Items related to The Old Curiosity Shop
First published as a weekly serial in 1841, "The Old Curiosity Shop" is a novel that details the life of a young orphaned girl named Nell Trent. She lives with her loving grandfather in his London curiosity shop, until a gamble for wealth forces them to leave for the English countryside, penniless. After their departure, they are sought by both friends who wish to help them and cruel men with harmful designs. The pair of beggars ultimately experience the extremes of human loyalty and villainy in their state of abject poverty. Although one of his lesser known works, Dickens artfully displays a cast of diverse characters in a tale that captivates readers to its tragic conclusion.
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Review:
The sound of Little Nell clattering hurriedly over cobblestones immediately sets the stage by bringing to mind the narrow and dangerous streets of Victorian London. No fewer than 20 performers are called upon to conjure up the Dickensian world of wanderers, ne'er-do-wells, con artists, and kind Samaritans--and each performance is excellent. Tom Courtenay plays the sadistic Quilp, "the ugliest dwarf that could be seen anywhere for a penny" with magnificent sarcastic glee, and Teresa Gallagher's silvery, childlike voice is ideally suited for the role of the angelic Little Nell.
From the Publisher:
Nell is on her way home to the dusty shop where she and her grandfather live a rather mysterious life. The old man disappears every night--visiting gambling dens with the naive hope of winning a fortune. Instead he sinks deeper and deeper into debt. Enter Daniel Quilp, moneylender, who becomes furious upon learning that the grandfather is a pauper and will never be able to repay his tremendous debt. Quilp seizes the curiosity shop and begins making lecherous overtures to Nell, so she and her grandfather steal away one morning to seek their fortunes elsewhere. But the demonic dwarf is never far behind.
Sound effects are employed judiciously and serve mainly as a springboard for the listener's imagination. The sound of a crying baby is enough to convey the image of crowded lodgings and genteel Victorian poverty, while raucous laughter and high-pitched squawks evoke the barely controlled chaos of an outdoor Punch and Judy show. The dramatization pares Dickens's weighty novel down to two and one-half hours, but does so skillfully, retaining Dickens's wit, marvelous dialogue, and delightful characterizations. (Running time: 155 minutes, 2 cassettes) --Elizabeth Laskey
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- PublisherDigireads.Com
- Publication date2009
- ISBN 10 1420932322
- ISBN 13 9781420932324
- BindingPaperback
- Number of pages344
- Rating
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