The Old Curiosity Shop

First published in 1840-41, this novel follows Nell Trent and her grandfather, who keep a London curiosity shop and fall into debt to the dwarf moneylender Daniel Quilp. To escape him they leave the city on foot, taking shelter with showmen, a schoolmaster, and wanderers of the road, while back in London Kit Nubbles, Dick Swiveller, and others become entangled in Quilp's schemes and in the search for the pair. The grandfather's gambling and Quilp's pursuit drive the action. The book is a wandering novel of flight and London vice, not a mystery of hidden inheritance.

Top edges gilt. Dark red slipcase.