Nicholas Nickleby

The two mysterious guests at the Kenwigs’ gathering are Nicholas and Smike. Noggs puts Nicholas and Smike up in his apartment. Nicholas asks Noggs if Ralph heard about what happened at the school in Yorkshire. Tentatively, Noggs shares a letter Ralph received from Fanny Squeers. She accuses Nicholas of beating her father so badly that he may never walk again, of abusing her mother, of kidnapping Smike, and of stealing a garnet ring. She threatens that Nicholas could be hanged for what he has done. Noggs recommends that Nicholas speak to Ralph directly when the latter returns from his three-day business trip; he also advises that Nicholas not meet with his family until speaking to Ralph.

Meanwhile, the party continues, but Mr. Lillyvick is offended that Noggs left without a word and with a glass of punch. Mr. Crowl declares that he overheard Noggs’s conversation with the men who interrupted the party and suggests that the two men may be on the run from prison. The Kenwigs’ infant son wakes up screaming, and Nicholas, hearing the screams from next door, arrives to help. The son’s babysitter accidentally set her hair on fire, but Nicholas saves them both. Nicholas leaves, and the partygoers discuss his gentlemanly demeanor. Nicholas goes to bed while Smike and Noggs drink alcohol together; it is Smike’s first time getting drunk.

Nicholas takes a job as a private tutor and finds a humble new room to rent, though Noggs would have been happy to host him. Nicholas finds some solace in being one among a large crowd of Londoners. He’s unsatisfied with his new job so he stops at an agency and enquires about working as a gentleman’s secretary. The agency recommends that Nicholas meet with Mr. Gregsbury, a member of Parliament. Nicholas appreciates the opportunity but is offended by the agent’s comment about a beautiful woman who just passed through the agency.

Nicholas arrives at Mr. Gregsbury’s office and is surprised to find a long line of men waiting to meet with him. These men are constituents who once voted Mr. Gregsbury into power. They accuse Mr. Gregsbury of reneging on all his campaign promises and selling out his constituents for his own social power. They demand his resignation, but Mr. Gregsbury dismisses them with condescension. Mr. Gregsbury then interviews Nicholas and describes the enormous workload of the secretarial job. He offers Nicholas only 15 shillings a week, so Nicholas refuses the job: It’s too little money for the amount of work he would be doing. Nicholas then meets with Noggs, who tells him that Mr. Kenwigs wants to offer Nicholas a job as a French tutor for his children, which Nicholas happily accepts.

Kate arrives at Madame Mantalini’s shop for her first day of work. She overhears an argument between Madame and Mr. Mantalini in which Madame Mantalini accuses him of flirting with another woman. The couple meets with Kate and introduces her to another employee, Miss Knag, who will show Kate her hours and her work. The other women aren’t friendly or welcoming to Kate, and Kate feels “dispirited” by her new job. When her mother meets her after work so they can walk home together, Kate pretends to enjoy her job.

At first, Miss Knag defends Kate when Madame Mantalini calls Kate average and “awkward.” However, when a wealthy male customer wants Kate’s help and not Miss Knag’s, Madame Mantalini sends Miss Knag out of the room in favor of Kate. This makes Miss Knag furious, and she turns against Kate.

On Saturday, Kate is eager to end her first week of work. She is surprised to find Ralph Nickleby standing with her mother, waiting to walk home with her. Ralph is uncharacteristically friendly and invites Kate to his house for dinner that evening. When she arrives, she’s embarrassed to discover that she’s the only woman present. The men praise her beauty and flirt with her. One man, Sir Mulberry Hawk, corners her and grabs her dress when she tries to leave. She escapes his grip and confronts her uncle about putting her in a vulnerable situation. Ralph kicks Sir Mulberry Hawk out of the party and apologizes to Kate with unusual earnestness; he recognizes that Kate did everything he asked and was humiliated for it.

On Monday, Kate is still so distraught about the party that Miss La Creevy goes to Madame Mantalini’s to tell her Kate is too sick to work. Instead, Miss La Creevy meets Miss Knag, and they exchange tense words about Kate.

Nicholas visits Miss La Creevy to ask her for a favor: He wants her to warn his sister and mother that he is in town so that they aren’t too shocked to see him. He intends to meet with Ralph later that day to explain himself. However, Ralph beats Nicholas to it; Miss La Creevy arrives at Kate’s house just as Ralph is finishing outlining the accusations against Nicholas. Because Ralph still feels bad about what happened to Kate at the party, he promises he won’t turn Nicholas over to the authorities, even though he declares that he should. Nicholas arrives and tells his side of the story. Though Kate sides with him, his mother is unsure what to think. Ralph formally disowns Nicholas from that moment forward. Before Nicholas leaves the house, he tells Ralph, “I leave them [his mother and sister] to you, at your desire. There will be a day of reckoning, sooner or later, and it will be a heavy one for you if they are wronged” (399).

