Customer Reviews
A Good Read - By: L. Spurling, 07 Sep 2007 
I have just finished reading this book & I must say that I found it a little disjointed, although there were some real gems of characters in it - Swiveller, the Brasses, Quilp. That's why I've given it a 4 instead of a 3. The "good" characters were, as often in Dickens, rather boring & just too good to be true. Some things were left unsaid: for instance, how did Quilp's wife ever get to marry him!!!! There was a little note at the end that said her mother coerced her, but that part of the story might have been a lot better. All in alll worth a read and, despite my criticisms, I wish I could write a fraction as good as Dickens!
Twee heroine but revel in the characters - By: David Morley, 03 Aug 2006 The basic set up of this story may have pulled at Victorian heart stings but I thought it just silly : Nell, a young girl (12 I think) is brought into poverty by her uselss gambler of a grandfather & so decides they should both escape from the evil clutches of Quilp & run away to live as travellers in the countryside.
As is often the case in Dickens the good characters are dull & Nell is certainly this. Dull & niave the book drags when it's just her & her ga ga grandfather trapssing around the countryside. However, what saves the books is the great characters around them. Mrs Jaffery who runs the wax works, Richard Swiveller & the Marchioness, the noble, trustworthy Kit & of course the vile Quilp. Quilp is the star of the book, evil incarnate he steals every scene he's in. I'd love a reallly dark version of this story to be made for tv or the cinema.
The essence of Charles Dickens - By: Catfish, 28 Jul 2006 
This is the story of a little girl callled Nell, who together with her grandfather, must run away from a succession of villains in an almost epic journey! You'll find everything here that you love about Charles Dickens: humour, satire, drama, unforgettable characters, laughter, & tears (I read somewhere that when Dickens read The Old Curiosity Shop at his public readings, the audience would actuallly burst into mass tears!) There are moments of heart-warming joy & moments of despair, & I think anyone with empathy & imagination will love this classic tale of good & evil.
A word of warning though: if you buy an edition with annotations, don't read them!! I made this fatal mistake, & was informed by a note in the middle of the novel about the fate of one of the main characters & what happens to the person at the end. What a spoiler! It ruined the whole pleasure of reading for me & I only managed to finish because the narrative was so lovely... if it had been any other novel I would surely not have bothered to go on to the end. Allow yourself the pleasure of reading this novel for its warmth & literary greatness - don't touch the notes.
Quite Delightful - By: Ganime B. Akin, 28 Apr 2004 I found this Charles Dickens novel quite what I expected: vividcharacters, demonic villains, comedy & tragedy together. I especialllyliked Mr. Swiveller & Marchionette. I liked how Swiveller turns out tobe at the end. Quilp was one of the worst villains I ever met inliterature. The parts where Dickens describes the poverty & inhumanconditions in the beginning of the industrialization process are simplytouching. Also towards the end, Nell's wanderings in the ancient town areso foretelling that one cannot help being moved. Although I found the plotto be quite predictable, it takes nothing away from the story. Theillustrations are quite fun too.
An amazing piece of work - By: Steven Brown, 10 Apr 2003 I had bought this book in a multi-buy deal with other classics, & somehow it managed to sit on my bookshelf for almost a year before I got round to reading it - by the time I had finished it, I was kicking myself that it been wasting away for so long!
There are so many things going on it, & although some things are just *too* coincidental, it never fails to grab you into the story. Couple this with the fact that Dickens can draw a wonderful picture of London of his time, & you feel part of the whole thing.
The characters are wonderful as well - my favourites being Quilp, the evil dwarf, & Richard Swiveller (his antics 'working' in the office were always highly amusing).
In short, a real rollercoaster of a novel, thoroughly recommended!!
