| Click on Title or Image for details and user reviews. Follow such "New(7) Used(2) from £9.99" links right below the shopping cart to see a list of offers from various sellers (example). |
|
|
The Old Curiosity Shop (Penguin Classics) |  | Author: Charles Dickens
Creator: Alec McCowen
Publisher: Penguin Audiobooks
Category: Book
List Price: £9.99
Buy Used: £7.80
as of 3/9/2010 23:51 MDT details
You Save: £2.19 (22%)
Seller: prairie-city-books-us
Rating:  13 reviews
Sales Rank: 810268
Format: Abridged, Audiobook
Media: Audio Cassette
Edition: abridged edition
Number Of Items: 4
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.7
Dimensions (in): 7.3 x 4.5 x 1.4
ISBN: 0140860770
Dewey Decimal Number: 813
EAN: 9780140860771
ASIN: 0140860770
Publication Date: February 23, 1995
Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days
| |
| Also Available In:
|
| Similar Items:
| |
| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 13
 A characterful study of good versus evil July 17, 2010
Mr. Timothy W. Dumble (Sunderland, England)
This novel is a study of juxtaposition, like much of Dickens' work between: good and evil, cynicism and innocence, youthful idealism and reality.The characterisation mirrors this throughout throwing together individuals of opposing
motives and morality at all stages of Nell's adventure, leading up to the pathos of the inevitable denouement.
So we have mirroring Nell v her grandfather/ brother, Quilp v Mrs Quilp, Kit v Swiveller, Garland v Brass and Mrs Jarley v Jem Groves.
Indeed the events are played out against the topographical juxtaposition of town v country which in their own way come to personify good and evil.It is symbolic Nell and her grandfather seek refuge from hardship by fleeing the city only to reencounter it in the fire and brimstone of a hellish industrial revolution town (chapter 44).Nothing better depicts the plight of the urban industrial revolution poor than the image of Nell sleeping within the still warm furnace ashes tended by the orphan of a foundry worker.Dickens depicts the furnace simultaneously as the womb from which the boy emerged, his protector, captor and tormentor.
The serialised origins of the narrative is evident in the many convolutions of the journey of Nell and her grandfather with multiple dilemmas and resolutions.The wonderful depth of Dickens' characterisation is again evident with a full array of major and minor players colourfully developed and of course named - my personal favourite -Sophie Wackles.It's more than just chance that many of my passwords are minor Dickensian characters, just as well he was so prolific!
Although I am a Penguin Classics fan, I found this Oxford edition well supported by accompanying appendices of explanatory footnotes an good value for money.
 Swiveller, not Quilp, is most entertaining character! May 18, 2010
Heather (Welwyn Garden City, UK)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
It took me a while to get the hang of Curiosity Shop because I was so irritated by the perfection of Nell and her stubborn attachment to her seedy grandfather. Then the penny dropped and I stopped thinking of them as characters and more as a sort of Dickensian take on Blake's Innocence and Experience poems - I understood then why the pair could never survive apart throughout their surreal wanderings.
The best bits of the book, though, belong to the diabolical Quilp and - my favourite character - Dick Swiveller. I especially loved the party scene where the profligate Dick astonished the company with his spins and twirls and feats of agility, so that even his venomous prospective mother-in-law couldn't suppress a thought that "to have such a dancer in the family would be a pride indeed".
As always with Dickens there's so much more than you can write in one short review. You just have to read and delight in the world he creates.
A dwarf named Quilp - a novel of immense stature April 18, 2010
Des (London, England)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
During those moments of sponge-like absorption, when facts about fish fingers being invented by Mr Birdseye and thousands of other grains of information crystalize into sandcastles of digested knowledge, I'd heard of Little Nell. Googling her now, I see there's a hotel named after her, a place in Aspen, Colorado and many other uses of her ephemeral name. Whilst knowing she was a tragic figure through the ether of existence, before Facebook was invented, when Spurs were a double-winning side, I didn't really KNOW her until I read the book.
