

Nicholas does not come home, and Smike does not reappear either, but the party is very merry nevertheless. Kate and Frank spend a long time watching the gathering dark, speaking in low murmurs or not at all, which the narrator remarks is very natural, just as when Kate’s “bright eyes were unable to bear the light which obliged her to avert her face, and even to leave the room for some short time” that was understandable too, given that the light would seem so bright to her as a consequence. Kate then seems to have lost her appetite, which the narrator says in normal circumstances would be:

“a discovery so alarming that there is no knowing in what unaccountable efforts of oratory Mrs. Nickleby’s apprehensions might have been vented.”

However at that moment strange sounds as of “shuffling, sliding, rumbling, and struggling” emanate from the next room, which the frightened servant girl says had come down the chimney. Frank and Tim lead the way as they all (except Miss La Creevy, who is looking after the servant girl) make their way into the next room.

What is their astonishment to hear the melancholy strains of a popular ditty coming from the chimney, and moreover to see a pair of legs dangling above the grate! Frank and Tim begin to investigate when Mrs Nickleby:

“demanded to know whether the mysterious limbs were not clad in small-clothes and grey worsted stockings, or whether her eyes had deceived her.”



“Mysterious Appearance of the Gentleman in Small-Clothes” - Hablot K. Browne (Phiz) - July 1839”

On being told that such is indeed the case, she sits down resignedly, and asks Kate to explain the situation, impressing on the company that she has given no encouragement at all to this man. She continues with her usual chatter, but Kate finds herself speechless. Since it appears that the gentleman up the chimney has begun to find difficulty in breathing, Frank Cheeryble:

“pulled at the shorts and worsteds with such heartiness as to bring him floundering into the room with greater precipitation than he had quite calculated upon.”

Frank assures them both than the old gentleman is not hurt, and asks if they had been expecting him. Kate replies that he is their neighbour, and is a madman. Mrs. Nickleby reprimands her daughter for saying such a ridiculous thing. She insists that the man is only labelled mad by those who desire his property:

“though I do believe him to be sincere when I find him placing himself in such dreadful situations on my account; and that I request him to have the goodness to go away directly, or it will be impossible to keep his behaviour a secret from my son Nicholas.”

The neighbour makes various nonsensical comments, but everything changes when he catches sight of Miss La Creevy.

“He stopped short, skipped suddenly on his feet, and fell to kissing his hand violently: a change of demeanour which almost terrified the little portrait painter out of her senses, and caused her to retreat behind Tim Linkinwater with the utmost expedition.”



“Reverting to The Gentleman in Small Clothes” - Fred Barnard - 1875

“”Aha!“ cried the old gentleman, folding his hands, and squeezing them with great force against each other. ”I see her now; I see her now! My love, my life, my bridge, my peerless beauty! She is come at last — at last — and all is gas and gaiters.”

His romantic speeches are now all addressed to Miss La Creevy. Mrs. Nickleby is disconcerted for a moment, but then judges that he has mistaken Miss La Creevy for her. She is not surprised and says - at great length - that it is perhaps foolish of people, but she has even been mistaken for Kate. But then she receives a shock, as the old gentleman turns on her and tells her in a loud voice to go away “Cat! … Puss, Kit, Tit, Grimalkin, Tabby, Brindle! Whoosh!”

He then rushes up to Mrs. Nickleby, doing a strange dance, which makes her exclaim in horror and surprise, and faint. Kate begs the men to take the neighbour away. Frank and Tim leave, one on either side of the old gentleman, to guard him.

When she revives, Mrs. Nickleby says she will never forgive herself for causing the neighbour to lose his mind, through his disappointment in her rejection of him:

“You see what a wreck he is. Making allowance for his being a little flighty, you know how rationally, and sensibly, and honourably he talked, when we saw him in the garden. You have heard the dreadful nonsense he has been guilty of this night, and the manner in which he has gone on with that poor unfortunate little old maid.”

Tim and Frank return with the news that the neighbour is back with his custodians, who had not noticed that he had gone, as they had been making merry with friends. They leave and Kate sits on her own for about 3 hours, thinking, until Nicholas comes home. He teases her and pretends to try to guess her thoughts, but Kate is variously confused, tearful and alarmed, so Nicholas changes the subject “albeit it was said without the slightest consciousness or application”.

They pass Smike’s room, and when Nicholas knocks: “Smike, very pale and haggard, and completely dressed, confronted them.”

Kate hangs back, but Nicholas asks Smike why he has not slept, and is so melancholy. Is he not well? Smike says he knows he is changed:

“I will tell you the reason one day, but not now. I hate myself for this; you are all so good and kind. But I cannot help it. My heart is very full; you do not know how full it is.”

So saying, Smike goes back into his room, and remains awake.

And a little more ...

Mrs Nickleby’s speeches

The Thirsty Woman of Tutbury - Mrs Ann Moore: The Fasting Woman of Tutbury claimed to be able to survive without eating,



engraving by Anthony Cardon

but in 1813 was exposed as a fraud. Her daughter had secretly been feeding her liquid nourishment. 😆
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ann_Moo....

The Cock Lane Ghost - was another notorious hoax, which supposedly communicated its presence through rapping sounds. In the end it was discovered that the 11 year-old daughter of the house made the sounds on a board she had concealed in her bed. 😂 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cock_La...

the pig-faced lady - was a popular exhibit at 19th century fairs. It was a bear, shaved and dressed in women’s clothing, and strapped to a chair. 😡

“Train up a ghost - child, I mean” - here Mrs Nickleby is thinking of Proverbs: 22 v. 6 “Train up the child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.”

(More about the hoaxes in the wiki entries)

The Neighbour, or Gentleman in small clothes ’s speeches

His arrival singing "the beautiful maid I adore" - these are the opening words to a sentimental song with music by Sir Henry Bishop.

Cormoran and Blunderbore

Cormoran - is a giant associated with St. Michael’s Mount in the folklore of Cornwall. Local tradition credits him with creating the island, in some versions with the aid of his wife Cormelian, and using it as a base to raid cattle from the mainland communities.



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cormoran

Blunderbore - Blunderbore is another giant of Cornish and English folklore. A number of folk and fairy tales include a giant named Blunderbore, most notably “Jack the Giant Killer”. The stories usually associate him with the area of Penwith.



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blunder...

The Three Graces - in Greek mythology, Aglaia, Euphrosyne and Thalia were daughters of Zeus who personified beauty, charm and grace.

