Nicholas Nickleby (or The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby) is a novel by Charles Dickens. Originally published as a serial from 1838 to 1839, it was Dickens's third novel. Left penniless by the death of his improvident father, young Nicholas Nickleby assumes responsibility for his mother and sister and seeks help from his Scrooge-like Uncle Ralph. Instantly disliking Nicholas, Ralph sends him to teach in a school run by the stupidly sadistic Wackford Squeers. Nicholas decides to escape, taking with him the orphan Smike, one of Squeers's most abused young charges, and the two embark on a series of adventurous encounters with an array of humanity's worst and best—greedy fools, corrupt lechers, cheery innocents, and selfless benefactors. 'Nickleby' marks a new development in a further sense as it is the first of Dickens's romances. When it was published the book was an immediate and complete success and established Dickens's lasting reputation.