170 years may have elapsed since Dickens penned his weekly contribution to the threepenny publicaton, Master Humphrey's Clock, publishing his novel shortly thereafter. Compared to contemporary fare of mass consumption - soap operas, tabloid newspapers, celebrity magazines - The Old Curiosity Shop is in a class of its own.
I'm normally an aficionado of Russian and Soviet literature - Dostoevsky, Zamyatin, Bulgakov - but Dickens creates more believable scenes, atmosphere, social commentary and deep-felt emotion than any of them.
The tale of Nell and her grandfather, travelling out of London on a forlorn journey, of the evil Quilp, his servant, a minor character, perhaps, but in keeping with reality very much human, who to Quilp's chagrin often walks on his hands, turning reality upside down, of the notary Sampson Brass and his extraordinary sister Sally, of Kit, Nell's young friend, so loving of her and loved by her and Dick Swiveller, a rakish character, nevertheless, with an innate decency, is enthralling from beginning to end.
No surprise that Americans wanting to know what happened to Nell before the story's conclusion, accosted Dickens, no real surprise that weekly subscribers - up to 100,000 of them - became so engrossed they contacted Dickens begging him for a happy ending.
In this fast-moving, inattentive age we need a book like this to grab hold of us, not letting go until we are emotionally exhausted. Too much soap has got into our eyes during insipid television and movies, this herioc novel redresses the balance. Yes there are coincidences, indeed the grandfather's addiction to gambling is still a curiosity in some respects, although repeated by many who haven't read the book, up and down this and many other countries, in betting shops, casinos and gambling dens every day of the week.
Quilp may have been an evil dwarf, but the book stands the test of time as a monumental work of considerable literary stature.
Highly imperfect but irresistible nonetheless December 31, 2009
A. Butterfield (UK)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
Finally I've read The Old Curiosity Shop. For years I've thought of it as the one where Little Nell [insert tragedy] and the reader weeps because he is so beguiled by her.
But now I realise it's just Dickens himself who's beguiled by Little Nell. Well I certainly wasn't. She's a bit spineless and useless, but then so is the rest of her family and especially her appalling grandfather. You may be more susceptible to Nell's charms, but I bet you'll tire of Dickens going on and on (and on) about 'the child' and her devoted nature.
So I was a bit surprised at that. But there are other, much more interesting stories in this novel. Some of them get a bit forgotten until they are briefly and too-neatly tied up at the end.
There's the story of Kitt, and the story of the sadistic dwarf Quilp, and Samson Brass, and Dick Swiveller... all these characters' histories are much more interesting than Little Nell's.
The story is at its best when things get nasty, and that usually involves Quilp. I've seen one or two Quilps on screen, but none get even close to the hideous little creature that I have in my head. He's one of Dickens' most vivid characters. I doubt a writer today would dare pen one like him.
All the affection and sympathy I was supposed to feel for Nell I felt for Kitt instead, and he's a character you really feel for, even if what happens to him is a bit predictable.
Dick Swiveller is another very interesting anti-hero character who's especially well drawn. It's surprising that Dickens didn't let him have a little more of the limelight, and especially surprising that the end of his story is tossed off in a couple of paragraphs, or so it seems.
There are some odd faults: the opening few chapters are narrated in the first-person by an old gentleman. Then, suddenly, the narrative switches to the third-person and stays that way as though Dickens suddenly realised he wasn't going to be able to tell the story like he originally intended.
It's not really explained how Mrs Quilp could have married such a creature as her husband, nor why Quilp himself would have ever put up with her mother. And why would Quilp, shrewd as he is, have lent Nell's grandfather such a large sum of money? I think there are several holes in the plot that you can't help noticing.
Anyway, instead of following the dim witted Nell's seemingly endless journey to nowhere, we could have been enjoying much more of Quilp and Dick Swiveller.
Nonetheless, it's a story you stick with through thick and thin. The good bits ensure you can't put it down.