The Nine Muses - also in Greek mythology, these 9 sister goddesses were each regarded as a protectress of a different Art or Science.

bathes in Kalydor - is a sort of “in-joke” by Dickens. “Rowland’s Kalydor” was the name of a skin lotion, which was frequently advertised in the monthly installments of Nicholas Nickleby. The advertisment said it was “of vital importance to the support of female loveliness”.

“All gas and gaiters” - an expression used by many writers such as P.G. Wodehouse, Agatha Christie, and film directors Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger in films such as The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp and there even used to be a TV sitcom about the clergy called “All gas and gaiters”. It is in common parlance, sometimes used to mean “a satisfactory state of affairs” and sometimes it has had the meaning of “nonsense”.

Charles Dickens coined the expression first here, with the eccentric old gentleman clad in small-clothes and grey worsted stockings. Here he evidently means “all is well” - from the neighbour's point of view!

What a long chapter, eek! 😔Mostly absurdly comic, but ending on a worrying note with poor Smike.

Smike

He has only ever been really happy with the theatrical troupe, who accepted him for what he was. As soon as he ever tried to be part of a conventional family and home, as various characters have observed, he began to be self-conscious and feel out of place. He worked wonders in their garden, and everyone has tried to make him happy, but now, with his secret love and a mysterious illness, things do not look good. 😟

Mrs Nickleby (and the gentleman in small clothes)

It’s easy to skip through both Mrs Nickleby and the gentleman in small clothes’s speeches as “nonsense”, but as we can see, what is in their minds is derived from factual incidents, poetry, folklore, mythology or popular culture. They are randomly put together like a kind of jigsaw, but neither of these are the same as Mr Mantalini’s ramblings, which were just the inventions of a creative mind given to hyperbole.

We could deduce from this that Mrs Nickleby and the eccentric neighbour are quite similar mentally, except for one thing. Mrs Nickleby does not appear to confabulate, although she is quick to redefine what has happened in her own favour. Her assumption that the neighbour was misrepresented so that his relatives could get his money was perfectly reasonable to her, since up to now he has not seemed to exhibit any worse symptoms of eccentricity than she does herself. Today though, his eccentric behaviour seems to have surpassed itself, and in addition he seems to have violent mood swings. 😨

However to recognise this, is itself a sign of a mind which can reason. And here, as soon as Mrs Nickleby is no longer the target of adoration, she reasons from another hypothesis: namely that it is the lack of her reciprocated love which has sent him insane.

She is a remarkable depiction! But I think this is the end of her romantic interlude.

I look forward to your thoughts 😊 Among all the hilarity (which I personally found hugely enjoyable), there are a good few more hints in the text to ponder here 🤔

Poor Smike. The few things we know of him are heartbreaking.

I agree with you Jean. He has seemed to feel under pressure since he was "adopted" by Nicholas and his family - most probably he is in love with Kate but understands that it is doomed to be unrequited - all the more because of Frank's presence and Mrs Nickleby's hints...

It’s the 25th of November, one month before Christmas, and so it’s appropriate that we have someone come down a chimney. It’s not Santa, but it’s the man in small clothes who initially brings joy and happiness to the readers in this chapter. I’m tempted to retitle the chapter ´Love, Linger, or Languish.´

It is abundantly clear that Nicholas is in love with Madeline. How this relationship will unfold remains to be seen but the good power of love may be fulfilled.

The man in small pants comes down the chimney in hopes of finding his Dulcinea in the form of Mrs Nickleby but instead falls immediately in love with Miss La Creevy. Tim Linkinwater springs into action to defend her. Kate is concerned and says ´Don’t let him come any nearer’ and immediately Frank Cheeryble springs to her defence. Thus, our two new-found gallants are prepared to defend their maidens.

Sadly, Smike is upstairs during the chapter’s action. His health and heart seem to languish. As readers we know more about his mental sorrow than the characters in the house.

This chapter would have been a delight to see staged. A blend of melodrama, farce, and drama. Dickens is in full flight in this chapter.

Wonderful thought about the chimney, Peter. It is certainly fitting we read this today! And what a lot of fun references you've explained, Jean--thank you so much!

Love is certainly in the air, but mostly I feel desperately sad for Smike.

My favorite passage, though, was the paragraph about Frank and Kate sitting in the darkening room, enjoying their time together and unhappy with the candles being brought in to break the spell, ending with “… old people know it too, or did know it once, but they forget these things sometimes, and more’s the pity.”

Such a fun and funny chapter overall. I still find myself shaking my head when Mrs. Nickleby is speaking. That woman lives in her own world of her and her alone. Selfish, yes, but obliviously. She’s certainly a memorable character but not exactly a likable one.

My favorite quote is from her thinking how much better to be ugly than to have to endure all of the amorouness of so many odd men in her life!🤦🏼‍♀️
‘I would rather, I declare, have been a pig-faced lady, than be exposed to such a life as this!’

I was drawn to the beginning section when the narrator was recollecting this scene. It gave me the impression that it was Nicholas doing the recollecting. We haven’t had too many narrator inserts in this read, have we? I’m not sure in my own recollection. Anyhow, this just got me to wondering if it is Nicholas’ voice or some omniscient voice instead.

Bionic Jean wrote: "Blunderbore is another giant of Cornish and English folklore"

I wonder if JK Rowling created the name "Dumbledore" given its similar sound to this bit of English folklore.

I like that idea, Paul 😊

Peter - Your allusion to Santa Claus is priceless!! I would never have thought of that 😂

Katheen - That quotation is so poignant, isn't it? And all the more remarkable given the youthful age of the author.

Lori - The quotation you selected is hilarious! I can't imagine what it must be like to live with Mrs Nickleby 😆

Voices

As for "author inserts" Lori, well we've had quite a lot which is autobiographical, such as taking night walks. Also at the end of the 4th thread, (answering Sam) I went through all the different locations where Charles Dickens was when he wrote Nicholas Nickleby (or had been in the previous few months) and incorporated into his serial.

However, I'm not sure that this is quite what you mean. We have had several episodes where Charles Dickens has declaimed on various topics, haven't we. The piracy issue is an obvious one, but there he put his own views and words into Nicholas's mouth. However in the previous serial, Oliver Twist, he tended to rant more about social conditions ostensibly as the omniscient narrator, plus there is that strange "streaky bacon" passage too, when he was trying to get back on track with the serial.