Back at Nicholas’s apartment, Smike reveals that he feels he is a burden to Nicholas, who he says has lost weight. Nicholas begs Smike to stay because he helps keep Nicholas’s spirits up.

Kate takes three days off work, and when she returns Miss Knag and the other girls treat her derisively. Madame Mantalini is struggling with anxieties about her husband and sends Kate back to work before arguing with Mr. Mantalini about his debts. Kate is interrupted in her work by two strange men, a Mr. Scaley and a Mr. Tix, who are looking for Mr. Mantalini. Mr. Mantalini owes over 1,500 pounds, and these men are here to collect the money. Mr. Mantalini can’t pay them, so the men start taking inventory of the apartment in preparation for repossessing some of his belongings. Madame Mantalini accuses her husband of ruining her, which drives Mr. Mantalini into a violent rage. Two days later, the Mantalinis’ bankruptcy is announced and Miss Knag takes over the business, firing Kate.

Kate’s mother sees an advertisement for a job that Ralph agrees would be perfect for Kate: young companion to a married lady, Mrs. Wititterly. Kate and Mrs. Nickleby go to interview with Mrs. Wititterly, an elderly woman whose husband is concerned about her nerves and anxieties. Kate gets the job.

Nicholas comes up with a plan to leave London for Portsmouth, where he and Smike can board a ship and emigrate if they can’t find good work. Only Newman Noggs knows that Nicholas and Smike are leaving, but Nicholas doesn’t tell him where they’re going. On the journey, Nicholas and Smike discuss Smike’s absent memories: Smike remembers very little from his childhood and can’t recall having a mother. Smike and Nicholas stay overnight at an inn where Nicholas meets a Mr. Vincent Crummles, who works in a traveling theater troupe. Like Smike and Nicholas, the troupe is heading toward Portsmouth, and Mr. Crummles offers Nicholas and Smike work. Despite his reservations about leaving his family, Nicholas accepts.

Nicholas and Smike accompany Mr. Crummles to Portsmouth, Nicholas going by “Mr. Johnson” instead of his real name. At the theater, Mr. Crummles’s daughter, Ninetta, performs a scene that impresses Nicholas. Ninetta is the star of the troupe, her infant-like features hide her real age, which impresses everyone who sees her perform. Nicholas also meets the other performers and receives his first assignment: to translate a play from French to English. Nicholas finds an apartment in Portsmouth for himself and Smike.

Nicholas is asked to accompany Ninetta to solicit donations from patrons. Later, they perform onstage together. Nicholas’s acting debut is a success.

Nicholas is not only a success on stage; his new job also pays well. Mr. Crummles decides to bring on a new act: Miss Henrietta Petowker. Nicholas recognizes her from her stage picture.

One night after Nicholas performs with Miss Petowker, he learns that a man wants to speak with him: He is surprised to find that it is Mr. Lillyvick. Mr. Lillyvick and Henrietta are engaged, but Mr. Lillyvick is keeping this a secret from his family until they are married. Mr. Lillyvick knows his family, the Kenwigs, will be concerned that Henrietta will get all his money, which they too depend on. Mr. Lillyvick and Henrietta have a small wedding with the theater troupe in attendance. That night, Nicholas practices lines from Romeo and Juliet with Smike.

Sir Mulberry Hawk lies to the young Lord Frederick Verisopht that Ralph Nickleby invited his niece Kate to the earlier dinner party to set her up with Frederick. Lord Verisopht is pleased because he found Kate very beautiful. Sir Mulberry and Lord Verisopht go to Ralph, with whom Lord Verisopht asks to meet privately concerning Kate. Ralph hesitantly gives Lord Verisopht Kate’s address so he can call on her. On their way out, Sir Mulberry and Lord Verisopht run into Mrs. Nickleby, on her way in. She reveals her address to both Sir Mulberry and Lord Verisopht. She delivers a letter to Ralph and accepts Sir Mulberry’s offer to walk her out. Sir Mulberry charms Mrs. Nickleby so much by praising her daughter that she fantasizes about Kate marrying him and securing both a husband and wealth. Back at his office, Ralph worries about Kate getting involved with either Sir Mulberry or Lord Verisopht.

Two men named Mr. Pluck and Mr. Pyke call on Mrs. Nickleby at her house. They introduce themselves as friends of Sir Mulberry Hawk. They invite her, on Sir Mulberry’s behalf, to a private box at the theater. Mrs. Nickleby is particularly charmed by Mr. Pluck. At the theater, she notes that Sir Mulberry and Lord Verisopht are acting odd, but she’s pleasantly surprised that Kate is also in attendance alongside Mrs. Wititterly. Kate is upset to see that her mother has befriended Sir Mulberry. Sir Mulberry tries to flirt with Kate, and she confronts him about his behavior, swearing to never feel anything but contempt for him.