Nicholas Nickleby

Ralph Nickleby has done well for himself, though no one can pinpoint if he works or how he maintains his lifestyle. Ralph employs a former gentleman, Newman Noggs, whom Ralph hired when Newman sought Ralph’s help getting out of debt. Most people don’t know that Ralph pays Newman a pitiably low salary or that Ralph relies on Newman to keep his business secrets.

Ralph and his associate, Mr. Bonney, discuss the United Metropolitan Improved Hot Muffin and Crumpet Baking and Punctual Delivery Company. Ralph has invested in this company, and he hopes to make a profit by driving up the company’s value and then selling his shares. Together, the men attend a committee meeting with members of Parliament. The committee, led by Sir Matthew Pupker, is advocating for Parliament to help United Metropolitan by granting it a monopoly on the muffin business. United Metropolitan accuses other muffin businesses of abusing their delivery boys and failing to promote muffin consumption as widely as possible. The committee secures emotional promises of support from members of Parliament.

Newman delivers a message to Ralph about his brother, Nicholas. Newman’s expressions are difficult to read, but the message explains that Ralph’s brother has died. Nicholas has left behind one son, one daughter, and a widow, all of whom are now in London.

Ralph visits the grieving family at the address they left for him. They are currently renting a floor in a woman’s apartment. Ralph warns the woman against renting out to the recent widow and her children, saying she likely won’t be able to pay her. Then Ralph goes to his sister-in-law’s floor and meets his 18-year-old nephew, Nicholas, and his niece, Kate, for the first time. Ralph mocks his sister-in-law’s claim that her husband died of a broken heart, offending Nicholas. Nicholas’s mother explains that her husband’s dying wish was for her to ask Ralph for financial help for her children. Ralph recommends Nicholas take a job as an assistant to Mr. Wackford Squeers of the Squeers Academy in Yorkshire. Nicholas agrees that getting a job with Mr. Squeers might lead to other opportunities that could save his family from destitution and tries to set his initial distaste for Ralph aside; he leaves with his uncle to speak to Mr. Squeers. In private, Mrs. Nickleby assures Kate that Ralph must be kinder than he seems; she has begun to believe Ralph’s hints that her husband (his brother) did her wrong by leading her into financial ruin.

Mr. Squeers is currently in London to collect some boys who will be attending his school. Mr. Squeers is portrayed as “sinister” and “villainous” due to having one eye, flat hair, and a wrinkled face. He makes a little boy who is in his care cry and meets with a man who recently attained stepsons through marriage and wants to send the children away. Mr. Squeers does not hide the fact that his school cares little for the boys’ well-being, and he assures the new stepfather that there are no school breaks during which the boys could go home.

Ralph and Nicholas arrive, and Mr. Squeers recognizes Ralph because Ralph once funded the tuition of a boy who died at Mr. Squeers’s school. Nicholas gets the job, and Ralph sends him on an errand to his office, where Nicholas meets Newton Noggs. When Newton hears about how Ralph has set up Nicholas, he acts so strangely that Nicholas assumes he is drunk.

On the morning of his departure from London, Nicholas joins Mr. Squeers at the latter’s inn for breakfast. The meal is awkward because Mr. Squeers refers to the new students by number and doesn’t allow them to eat. Nicholas is surprised by the arrival of his mother and sister, who want to say another goodbye. Mr. Squeers comments on Kate’s beauty, angering Nicholas. Nicholas, Mr. Squeers, and the new pupils leave for the school, but that night their carriage topples over amid bad weather.

Nicholas saves the other carriage passengers by ensuring that the horses still harnessed to the toppled carriage don’t try to run away. Some people sustain minor injuries, but no one is hurt too badly. The passengers walk to a nearby boarding house. They share a bowl of punch, and two of the passengers trade stories. The carriage is repaired and made ready, and the passengers continue their journey.

Nicholas, the new pupils, and Mr. Squeers arrive at the school. Nicholas experiences anxiety when he realizes “[h]is great distance from home and the impossibility of reaching it, except on foot, should he feel ever so anxious to return” (128-29). Mr. Squeers and his wife give Nicholas dinner and prepare a bed for him. While doing so, they yell at a young man who works for them, Smike, and Nicholas notices that he is underdressed and looks frightened and in poor health. Undressing for the night, Nicholas finds a letter Noggs stashed in his coat pocket before he left London; in it, Noggs offers his home as a refuge.