My own feeling about the first section of this chapter 48 was that it is an omniscient voice, but your point "this just got me to wondering if it is Nicholas’ voice or some omniscient voice instead" is a nice one. In many ways I feel that Nicholas is the hero who is most like Charles Dickens himself - even more than David! Nicholas is certainly the most active of all his male heroes.

In David Copperfield we saw at least four distinct voices: young David, old David, omniscient and author. (Although a later work it's interesting to compare, because of its autobiographical content, which as we saw is verbatim in some parts). However in Nicholas Nickleby, I don't think he has differentiated between an omniscient and an author's voice - plus he also makes Nicholas proclaim his own personal views.

Both novels have passages which seem a little blurred though, whereas his first long work The Pickwick Papers - which he was contracted to model Nicholas Nickleby on to a certain extent - was more straightforward.

It begins as if the narrator, "Boz," is collating the club's papers into a story, but very soon this is abandoned and it becomes an omniscient third-person narrator. The narrator though does present the characters as if they are on the stage, and we have noticed that happening here too!

We regularly see characters declaiming and coming alive through their speeches, rather than the author explaining their motives or psychology to us. Also, it's worth bearing in mind the original title, which I think Charles Dickens stuck to quite closely:

“The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby, Containing a Faithful Account of the Fortunes, Misfortunes, Uprisings, Downfallings, and Complete Career of the Nickleby Family”

Just occasionally he will even refer to it. For example, when he draws more threads together near the end, and completes each character's story arc, you might notice he refers to "this history". I would say when he does this that he is an omniscient narrator - or an author called "Boz" - rather than Nicholas himself (or even Charles Dickens, as it is more objective).

In other little asides he will say that a character "in later years" often recollects a certain episode or time, and this is happening more in this final quarter, as he knows (and can hint to us by means of this) who will reach old age!

It's a great topic to consider; thanks Lori!

Wow, Jean, thank you for the breakdown in the voices. Dickens bounces between them rather seamlessly, so I imagine I just follow him and do the same. I feel like a much less astute reader when I am reading with this group 😬.

Poor Smike pulls at me and I cannot help but believe I know where his sorrow is going. I am quite torn right now about whether I want Miss La Creevy to end up with Tim Linkinwater or Noggs. I'm determined she must have one of them and make them endlessly happy.

Peter, thank you so much for the Santa image, which I would never have connected to alone.

Yes, many thanks Jean for the excellent information on voices. I can always count on you to break it down, provide the missing details I overlooked and get exactly at the answer that was in my head!

Your last paragraph is just where my mind was going - the narrator hints at who is still around and makes it to old age. It’s subtle but very effective!

Isn't it just, Lori? And Sara, I love your romantic pairings here 😆

So after all yesterday's hilarity, today we have a very different state of affairs ...

What a chapter to jump back in the conversation with!

The paragraph which begins with "It was a dread disease..." was just gorgeous to me. Dark and heavy, but beautifully written.

I love the absurd and random things we read, too: "Nor... was their astonishment lessened by the discovery that these romantic sounds certainly proceeding from the throat of some man up the chimney..."

Just some man. Up the chimney. Yep.

😂😂😂

That kind of thing is one of the reasons I love reading, stories, amazing writers with imagination, etc. It all makes me very happy.

As others have said, my heart goes out to Smike, yet again. Will he get a happy ending? Now with his possible TB diagnosis, I'm not so sure...

Chapter 50: Involves a serious Catastrophe

It is a bright sunny day at Hampton Race Course. The main race of the day has just been run, and everyone is milling around. The sideshows and activities are in full flow, as are the chancers looking to gamble with gullible folk for easy money, and old hands looking to pick the pockets of the unwary.

In the gambling tents it is hot and airless. Some dedicated gamblers have been playing solidly for hours, but most are young men who have a quick flutter, betting the odd half crown now and then, and not much minding whether they win or lose.

A man in his late 50s sits near the entrance, watching. He is the proprietor of the place. Another is in charge of the roulette wheel monotonously shouting about his trade, “rouge-et-noir”; a new game from France.

Half a dozen men enter the tent, and recognising the leader, the proprietor doffs his hat.

“This was Sir Mulberry Hawk, with whom were his friend and pupil, and a small train of gentlemanly-dressed men, of characters more doubtful than obscure.”

In response, Sir Mulberry tells him to “go to the devil” and turns his back. Sir Mulberry Hawk feels irritated that people recognise him and still remember his disgrace. “A rival trainer of young noblemen and gentlemen” greets him and remarks that Hawk is brave to appear in public so soon. Lord Verisopht assures the other men at the Hampton Races that Sir Mulberry Hawk is in very good condition, though one thought the tales about his defeat were lies. They had only got back to London from Brussels the night before. Hawk advises them to look in the papers the day after tomorrow (thereby hinting that they will hear more about the man who assaulted him)

“‘I won’t give him a case of murder to read,’ muttered Sir Mulberry with an oath; ‘but it shall be something very near it if whipcord cuts and bludgeons bruise.’”

This worries Lord Frederick Verisopht. Hawk notices his expression,and tells him that he has already sent a messenger to Nicholas to meet him. Lord Verisopht objects, and for a moment it looks as though Hawk’s “ascendancy … over his dupe, and … the latter’s general habit of submission” will prevail, but Lord Verisopht persists, and says angrily:

“If I remember what passed at the time you speak of, I expressed a strong opinion on this subject, and said that, with my knowledge or consent, you never should do what you threaten now.”

He refuses to allow him to go through with it. Sir Mulberry Hawk hates his pupil although he is still dependent upon him for money. He behaves in a manner which has worked before when his dupes have become angry, and affects a cool and laconic style: an easy good-humour:

“He knew that the moment he became violent, the young man would become violent too.”

So he suppresses his feelings, but while he does this, Sir Mulberry vows inwardly to be even more severe on Nicholas, and also to make the young lord pay dearly for it some time in the future.

“Sir Mulberry Hawk had plundered, duped, deceived, and fooled his pupil in every possible way … and beginning to hate him, he began to hate him cordially.”

For his part, Lord Verisopht is thinking back over the circumstances - which the narrator tells us is unusual for him - and beginning to form his own opinions, which are both “manly and honest”. The more he considers and remembers, the more ashamed of his share in the affair he feels, and is deeply mortified to suspect that he has been tricked, manipulated and deceived.

