The Old Curiosity Shop - Charles Dickens - Ch.1

he Old Curiosity Shop tells the story of Nell Trent, a beautiful and virtuous young girl of "not quite fourteen". An orphan, she lives with her maternal grandfather (whose name is never revealed) in his shop of odds and ends. Her grandfather loves her dearly, and Nell does not complain, but she lives a lonely existence with almost no friends her own age. Her only friend is Kit, an honest boy employed at the shop, whom she is teaching to write. Secretly obsessed with ensuring that Nell does not die in poverty as her parents did, her grandfather attempts to provide Nell with a good inheritance through gambling at cards. He keeps his nocturnal games a secret, but borrows heavily from the evil Daniel Quilp, a malicious, grotesquely deformed, hunchbacked dwarf moneylender. In the end, he gambles away what little money they have, and Quilp seizes the opportunity to take possession of the shop and evict Nell and her grandfather. Her grandfather suffers a breakdown that leaves him bereft of his wits, and Nell takes him away to the Midlands of England, to live as beggars.

Do you enjoy the variety of Chesterton Radio shows?
Please consider supporting us.
https://www.patreon.com/chestertonradio

Visit the Chesterton Radio Shop
http://Shop.ChestertonRadio.com

Follow us on Mastodon
https://mstdn.social/@ChestertonRadio

Follow us on Parler
https://parler.com/profile/ChestertonRadio/posts

Follow us on GAB
https://www.gab.com/chestertonradio

Follow us on Twitter
@ChestertonRadio
https://twitter.com/ChestertonRadio

Enjoy our shows anytime!
http://Christmas.ChestertonRadio.com
http://CinnamonBear.ChestertonRadio.com
http://Plays.ChestertonRadio.com
http://Listen.ChestertonRadio.com
http://Player.ChestertonRadio.com
http://Orthodoxy.ChestertonRadio.com
http://EverlastingMan.ChestertonRadio.com
http://Eugenics.ChestertonRadio.com
http://Distributism.ChestertonRadio.com
http://FatherBrown.ChestertonRadio.com
http://Gunsmoke.ChestertonRadio.com
http://AveMariaHour.ChestertonRadio.com