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DOMINOES
Series Editors: Bill Bowler and Sue Parminter

Nicholas
Nickleby
Charles Dickens

Text adaptation by Tim Herdon

Illustrated by Simon Gurr

Charles Dickens (1812–1870) was born in Portsmouth, England,

and for most of his life lived in or near London. His family
was poor, and he had to go out to work in a factory at the age
of twelve. Dickens never forgot this difficult time, and many
of his books describe the problems of poor people, especially
poor children, and the wide differences between the rich and
the poor. When he was older, Dickens started working for a
newspaper and then wrote some of the most famous novels
in English, including Hard Times which is also available as
a Domino.

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Chapter one
A new start
When old Mr Nick Nickleby died at home in Devon in the debt money that
you must pay back
south-west of England, he left many debts behind him. to someone
Once these were paid, his wife, his son – Nicholas – and uncle your
father’s (or
his daughter – Kate – found themselves with little money mother’s) brother

and no house to live in. There was only one person that finance to do with
money
they could turn to for help: Ralph Nickleby, the children’s sad not happy
uncle. Mrs Nickleby didn’t really know him, but – because
he was in the London finance business – he was rich and
knew many people. Before her husband died, he said that
Ralph would help them. So she wrote a letter to say that
they were coming, and the very next day they all travelled
to London.
Soon after they arrived, Ralph Nickleby came to the little
house where they were staying. He wore fine clothes, but
had cold eyes and a hard voice. He didn’t look very
sad about his brother’s death.

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‘How did he die?’ he asked Mrs Nickleby.

‘The doctors don’t really know what the problem was.
We think that perhaps he died of a broken heart,’ replied
Mrs Nickleby.
‘I’ve heard of people dying of a broken neck, but a broken
heart? Never. A man can’t pay his debts and so he dies of
a broken heart! Ha!’ laughed Ralph Nickleby coldly.
‘Some people have no heart to break,’ said Nicholas to
himself quietly.
‘How old is this boy?’ asked Ralph Nickleby, looking angrily
at Nicholas.
‘Nearly nineteen,’ replied Mrs Nickleby.
‘And how will you pay for your food now, boy?’ Ralph
Nickleby asked Nicholas.
‘I shall not cost you or my mother anything at all,’ replied
Nicholas.
For a while Nicholas and his uncle looked at each other
without speaking. The older man saw in front of him a young
man who was kind and honest, and from that moment he
hated him.
Then Ralph Nickleby talked with Mrs Nickleby about finding
work for poor but beautiful Kate. Turning back to Nicholas,
he showed him an advertisement in the newspaper that
he had with him.
heart the centre
of feeling in
someone; this is
in your chest and
it sends the blood
round your body
honest saying
things that are true
hate not to love
advertisement
you pay to put this
information in a
newspaper Yorkshire was far away, in the north-east of England, but
inn an old name Nicholas was excited.
for a hotel near
a road ‘Perhaps our luck is changing!’ he thought.

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‘We must go and see Mr Squeers immediately, before he

gives the job to another young man,’ said Ralph Nickleby.
•
When Nicholas and his uncle arrived at the inn, Squeers
was busy with some new students. He was a short man,
about fifty years old. He had only one greeny-grey eye in
his face, where people usually prefer two, and he looked
very strange in his black suit, which was too long for him
in the arms, and too short for him in the legs.
‘Mr Squeers, this is my nephew, Mr Nicholas Nickleby.
We’re here because of your newspaper advertisement,’ said
Ralph Nickleby.
‘He’s too young to be a teacher,’ Squeers said at once,
looking at Nicholas.
But after talking quietly with Ralph Nickleby for a while,
he turned back to Nicholas with a smile, saying, ‘The job is
yours. Our coach leaves at eight o’clock tomorrow morning.
Be here early to help with the new students.’
‘Certainly,’ replied Nicholas. And to his uncle he said, ‘I
shall never forget how kind you’ve been.’
•
The next day, Nicholas said goodbye sadly to his sister and
his mother at the inn.
‘How will they survive without me?’ he thought with a
heavy heart.
Just before Nicholas got onto the coach, someone pushed a
strange not usual
letter into his hand. It was Newman Noggs, Ralph Nickleby’s nephew your
clerk. Nicholas quickly put it into his pocket. sister’s (or
brother’s) son
The journey to Yorkshire was long and hard, and they coach a kind of
car with horses
stopped at different inns on the way. Squeers ate a lot at
survive to live
every meal, but gave very little food to the students who through a difficult
or dangerous time
were with him.
clerk someone
‘He worries more about the cost of the meals than he does who does the
writing work in an
about those poor, hungry boys,’ thought Nicholas. office

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In the evening of the second day, they arrived in Yorkshire.

There was snow everywhere, and in front of them was a
long, low building with dark windows. It looked cold and
unpleasant. This was the school – Dotheboys Hall.
Inside Mrs Squeers was waiting for them. She looked at
Nicholas coldly, then turned to her husband.
‘How is my Squeery?’ she said.
‘Very well my love,’ replied Squeers. ‘How are the cows
and the other animals?’
‘Very well.’
‘And the boys?’ asked Squeers.
‘Oh, they’re well, too,’ replied Mrs Squeers quickly in a
hard voice.
After that, they talked about parents who paid their debts to
the school and parents who couldn’t pay. Then Mrs Squeers
put a cold supper on the table for her husband – and for
Nicholas. Squeers ate and drank a lot; Nicholas had only a
little. Then they all went to bed. Before he went to sleep on
his bed on the floor upstairs, Nicholas took Noggs’s letter
from his pocket and read it:

My dear young man,

I know the world better than you. The place that
you’re going to isn’t like any place that you know.
If you ever need somewhere to stay in London,
ask for me at the Crown Inn, in Golden Square.
They know me there. Don’t think that I’m strange
writing to you like this. I was once a gentleman,
crown a king or a
queen wears this but I’ve come down in the world.
on their head
gentleman a man Your friend,
from a rich family
who does not need Newman Noggs
to work

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If Nicholas’s first night at Dotheboys Hall was bad, the suffer to feel hurt
or unhappy
next day was worse. He soon saw that Mr and Mrs Squeers beat (past beat,
beaten) to hit
loved making the boys there suffer. Squeers beat them hard strongly
and often. He read their letters from home himself, telling cruel unkind
and liking to hurt
them that their parents didn’t love them and didn’t want people
them back. The boys had no real lessons, but did jobs for suffering when
you feel hurt or
Squeers in the school and its garden all day. unhappy
They were especially cruel to one boy – Smike. He was
taller and older than the other boys at the school – perhaps
eighteen or nineteen. His clothes were old and too small for
him and he looked ill.
At the end of his first day, Nicholas found Smike working
in the kitchen. He saw in the boy’s eyes that he was afraid.
‘Don’t be afraid of me,’ said Nicholas kindly.
‘Oh, my poor heart will break, living here,’ Smike cried.
‘No it won’t. There’s always hope.’
‘Not for me,’ replied Smike. ‘I’ve got no family or friends.
It doesn’t matter if I live or die. There’s only suffering for
me in this life.’

YOU HAVE REACHED THE END OF THE SAMPLE.

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