The next morning, Mr. Squeers wakes Nicholas, and Nicholas realizes that Mr. and Mrs. Squeers view their pupils primarily as enemies and sources of income. Mr. Squeers brings Nicholas to the schoolhouse, and Nicholas is shocked. The classroom itself is run down with old papers covering broken windows. The boys are underfed, injured, and have a vacant look in their eyes. The whole setting is reminiscent of a prison. The morning passes with lessons in spelling, during which Mr. Squeers misspells several words. That afternoon, Mr. Squeers describes his trip to London, which includes reading letters from the boys’ families aloud and berating those whose parents or guardians are behind on tuition. He beats a boy with a cane when the boy’s wart-covered hands brush against Mr. Squeers’s sleeve. Mr. Squeers keeps any gifts that are sent to the boys for himself. Nicholas resolves to make the best of the situation for the good of his family, but he worries that his uncle will set Kate up in a similarly miserable job.

That evening, Nicholas chats with Smike, who is scared of him. Smike reveals that he’s been at the school since childhood and recalls holding a friend and fellow student as he died.

While the boys and Nicholas sleep in a crowded dormitory, Mr. Squeers enjoys a private apartment with his wife and adult children. Mrs. Squeers declares that she hates Nicholas. Mr. Squeers explains that he needs an assistant—a position he compares to an overseer of enslaved people.

Mr. Squeers’s daughter, Fanny, is 23 years old and unwed, so the conversation about a young man piques her interest. She goes to the schoolhouse pretending to need a pen so she can meet Nicholas, whom she finds very handsome. Fanny soon tells her best friend, Tilda, about how infatuated she is with him. She makes up conversations between her and Nicholas to make it seem that Nicholas is courting her.

Fanny plans a tea for Tilda and Tilda’s fiancé, John, and arranges for Nicholas to attend. John jokes that Nicholas won’t get fed much at the school, which offends Nicholas. Tilda makes several innuendos about Nicholas’s relationship with Fanny, which confuses him. Nicholas is too well-mannered not to participate in tea and a card game, but when he leaves Tilda and Fanny get into an argument about the gathering.

Kate sits for a portrait by her landlord, Miss La Creevy. They discuss Kate’s prospects, and Miss La Creevy suggests that Kate’s uncle can fund a dowry. Kate rejects the idea of marriage and declares that the only thing she needs from Ralph is help finding a job that can enable her to keep living with her mother. Nevertheless, she tries to excuse Ralph’s “rough” manner, saying there are rumors he experienced a “disappointment” as a young man.

They are interrupted by Ralph, who seems to have overheard their conversation. Ralph has a job lined up for Kate with a dressmaker and milliner named Madame Mantalini, whom he takes Kate to meet. They also encounter Madame Mantalini’s husband, who makes a crude comment about the beauty of the women who work for Madame Mantalini. The pay isn’t great, but Kate accepts the job. Ralph decides to put up Kate and her mother in an empty house that he owns.

Newman Noggs brings Kate and her mother to their new home. Though the house is large, it is clearly unkept. It’s messy and rundown, making Kate nervous. Noggs has found furniture for them as well, and he doesn’t correct Mrs. Nickleby when she notes that Ralph was kind to give them both the house and the furniture.

Fanny’s servant, Phoebe, remarks that Tilda isn’t a good friend and that Tilda’s fiancé would leave Tilda for Fanny if he had the chance. Fanny is pleased by this idea but then hears from Tilda that she and John will marry in three weeks. Fanny initially blames Tilda and John for ruining things between her and Nicholas, but the friends later make up.

They run into Nicholas while he is out walking, and Tilda confronts him about his feelings for Fanny. Nicholas assures her that he’s not in love with Fanny and never has been interested in a relationship with her. This hurts Fanny’s pride, and she urges her mother to treat Nicholas even more cruelly. Things get so bad that Smike is beaten for being friends with Nicholas. Nicholas encourages Smike to leave.

The morning after Nicholas’s conversation with Smike about leaving, Mr. Squeers can’t find Smike anywhere and concludes that Smike has run away without money or a place to go. Mr. and Mrs. Squeers try to find him, and the latter eventually succeeds, bringing him back bound with rope. Mr. Squeers whips him in front of the entire school. Nicholas can’t stand watching the beating and stands up for Smike. Mr. Squeers punches Nicholas, so Nicholas grabs the whip and hits Mr. Squeers with it. While Mr. Squeers’s family attends to his injuries, Nicholas packs his clothes and leaves the school. He is very far from London but resolves to walk back to his family. On the way, he runs into John, who is impressed that Nicholas whipped the schoolmaster. John insists on giving Nicholas some money. Nicholas continues his journey and stops in a cottage for the night. When he wakes up, he sees Smike in his room. Smike has followed Nicholas and wants to remain with him.