One of Dickens's most flamboyant and theatrical novels, Nicholas Nicklebyis the story of an impulsive young man who, forced to make his way in the world, encounters human life in all its variety- the tyrannical headmaster Wackford Squeers, the tragic orphan Smike, the ridiculous Mantalinis, the hilarious thespians Mr and Mrs Crummles and their daughter, 'the infant phenomenon'.

Nicholas Nicklebyis fired by outrage at cruelty and injustice, but is above all a work filled with riotous, life-affirming comedy.