So it could have been a lot better, but it is Dickens and it's what Dickens does. If you can stand the dull bits that usually involve Nell, there is plenty to reward your forbearance.
Curiosity Shop June 21, 2009
John Stark (Glasgow)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
This is the first Dickens novel I have read since childhood and it certainly won't be the last. It is relatively short by Dickens standards but not the sort of book you would want to put down until you have finished it. It is not a book for those readers who like a 'happy ending'.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 13
|
We display the lowest priced offers from a list of new and used items. It is clearly indicated right before the displayed price on whether the displayed item is new or used, i.e. "Buy Used: £8.00" or "Buy New: £8.00".
For more options to buy new (or used) just follow the link that looks like this "New (7) Used (2) from £9.99" right below the shopping cart. The link will not be displayed if there is no other offer.
Free UK delivery available for offers from Amazon.co.uk (terms & conditions) with indication of "Shipping: Eligible for Super Saver Shipping" (example). Offers from other sellers are subjected to delivery charge of £2.75 per book. More about free delivery, click here. |
|
|
| Browse by genre |
|
Audio CDs
Languages: Michel Thomas Language Courses, Rapid Language Courses, Courses For Children,
Arabic, Chinese, Dutch, French, Gaelic, Irish & Welsh, German, Greek, Hebrew, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Swedish, Thai, Vietnamese
Biographies & Memoirs
Business, Finance & Law
Children's Books: Book & CD Gift Packs, Children's Modern, Classics, Education, Harry Potter, Language, Music
Authors: Blyton, Enid, Rowling, JK, Wynne Jones, Diana
Comedy: Comedy Classic, Contemporary Comedy, Bill Bryson, Billy Connolly, Blackadder, Dead Ringers, Fast Show, Hancock, Knowing Me, Knowing You, Monty Python, Rumpole of the Bailey, The Goon Show
Crime, Thrillers & Mystery: Child, Lee, Christie, Agatha, Cornwell, Patricia, Francis, Dick, Grisham, John, Rankin, Ian, Smith, Wilbur
|
Fiction: Literary Classics, Religious, Unabridged, Western
Health, Family & Lifestyle: Personal Growth, Relaxation & Meditation
History: BC-1500, 1501-1700, 1701-Present, This Sceptered Isle
Horror: Herbert, James, King, Stephen, Koontz, Dean
Music
Poetry & Drama
Radio Shows: Dead Ringers, Hancock, The Goon Show
Religion & Spirituality
Romance: Austen, Jane, Binchy, Maeve, Bingham, Charlotte, Collins, Jackie, Cookson, Catherine, Steel, Danielle
Science Fiction & Fantasy: Fantasy, Science Fiction, DiscWorld, Dr Who, Hitch Hikers Guide to the Galaxy, Star Wars, Tolkien
Sports, Hobbies & Games
Travel
|
|
|
|
|
|
CERTAIN CONTENT THAT APPEARS ON THIS SITE COMES FROM AMAZON EU S.à.r.l. THIS CONTENT IS PROVIDED ‘AS IS’ AND IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE OR REMOVAL AT ANY TIME. Copyright 2006 © audiohome.co.uk, an audio books store Privacy Notice | Delivery | Customer Service | Buying Guide | Search Audiobooks Quickly | | My favourite authors: |
| In CDs: |
| Adams, Douglas |
| Bennett, Alan |
| Bryson, Bill |
| Christie, Agatha |
| Covey, Stephen R. |
| Cornwell, Patricia |
| Dahl, Roald |
| Dickens, Charles |
| Ludlum, Robert |
| Rowling, JK |
| Stevenson, Robert Louis |
| More authors... |
| |
| In cassettes: |
| Adams, Douglas |
| Bennett, Alan |
| Bryson, Bill |
| Christie, Agatha |
| Cornwell, Patricia |
| Dahl, Roald |
| Dickens, Charles |
| Ludlum, Robert |
| Rice, Anne |
| Stevenson, Robert Louis |
| More authors... |
|
|
|
|
Over 50,000 audio books, 