Lord Verisopht realises that Hawk had pursued Miss Nickleby for his own ends. He has begun to dislike Hawk, and sits brooding over his resentment and dislike. However:

“Sir Mulberry, conceiving that he had silenced him effectually, could not suppress his triumph, or forbear from following up what he conceived to be his advantage.”

He becomes more boastful and swaggering among his friends, while Lord Verisopht becomes more exasperated and angry. They return to town:

“Messrs Pyke and Pluck and other gentlemen frequently protesting … that Sir Mulberry had never been in such tiptop spirits in all his life.”

After their sumptuous meal they go to the gaming tables, and find:

“another party, mad like themselves. The excitement of play, hot rooms, and glaring lights was not calculated to allay the fever of the time. In that giddy whirl of noise and confusion, the men were delirious …Tumult and frenzy reigned supreme; when a noise arose that drowned all others, and two men, seizing each other by the throat, struggled into the middle of the room.”



“The Last Brawl between Sir Mulberry and His Pupil” - Hablot K. Browne - July 1839

Finally the tension breaks, and now Lord Verisopht has struck Sir Mulberry Hawk.



“The Midnight Brawl in the Gambling Tent” - Fred Barnard - 1875

Others try to separate the two; to hold them back, but Hawk is incensed. His friend suggests he leaves it until the next day, but Hawk wants satisfaction:

“‘Tonight, at once, here!’ His passion was so great, that he could not articulate, but stood clenching his fist, tearing his hair, and stamping upon the ground.”

Lord Verisopht calls on a Captain Adams, to have a private word with. Everyone knows what will ensue:

“Elsewhere, its further progress would have been instantly prevented, and time allowed for sober and cool reflection; but not there.”

As the party breaks up, some gentlemen of “honour” who live upon their winnings remark to each other that Hawk is a good shot. Captain Adams meets with Hawk’s second, Mr Westwood. They are both utterly heartless men about town:

“both thoroughly initiated in its worst vices, both deeply in debt, both fallen from some higher estate, both addicted to every depravity for which society can find some genteel name and plead its most depraving conventionalities as an excuse”

and naturally they are gentlemen of most unblemished honour themselves - and very concerned to preserve the honour of other people. They agree there is no other option, and all that remains is to settle the time and place of meeting for the duel. It will be sunrise, in the grounds of Ham House.

Captain Adams takes Lord Verisopht to his own lodgings, using the captain’s cab, in order to collect a pair of pistols. Then they process to the meeting place. The contrast between the foul air inside the gaming rooms and the bright day without is profound.

“Fields, trees, gardens, hedges, everything looked very beautiful; the young man scarcely seemed to have noticed them before, though he had passed the same objects a thousand times …With throbbing veins and burning skin, eyes wild and heavy, thoughts hurried and disordered, he felt as though the light were a reproach, and shrunk involuntarily from the day as if he were some foul and hideous thing.”

Yet Lord Verisopht has no fear, but is strangely calm; his overriding feeling regret that he ever met Sir Mulberry Hawk. Captain Adams is boisterous, trying to cheer his spirits, and when they arrive, Lord Verisopht discovers he is smoking a cigar, although he cannot remember how this has come about.

When they arrive at the elm trees as arranged, Sir Mulberry Hawk and his second are already there. They walk through a meadow, past Ham House and into some fields beyond. When they have chosen their spot and paced out the distance:

“Sir Mulberry turned his face towards his young adversary for the first time. He was very pale, his eyes were bloodshot, his dress disordered, and his hair dishevelled. For the face, it expressed nothing but violent and evil passions.”

The signal is given and both men fire, but the young lord falls down dead.

The two witnesses, Mr. Westwood and Captain Adams agree that it has been fairly done. Hawk and his second need to go immediately to Brighton, and then flee the country to France as quickly as possible.



“Lord Frederick Verisopht falls in a Duel” - Harry Furniss - 1910

Captain Adams has to make arrangements to dispose of the body, and then do likewise.

“So died Lord Frederick Verisopht, by the hand which he had loaded with gifts, and clasped a thousand times; by the act of him, but for whom, and others like him, he might have lived a happy man, and died with children’s faces round his bed …

[so] the noble river ran its winding course, [and] the dead man [lay] with his stark and rigid face turned upwards to the sky.“



“Sir Mulberry shoots Verisopht in a Duel” - Charles Stanley Reinhart - 1875

And a little more …

Duelling

Sometimes people wonder why there was so much secrecy around dueling at this time, especially since it was traditionally the honourable way for gentlemen to settle a serious quarrel.

William I introduced the judicial duel to England in the 11th century. In France, fatal judicial duels became so frequent that, from the 12th century, attempts were made to reduce them. England followed suit later, but largely because duelling pistols were notoriously inaccurate. (I was told this last part at Hampton Court Palace; not that I was an invited visitor - merely a paying guest 😆)

In the UK now, duelling is illegal and has been since the 19th century. The last duel in the UK took place in 1852, but the practice was officially abolished by law in 1819 - so it had been illegal for 20 years at the time of Nicholas Nickleby. That is why those involved escaped to France as soon as it was over. It also explains why it had been planned in such a clandestine manner, by seconds who were notorious gentlemen regularly involved in nefarious practices, and followed so quickly after the initial slight.

As for other countries, duelling is largely illegal worldwide, with just a few exceptions.

https://www.britannica.com/topic/duel is a good piece, and here’s more detail too from the Victorian Web: (spoiler tag used just to save space)

(view spoiler)[“The first duel in Great Britain involving pistols rather than rapiers was fought at Tothill Fields, London, in 1711 between Colonel Richard Thornhill and Sir Cholmley Deering, but such affairs of honour between military officers and aristocrats rarely involved firearms until the early 1760s. Such scenes occur regularly in novels set in the eighteenth century, but far less frequently in Victorian novels with contemporary settings since duelling was officially outlawed in 1819. In fact, from the seventeenth century onward most European nations had attempted to ban duelling, and replace it (when necessary) with litigation.

