Reflections on The Old Curiosity Shop | Mega Dickens Readalong
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 16 ก.ค. 2024
- #Dickensalong
In which I discuss my thoughts on The Old Curiosity Shop . . .
The Old Curiosity Shop, Charles Dickens: / 429024.the_old_curiosi...
The audiobook I listened to: www.audible.co.uk/pd/The-Old-...
Plotting Disability in the Nineteenth Century Novel: / plotting-disability-in...
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The Schedule
The Pickwick Papers, 1837: October and November 2022
Oliver Twist, 1838: December 2022
Nicholas Nickleby, 1839: January and February 2023
The Old Curiosity Shop, 1841: March 2023
Barnaby Rudge, 1841: April and May 2023
Martin Chuzzlewit, 1844: June and July 2023
Dombey and Son, 1848: August and September 2023
David Copperfield, 1850: October and November 2023
Bleak House, 1853: December 2023 and January 2024
Hard Times, 1854: February 2024
Little Dorrit, 1855: March and April 2024
A Tale of Two Cities, 1859: May 2024
Great Expectations, 1861: June 2024
Our Mutual Friend, 1865: July and August 2024
The Mystery of Edwin Drood, 1870: September 2024
My Debut Novel
My debut novel, The Secrets of Hartwood Hall, is OUT NOW.
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General Links
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Email: katie.booksandthings@gmail.com
General Links
My website: www.katielumsden.co.uk
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Twitter: / katiejlumsden
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Email: katie.booksandthings@gmail.com
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So firstly I loved this book. I seem to have gotten the impression that Quilp hated Pip because Pip stood up to him arrogantly to protect Nell. Quilp said to the Brass’s that he needed Pip out of the way so he could get at the old man and Nell. I also loved the love story between Swivler and the small girl and I could have cried tears of joy when he called her the marchioness. I hated the grandfather and what he did to Nell. I had a hard time forgetting his weakness and her untimely death because of him. Great story teller that Dickens.
Fascinating analysis, or exploration of your own reactions to Dickybags ;
although I have to admit I haven't read the OCS, Katie ~ but overall a
fascinating vlog or video podcast ❤️
As always a great video presentation of Dicken's novel. You said a lot of wonderful things about the characters in this novel. Another problematic aspect of the novel is Quilp's lust for Nell, he even suggests that she would make a good second wife for him after his current wife dies. I agree that Dickens did present Nell's grandfather's gambling addiction in a powerful way, especially the scene where he breaks into Nell's room and robs from her purse. I liked Mrs. Jarley and how she was so protective of Nell. Kit and his family were wonderful additions to the story!
I read the Old Curiosity Shop for the first time about 35-40 years ago, when I was a teenager or in my early twenties, and back then I decided I HATED it and would NEVER read it again (I could not accept what happens in the two chapters before the last one.
However, your videos about Dickens motivated me to join the Mega Dickens Readalong.
I really enjoyed this second reading. Those two chapters are so sweet and well written, I really loved them. Besides I still remembered several things and I know I enjoyed reading the book even then.
Thank you, Katie.
The Old Curiosity Shop was quite a book and I did enjoy it more the second time around. A couple of my favorite quotes (and there are many more than these) are: “Such is the difference between yesterday and today. We are all going to the play, or coming home from it.” And, “I won't go so far as to say, that, as it is, I've seen wax-work quite like life, but I've certainly seen some life that was exactly like wax-work.” Katie, your synopsis was spot-on and does justice to the work. Thanks!
Thanks very much!
Hi there i am currently reading your book ' the secrets of hartwood hall' and loving it !!! :) hugs from Essex x
Thanks so much!
I loved this book. For me it's a great odyssey through England's market towns and villages, getting back a little to the Pickwick Papers. Again we meet such a load of colourful and memorable minor characters. Yes it does have a slight fairytale feel to it. I think Quilp is meant to be the monster, both in behaviour and appearance.
You can't talk about it though without talking about Quilp.
Quilp is the most diabolical creation I think I've ever read, delighting in his misdeeds and seemingly to genuinely be motivated by taking pleasure from tormenting people under his power like the Grandfather. I've never seen an adaptation that hasn't in some way toned him down because my goodness it would not be very PC today. He might be the most offensive villain I can recall in fiction, there's just no way on earth you'd be able to have a repusively lecherous character who is also apparently a dwarf.
