Nicholas Nickleby (Ultimate Classics)

Rating:
Summary: Ralph: The Rich Uncle you always dreamed of: A Nightmare!!
Review: The hero of this book has been described as a `clean cut' Tom Jones. Nicholas does have quite the peripatic journey and most importantly-the prerequisite Victorian happy ending is firmly in place: a triple wedding!
Two scenes stand out: When the young Nicholas's father dies, the family goes to their rich uncle Ralph for assistance. Spying an ad in the paper for a teaching assistant at a boarding school, Uncle Ralph sets Nicholas up with the headmaster, saying while Nicholas doesn't have a `master's degree' he is `flexible.' Does Nicholas ever need that flexibility. This is one of those notorious boarding school. The other big scene that stood out for me happens when `Uncle' begins to get his `just desserts.' This scrooge of a man has put the screws to the family of Madeline Bray and to 'ease the burden' he has placed on them, he proposes to marry Madeline...Guess who's Nicholas' love-interest? Oh yeah! Nicholas manages to persuade the dutiful Madeline that he's her man and he wrests her away from Uncle's clutches. Well, the characterization is exquisitely Dickensian and there are numerous ways to enjoy this story, in paper and plastic.