Book description
In an old curiosity shop, amidst the gloom and poverty, lives a
grandfather and his beautiful granddaughter, 'Little Nell' Trent. When
Nell's grandfather gambles away money borrowed from the vengeful and
sadistic Daniel Quilp, the shop is seized in payment for overdue debts
and both Nell and her grandfather are evicted.
Homeless, Nell and her grandfather are left destitute, but this is
only the beginning of Nell's tragic journey ...
Charles Dickens was born in Landport in Portsmouth on 7 February
1812. Sent to work in a blacking factory at the age of twelve, after
his Navy Pay Office clerk father was imprisoned for debt, Dickens's
memories of this unhappy period haunted him throughout his life and
influenced much of his writing. After stints as a clerk and a
shorthand reporter in the law courts, Dickens became a reporter of
parliamentary debates for the Morning Chronicle until the huge
success of his first books enabled him to become a full-time author.
Charles Dickens died on 9 June 1870, leaving his last novel The
Mystery of Edwin Drood unfinished.
Peter Ackroyd's biography of Charles Dickens was published in 1990
to enormous critical acclaim. He has also written another major
biography, T. S. Eliot, which was awarded the 1984 Whitbread
Prize and was joint winner of the Royal Society of Literature's
William Heinemann Award. Peter Ackroyd's novels include The Last
Testament of Oscar Wilde, Milton in America,
The Clerkenwell Tales and The Fall of Troy and his
non-fiction works include Ezra Pound and his World and
London: The Biography, among others. His most recent
biography is Poe: A Life Cut Short.