Little Nell is pretty much an angel in this and he is pretty much a devil, the extremes are so great in this book.
I'm sure Dickens had fun writing him, but my goodness you couldn't get away with that today....and I've read some controversial novels too like Huckleburry Finn and Gone with the Wind.
For me though its a fantastic story, imaginative, with rich extraordinary characters. Quilp is a brilliant villain, sardonic and wicked, a man who seems to enjoy toying with and terrifying his victims, he just loves being bad.
Dickens has always dwelt on the physical appearance of his characters, including the villains.
"There I saw him, lying on his back, with his legs extending to I don’t know where, gurglings taking place in his throat, stoppages in his nose, and his mouth open like a post office … Afterwards I was attracted to him in very repulsion, and could not help wandering in and out every half hour or so, and taking another look at him."
This was my second reading of the novel (I listened to the Anton Lesser audiobook). I have to think I wasn’t in the right headspace at the time because I was bored (even though I thought the narrator did a great job). My notes indicate that I enjoyed it the first time I read it. You presented some interesting theories that really have me thinking now. Thank you for the video and the readalong project.
Hello It was my first read of the novel. I really enjoyed the book, particularly the travel sequences. The Quilp character is problematic through exacting modern eyes, but he is comedic through a kind of cartoon like portrayal. I think his terrible character is exaggerated to make him much larger than life. For example, when he's drinking the boiling, scolding hot punch in his abode towards the end and his ridiculous violent outburst to the people around him. I also found the reflections of Nell on meaning and death in the village, towards the end, interesting and poignant. I will try to re-read it at some point, but on to Barnaby! Thanks Katie.
I'm also currently reading all of Dickens's novels in publication order. I'm still reading The Old Curiosity Shop and I'm enjoying it so far. When I'm finished reading it I”ll come back and listen to your entire video( I”m avoiding any spoilers 🤭☺️) It's my first time reading all of Dickens's works and I've loved all that I've read so far.
I CAN'T believe Book Depository is closing soon! OMG! 🥺😢😭 That is where I order all my Victorian literature.
I know, it's so sad!
Thank you so much for your insight. I'm always blown away by how in-depth you get. On the surface, this wasn't my favorite read. I was even bored in a lot of places. But there were some really interesting moments and themes (the gambling addiction). I found myself thinking more about it afterwards. Whisker, the obstinate pony was just the cutest and I had fun telling my little girls all about him after. They loved the illustration of him, lol. Yeah, all the salivating over teen girls is gross. While it is explicitly illegal now, I still think the male fantasy of finding a fresh, young virgin wholly devoted to him is pretty prevalent still. There's just something icky about being hit with it in the works of literary greats. Anyway...I look forward to your preview video of Barnaby Rudge. 😊
Thanks so much! The pony is excellent, but yes, there are some weird things in Old Curiosity Shop . . .
IMO good literary criticism works both ways: It explains the literature of today and tomorrow, as well as that of yesterday. Gender based literary criticism sometimes is out-of-sync with older works, however with the few Dickens I've read it seems possible to wield a gender theory relevant to his work and times. This is true in Shakespeare too. Obviously, many of his plays present gender roles that have become distasteful to current audiences, nevertheless they are populated with a large universe of intelligent, strong women who are the primary forces moving the stories forward.
I have weird feelings about TOCS - on one hand, there were so many interesting bits - The Marchioness, The Brasses, Nell and her grandfather's journey - but at the same time, I don't remember loving the reading experience. Maybe it's time for a reread
Just finished it myself listening on audio book same as yourself. It was good. Not as good as Oliver Twist or Nicholas Nickleby, but still an interesting story. I was a little surprised that there was very little of Nell and her grandfather and it was more about characters like Kit and Mr Swizzler
I prefer Kit and Mr Swizzler to be honest, so that's one of the things I like about the book!
@@katiejlumsden I loved those two characters - it was just a surprise not to read more about Nell and her grandfather
I was most struck by the fact that The Old Curiosity Shop and Barnaby Rudge,written back to back or concurrently,have characters suffering from an intellectual or psychiatric/emotional disorder(in the latter case one might say autistic)being looked after by their nearest and dearest.Was Dickens preoccupied with this reality at the time?In the notes concerning the former work it seems he often alludes to Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress and Shakespeare's King Lear.
I'm not sure; I guess it's a theme that crops up in quite a few Dickens books.