By the time that Charles Dickens was writing this installment of Nicholas Nickleby in 1839, duelling had definitely fallen out of favour even among the aristocracy, in part thanks to a concerted effort by Prince Albert and the Duke of Wellington to change both the law and society’s attitudes. The last duel officially recorded between Englishmen in the United Kingdom occurred on the beach near Portsmouth on 20 May 1845. Prior to the nineteenth century, an officer or a “gentleman” risked social ostracism for not issuing a challenge when insulted, or for failing to respond to such a challenge. By the time that Verisopht and Hawk met on the field of honour such affairs had to be managed surreptitiously since killing another in a duel was legally judged homicide. However, an interesting coincidence is that the very last duels known to have occurred on British soil involved a pair of French political refugees, Lieutenant Hawkey and Emmanuel Barthélemy, in 1852. Both were tried for murder.” (hide spoiler)]

My favourite quotations from this chapter are:

"Now, the noise of the wheels resolved itself into some wild tune in which he could recognise scraps of airs he knew; now, there was nothing in his ears but a stunning and bewildering sound, like rushing water."

And after the duel, when Lord Verisopht lies dead:

“The sun came proudly up in all his majesty, the noble river ran its winding course, the leaves quivered and rustled in the air, the birds poured their cheerful songs from every tree …”

Running water always represents something ineffable in Charles Dickens's writing.

I also love the description of the gaming room which reminds me of his much later descriptions in A Tale of Two Cities of the wild "La Carmagnole" French song and dance of the revolutionaries during the French Revolution! But that's probably a bit weird. 🤔

I think this is a marvellous chapter. It is worthy of being a separate story, quite apart from Nicholas Nickleby. (If you’d like details of any locations, or specific stalls on the racecourse, please let me know.)

Lord Frederick Verisopht

This is such a dramatic twist - and a point of peripety for Lord Verisopht. We might have fully expected the duel over the treatment of Kate Nickleby to be between Sir Mulberry Hawk and Nicholas!

Nevertheless, I find it hard to forgive Charles Dickens for writing this ending for Lord Frederick Verisopht, who tried in the end to do what he thought was honourable. 🥹Just like (view spoiler)[ Nancy (hide spoiler)] in Oliver Twist Lord Frederick regrets the mistakes he has made in life, and tries to put them right. He had been a misguided youth, led astray by Sir Mulberry Hawk. Now he has paid the ultimate price for it, and to no avail. We do not know his back story, but since he is a peer of the realm, (his title is “Lord”) we know his father must have died. Perhaps he has had little guidance.

A change of mind ...

Interestingly, Charles Dickens did not intend this ending for him. We can see that his character has changed through the novel from the earliest illustration by Hablot Knight Browne, where he is a mere boy, languishing in Ralph’s drawing room with the others as Kate is being introduced Sir Mulberry Hawk’s group of men. Then as the youth who used to suck the golden knob on the end of his stick (and I assume here that Charles Dickens is using this as a pun on the word “dummy” - telling us he is not even weaned).

Now though he has shown his true worth, and Charles Dickens realised that he had given him a humorous but inaccurate name. It was too late to change it in the serial, but in the book he could at least amend it. So after the serial he edited Nicholas Nickleby so that nearly all the references after the initial introduction were to “Lord Frederick” rather than “Lord Verisopht”. Charles Dickens very rarely did this sort of thing, preferring to move on to new works!

The description of Lord Frederick’s sensations as his nears his duel - where we know he is doomed - are masterly. I weep for Lord Frederick. He is probably even younger than Nicholas, and stood his ground for his principles - just as Nicholas would - for another person, who is not even aware of his sacrifice. In my view, he did not deserve this end, and remains one of the saddest characters in all the novels.

Over to you, while I get the tissues.

What a tragic chapter!

I suppose we were all equally moved by the closing lines of this chapter. The contrast between a young man lying dead and a beautiful lively nature, itself full of hidden "tiny lives" emphasises the brutal tragedy ("blades", not leaves)

It reminded me at once of a well-known poem written by Arthur Rimbaud in 1870, Le Dormeur du Val, the Sleeper of the valley.

Young and gifted Arthur Rimbaud was living in his hometown, Charleville-Mézieres, and was only sixteen years old when he wrote this poem during the Franco-Prussian war.

Here is a link to a blog with the French original text, and its English translation. It is worth reading it in French and listening to the audio. Nobody can remain unshaken when reading this poem - an interesting parallel with the poignant closing lines by Dickens.


https://blogs.transparent.com/french/...

I wept for Lord Frederick and I find him a fine example of where bad company can lead...especially the very young. His death has probably just saved Nicholas' life, as well, because Nicholas would be no more a match for the evil Hawk than this young man was.

I had not considered that his being a Lord meant his father was already dead, Jean, and I am very glad you pointed that out, because I was wondering why none of his family seemed to make attempts to separate him from this horrible influence. I am sad he died, but very pleased he did not die a reprobate.

Finally, it is quite sad that Kate will never know that he defended her in the end and that he redeemed himself in doing so.

I wonder if we are to take some solace from Lord Frederick having in a sense redeemed his lost time spent under Hawk’s influence. Paying the ultimate penance and perhaps knowing that he will prevent a duel between Hawk and Nicholas. I’m probably reading too much into the story here but Lord Frederick would have known the probable price of slapping a man like Hawk.

I thought the same, Sue--that he knew the likely outcome, so it showed tremendous courage.

I found Chapter 50 to be the most intensely dramatic passage of the entire novel. Dickens pulls out all the stops here in building the atmosphere, placing us right into three successive scenes:
- the gaiety and clamor of the racetrack and the horde of entertainments that surround it;
- the chaotic, drunken debauchery of the gambling den;
- and the stark, silent scene of the duel in the cold light of dawn.
His description of the drunken brawl, accompanied by Lord Verisoft’s inner turmoil, his realization of how he has wasted his life, is some of the most powerful writing I’ve yet to encounter in any of Dickens’ works.

Ahh..yes about the courage. The feelings he had after their conversation outside the tent must have crystallized at the later gathering and the decision made not to wait any longer.

I agree about this chapter, Jim. With little modification it could be a powerful short story or character study.

Yes, that was the impression I carry away with me, that it stands alone. A marvellous chapter and as I said, worthy of being a separate story. Yet before the climax we had a detailed build-up, and the first part at the racecourse actually took much longer.

Great analysis Jim! And I liked the clever reference to "blade", Claudia - well spotted there 😊

Also, I agree about Lord Frederick's courage, Sue and Sara. Some may even see a religious reading here: viz. Lord Frederick as the willing sacrifice. However this is not implied, whereas in later novels the author was more explicit. Here Charles Dickens emphasises the future on Earth which he might otherwise have had: "he might have lived a happy man, and died with children’s faces round his bed."

Part of the writing I most admired was how Charles Dickens conveyed the sense of foreboding via Lord Frederick's strong sense of premonition and acceptance, as the coach took him and his second to the grounds at Ham House. I think the character's heightened sense of his own responses, along with a blurring of time, and what was around him, was so powerful, and authentic for us all at times of great emotion.

I feel much the same as you all about this chapter; the build up had me hanging on to every word.

Forgive me, but why would this duel help Nicholas avoid one? Is it simply because Hawk is now escaping to France? Can we assume Hawk is gone for good, for if he steps foot back in England he may be charged with murder?

It's too bad that Lord Frederick could not have extricated himself from Hawk's circle earlier... "By degrees he grew more angry, and was exasperated by jests and familiarities which a few hours before would have been a source of amusement to him."

I agree with what Jim said about the power of this chapter, and how "Dickens pulls out all the stops here in building the atmosphere, placing us right into three successive scenes ..."

I was hit with this atmosphere in the first paragraph, which I loved and read the first page multiple times--"Every gaudy colour that fluttered in the air from carriage seat and garish tent top, shone out in its gaudiest hues."

I found this chapter similar in feel and power to A Tale of Two Cities, and I can see your comparison of the gaming room with the song of the revolutionaries, Jean. Heady stuff!

Kelly wrote: "why would this duel help Nicholas avoid one? Is it simply because Hawk is now escaping to France?"

Well there is a convention that the duel somehow completes the objection, but since the offender won, it doesn't seem fair does it? The one who felt the slight has not got satisfaction or been vindicated. In the view of the time, a lady's honour has still been impugned and the perpetrator is at liberty to do it again.

However Nicholas himself probably feels justice has been served as he punished Sir Mulberry Hawk by their confrontation, where Hawk was so badly hurt (partly by Nicholas but partly by the fall from the coach). At this time Nicholas wanted to arrange a proper duel - that was what the swapping of cards would have enabled - but it all had to be implied, and deniable in law.

So as far as Nicholas is concerned it is all dealt with, but he does not know the violent feeling of resentment which Hawk has. It's true that Hawk has escaped to France, but I think in these cases it is probably temporary, until any fuss has died down. We know that his second arranges duels regularly, so he must keep coming and going. Also, if all the men who had fought in duels stayed in France the British aristocracy would be quite depleted ... 😆 Basically I think Hawk is in hiding temporarily. On the other hand, this could well be the end of his story arc as far as the novel is concerned. It feels like it, doesn't it?

The tragedy of it all is that Lord Frederick was only really a bystander. It was not his argument in the first place. But he made it so, because of what Sir Mulberry Hawk was threatening to do to Nicholas. He has had his eyes opened to just how dishonourable Hawk is, and knows in this chapter that he will not do things the gentlemanly way, because he says so. Hawk would plan for Nicholas to be beaten up by a thug in his pay, or knifed, or perhaps set on by a gang. He would not dirty his own hands. So Lord Frederick was both trying to prevent this, and also get things back on an honourable footing. Because we get a sense that he knew he would lose, the latter part would be uppermost in his mind. He wanted to affirm the traditional values of gentlemanly behaviour.

Kathleen wrote: "I was hit with this atmosphere in the first paragraph, which I loved and read the first page multiple times--"Every gaudy colour that fluttered in the air from carriage seat and garish tent top, shone out in its gaudiest hues".

Yes, me too. 😊 The long first section was so beautifully described that we could feel we were almost there. I wondered whether to write extra posts about all the different activities - the games, and tricks, and conventions - but I knew where the focus would be.

The thing about reading Charles Dickens novels over again (as I know others will find too) is that when a part is remembered, or even familiar, there is always something new to discover. With this chapter 50, I really immersed myself in the descriptions, knowing what was coming up at the end. I knew that the intense gaming room argument would push all the vivid descriptions of Hampton Court races to the back of any reader's mind. Plus it would be compounded, when tension increased towards the final duel in the third section, so that by now the first part would be all but forgotten! It certainly would fade over time, dwarfed by its proximity to such a dramatic event.

Only by looking again can we really remember just how detailed the description of the side-tents at Hampton Court races, and cameos of the people there, was. I feel it must be observed from life.

I loved your quotation Kathleen - and also Kelly's very different one.

Today's chapter has a different mood again - as we have come to expect.

Bionic Jean wrote: "It certainly would fade over time, dwarfed by its proximity to such a dramatic event."

What a great point, Jean, and an excellent reminder of the importance of re-reading! I think this kind of description works on us subconsciously, whether we realize it or not, and I sometimes wonder why I'm left in a certain mood, only to realize it was the result of this kind of immersion.

Yes, the brain works strangely ...

Chapter 51: The Project of Mr. Ralph Nickleby and his Friend approaching a successful Issue, becomes unexpectedly known to another Party, not admitted into their Confidence

“In an old house, dismal dark and dusty, which seemed to have withered, like himself, and to have grown yellow and shrivelled in hoarding him from the light of day, as he had in hoarding his money, lived Arthur Gride. Meagre old chairs and tables, of spare and bony make, and hard and cold as misers’ hearts, were ranged, in grim array, against the gloomy walls …

A tall grim clock upon the stairs, with long lean hands and famished face, ticked in cautious whispers; and when it struck the time, in thin and piping sounds, like an old man’s voice, rattled, as if it were pinched with hunger.”

Arthur Gride is examining the musty clothes in his worm-eaten wardrobe and singing about a wedding. He chooses a suit he bought years ago at a pawnbroker’s, which he had then considered his lucky suit. Not only had he found a shilling in the pocket when he had bought it, but also an enemy of his had died in a fire the same day. He decides it is a good suit to be married in and orders his deaf housekeeper to mend it. Peg Sliderskew, a:

“short, thin, weasen, blear-eyed old woman, palsy-stricken and hideously ugly, who, wiping her shrivelled face upon her dirty apron, inquired, in that subdued tone in which deaf people commonly speak”

whether he had called her, or whether it was the clock. On learning the suit he has chosen, she says it is too good for him to get married in, and anyway his bride won’t be bothering to look at him:



“I’ll be married in the bottle-green,” cried Arthur Gride” - Fred Barnard - 1875

“If she’s as handsome as you say she is, she won’t look much at you, master, take your oath of that; and as to how you look yourself—pepper-and-salt, bottle-green, sky-blue, or tartan-plaid will make no difference in you.”

Peg Sliderskew is expecting to lose her place and tells him that is why she is so insulting. But Arthur Gride says he isn’t going to throw her out, although they will have to be more careful with money with another mouth to feed. However, he doesn’t want to deprive his wife so much that she’ll lose her looks—for he enjoys looking at her. She will earn her own keep with the things she makes. Peg Sliderskew is still not convinced his new bride will not make a fool of him. but Arthur Gride talks her round:

“this is a good idea, Peg, and one you’ll like, I know—… you shall polish up a sparking necklace that I have got upstairs, and I’ll give it her upon the wedding morning—clasp it round her charming little neck myself—and take it away again next day. He, he, he! I’ll lock it up for her, Peg, and lose it.”

As his housekeeper goes out, still muttering curses upon the future Mrs. Gride, Arthur Gride reminds himself that he keeps her on, because she is frugal, and her deafness prevents her from listening at keyholes. She is also discreet. Replacing his musty clothes carefully, he is startled by a ring at the door.

It is Newman Noggs, with a letter from Ralph Nickleby. Mr. Gride is excited and happy when he reads it. When Noggs reminds him that he is waiting to take a reply back Gride goes out of the room to fetch a pen and ink, dropping the letter on the floor by accident. Looking round carefully, Noggs picks it up and quickly reads it.



"Newman Noggs" - Harry Furniss - 1910 (vignette)

Ralph has written that Bray has agreed to the marriage, and expects him the day after next at 7a.m. Ralph tells him not to visit the girl, as he has been there too often as it is. Ralph advises him to leave her to her father’s influence for the two days.

Arthur Gride returns and peers nervously about him, and sees the letter on the ground. He writes a reply, and noticing Noggs apparently staring at the wall demands to know why.

“‘Only a cobweb,’ replied Newman.
‘Oh! is that all?’
‘No,’ said Newman. ‘There’s a fly in it.’
‘There are a good many cobwebs here,’ observed Arthur Gride.
‘So there are in our place,’ returned Newman; ‘and flies too.’“

Gride thinks this is very funny. He gives Noggs the letter, and a special drink of “eau-d’or” he has only tasted sparingly, over the last 20 years. He wants to toast his bride-to-be:

“Here’s little Madeline. That’s the toast. Mr. Noggs. Little Madeline!’
‘Madeline!’ said Newman; inwardly adding, ‘and God help her!’“

Newman returns to the office and gives Ralph the message. Ralph complains about how long it has taken him, reads the note and tears in into pieces, saying that he is sure he will come. He asks Noggs about the man he saw him with the other night. Noggs says it is a man who has called twice, whose name is Brooker, adding that the man keeps asking to let him see Ralph. Noggs suggested to him that he stop Ralph in the street, but that wouldn’t do, he says.

“He must have you alone in a room with the door locked, where he could speak without fear, and you’d soon change your tone, and hear him patiently.”

Ralph is irritated:

“‘He is an idle ruffian … a vagabond from beyond the sea where he travelled for his crimes; a felon let loose to run his neck into the halter; a swindler, who has the audacity to try his schemes on me who know him well.”

He tells Noggs to call the police the next time the man approaches him, and Ralph will make sure he is put in jail for a while.

Noggs goes to the pump near where Nicholas works, and waits for him:

“For Newman Noggs was proud in his way, and could not bear to appear as his friend, before the brothers Cheeryble, in the shabby and degraded state to which he was reduced.”

Nicholas is delighted to see Noggs, and Noggs tells says he is going to investigate one of his uncle’s secrets. He will tell Nicholas if he learns anything. He stresses how careful he is going to have to be, in order not to arouse Ralph’s suspicions any further.

They go to a tavern, and chat about how they first met, and various memorable events, and mention Cecilia Bobster. Noggs reminds Nicholas that he still does not know the name of the young lady with whom Nicholas is enamoured. When Noggs learns that it is Madeline Bray, he is astonished:

“‘It’s the same!’ cried Newman. ‘Sad story! Can you stand idly by, and let that unnatural marriage take place without one attempt to save her?’”

Nicholas leaps to his feet, thinking that Noggs has gone mad, but Noggs insists that because of his uncle:

“she will be sacrificed, as sure as you stand there alive, to a hoary wretch—a devil born and bred, and grey in devils’ ways”

Nicholas becomes as worked up as Noggs, and holds him down until he has told the whole story

“Rage, astonishment, indignation, and a storm of passions, rushed through the listener’s heart, as the plot was laid bare. He no sooner understood it all, than with a face of ashy paleness, and trembling in every limb, he darted from the house.”

Fearing that Nicholas will do something drastic, even perhaps murder someone, Noggs gives chase, shouting “Stop thief!”

This is the end of Installment 16. Installment 17 starts on Sunday,with Chapter 52.

(edited day, please LINK HERE)

This began with such a powerful and grotesque description of Arthur Gride’s house, which surely symbolises its owner, with all its filth and squalor. And nobody does personification better than Charles Dickens, whether it is a chair, a table, a clock, or whatever.

These two grotesques surely deserve each other. Do Arthur Gride and Peg Sliderskew remind you of other characters? I’m reminded irresistibly of Flintwinch and Affery in Little Dorrit - so much so that I kept expecting Peg to throw her apron over her face! Their relationship seems very similar, with the crafty and devious male asserting himself over a female who is deaf in this case and (view spoiler)[cowed and confused (hide spoiler)] in Affery’s. As we saw in our group read of it, the later characters were much more developed, as Little Dorrit was a substantial Victorian novel, conforming more to our modern expectations of the form. But I wonder if these two began to spark in Charles Dickens’s mind here. The name “Sliderskew”, so like “slide - askew” makes me think of Flintwinch’s twisted neck.

I’m entertained whenever Noggs is in a scene, but liked his droll comparison of the flies in a spider’s web in both Gride and Ralph Nickleby’s place. Plus:

"trying to follow the direction of Newman’s eyes—which was an impossibility, and a thing no man had ever done"

has to be my favourite quotation. I don’t think it means Noggs has a squint (although it might) or that he is like Squeers, with just one eye “when the popular prejudice runs in favour of two”, but just that he is inscrutable.

Well we have no comfortable solution to our worries about Madeline Bray, which are fast reaching a head. Plus now have another worry - knowing Nicholas’s fiery temper! What a great cliffhanger. 😟

Enjoy the free day (Thanksgiving for some I believe) and I’ll be back with a new chapter on Sunday (edited day!)

Great chapter! Thank you Jean!

The descriptions of Gride's abode down to the tiniest details, perfectly personified, are all my favourite quotes. Everything around him is an illustration of eeriness and squalor, of miser and ugliness. I caught myself laughing...

As to Noggs - he is, according to me, an essential character, in spite of his main flaw. I wrote about him in the previous thread:

https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

Picking up on the discussion of voices between Lori and Jean, (messages 11&15) These last two chapters have wonderful examples of Dickens' versatility with the many slight variations he uses the style and tone of the narrative voice and his marvelous way of blending these variations so that we get a very unique effect I think, one that is distinctly Dickens. One specific variation that I associate with Dickens is the omniscient voice that is embellished with artistic stylings that often serve as a commentary, adding a tonal color and atmosphere. For example, in the first paragraph of chapter 50, note how the narrator's word choice defines the mood, especially in the third sentence where opposing adjectives emphasize this almost contradictory mood Dickens is establishing:

The little race-course at Hampton was in the full tide and height of its gaiety; the day as dazzling as day could be; the sun high in the cloudless sky, and shining in its fullest splendour. Every gaudy colour that fluttered in the air from carriage seat and garish tent top, shone out in its gaudiest hues. Old dingy flags grew new again, faded gilding was re-burnished, stained rotten canvas looked a snowy white, the very beggars’ rags were freshened up, and sentiment quite forgot its charity in its fervent admiration of poverty so picturesque.

In chapter 51 again from the first paragraph. the narration is similarly stylized but our narrator using personification of objects in the setting to again reinforce mood and character:

A tall grim clock upon the stairs, with long lean hands and famished face, ticked in cautious whispers; and when it struck the time, in thin and piping sounds, like an old man’s voice, rattled, as if it were pinched with hunger.

I am not saying anything new by pointing out these examples, but I think Dickens uses this styling to great effect and suggest the slight variations are very consciously chosen by the author. Further, I think we can see the author experimenting and perhaps by now refining this technique to a place where it will seem so natural in later novels, so we should pay careful attention to the voice in Nicholas Nickleby.

Interestingly, Noggs never reveals his information all at once, as we already saw before. This may be a burlesque element but also helps thicken the mystery and makes readers more watchful.

"Admiring what could have wound his friend up to such a pitch of mystery, Nicholas endeavoured, by a series of questions, to elucidate the cause; but in vain. Newman could not be drawn into any more explicit statement than a repetition of the perplexities he had already thrown out, and a confused oration, showing, How it was necessary to use the utmost caution; how the lynx-eyed Ralph had already seen him in company with his unknown correspondent; and how he had baffled the said Ralph by extreme guardedness of manner and ingenuity of speech; having prepared himself for such a contingency from the first."

Bionic Jean wrote: "I weep for Lord Frederick. He is probably even younger than Nicholas, and stood his ground for his principles - just as Nicholas would - for another person, who is not even aware of his sacrifice. In my view, he did not deserve this end, and remains one of the saddest characters in all the novels...."

I so agree with everything you said, Jean! I also was so sad that Dickens could even think of such an end for Lord Frederick. He truly felt remorse for what he had participated in and tried to right his wrong, and yet evil won out. I thought Reinhart's drawing of poor Lord Frederick left to lie alone in the field while everyone left him just added to the sadness of his death.

I never suspected that Lord Frederick was so young. I always thought he was in his 20s or 30s, so this makes the tragedy even sadder! And yes, like Nancy in Oliver Twist, he will be one of the saddest Dickens characters I will remember.

Shirley (stampartiste) wrote: "I so agree with everything you said, Jean! I also was so sad that Dickens could even think of such an end for Lord Frederick. He truly felt remorse for what he had participated in and tried to right his wrong, and yet evil won out. "

I share the feelings of those who have stated that Lord Frederick's death is tragic, and fundamentally unfair (and, certainly, any reader who didn't feel the same way would be heartless indeed!) But Dickens is very conscious of the fact that we live in a world where life is very often tragic and unfair; and it's part of his literary artistry that he takes that dimension seriously and reflects it realistically. Portraits of life that are composed entirely of sweetness and light ultimately fail to convince at a deeper level. Dickens does convince, and that's part of why his works endure.

Bionic Jean wrote: "Chapter 50: Involves a serious Catastrophe

Lord Verisopht realises that Hawk had pursued Miss Nickleby for his own ends. He has begun to dislike Hawk, and sits brooding over his resentment and dislike. ."

As I read these few paragraphs about Verisopht's growing disinclination to follow Mulberry Hawk and his growing anger over their treatment of Miss Nickleby, I briefly imagined the possibility of a complete falling out between them and Verisopht's ultimately assuming the role of wooing Kate Nickleby as a genuine lover.

Guess not, eh! Dickens certainly had a rather different idea in mind for the dénouement of the Verisopht character!

Whenever Newman Noggs is present I feel an inclination to both lean in so I don't miss anything and laugh aloud. I especially love his resorting to seeing a cobweb in answer to Gride's inquiry...since it would never be doubted that there was one and since Gride would completely miss the correlation between himself and this allusion.

I see bits and pieces of many later Dickens characters throughout this novel. One of the things that makes it so fascinating is that we can literally see Dickens perfecting his craft.

My favorite line from this chapter, which has so many, is “The dark square lumbering bedsteads seemed built for restless dreams.”

With the opening lines of Chapter 51, Dickens once again takes great delight in delivering one of his favorite messages: that the greediest men, despite their wealth, derive no real benefit from their ill-gotten gains; that far from living lives of ease and comfort, they tend to impose upon themselves an astonishing degree of penury and squalor. And they impress those grim conditions and their state of mind upon all who serve them and even upon the very furnishings that surround them. Even the clock, tall and grim ”with long hands and famished face, ticked in cautious whispers; and when it struck the time, in thin and piping sounds like an old man’s voice, it rattled, as if it were pinched with hunger.”
I’m reminded of Scrooge, upon being told by a waiter that more bread would be halfpenny extra, denying himself that bread.
Thus, Dickens renders such characters more human than if they were drawn as simply evil. They have become embittered by their life experiences, in effect punishing themselves for some failing that they cannot face up to. Being miserable themselves, they are (perhaps subconsciously) seeking to “even the score” by constantly striving to outsmart the next man and abuse their servants.