Mr. Nadgett is a private investigator hired by Tigg Montague to provide information on the customers of the Anglo-Bengalee Disinterested Loan and Life Assurance Company. He is a short, dried-up, withered old man with shabby, threadbare clothes. ...
Life and Adventures of Martin Chuzzlewit
Martin Chuzzlewit appeared in monthly parts, January 1843-July 1844, as Charles Dickens' sixth novel. The novel was not as successful as earlier novels, although Dickens thought it was best of his stories to that point. Dickens' 1842 trip to...
Nancy is a member of Fagin's crime gang and the girlfriend of Bill Sikes. She befriends Oliver Twist and decides to help him get back to Mr. Brownlow. Noah Claypole learns of her plan and tells Fagin. Fagin then turns Bill Sikes against her. ...
Oliver Twist
Oliver Twist, or The Parish Boy's Progress, is the second novel written by Charles Dickens. The story is about the life of an orphan boy named Oliver Twist. His mother dies giving birth to him and his father is unknown so Oliver lives a miserable...
Nandy is the father of Mrs. Plornish, whose husband is a plasterer. Mr. Plornish formerly was imprisoned with the Dorrits but now lives at Bleeding Heart Yard
Little Dorrit
Little Dorrit was originally published in 20 parts in 19 monthly installments, with the last two parts published in a double installment. William Dorrit, father of the title character, Amy, has been sent to Marshalsea debtor's prison in London,...
First published as a 20 part monthly serial, Dombey and Son is the tale of Paul Dombey, a wealthy shipping merchant who desires a son. His wife dies giving birth to this son, Paul the Younger, who Dombey focuses all his affection on at the expense...
Clemency Newcome is also called Clementina and works as a maidservant to Dr. Jeddler. She eventually marries his manservant Benjamin Britain
Battle of Life, The
Battle of Life was the fourth of five Christmas stories that Charles Dickens wrote. He wrote this story in September-October 1846 and it was first published in one volume in December 1846. It is the story of a man named Doctor Jeddler who is a...
He is the wealthy uncle of Nicholas and Kate. He is an old man with stern, hard features, who earns a living as a businessman and capitalist. He is cunning and greedy. He lives in a large house in Golden Square and keeps his office there also. ...
Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby, The
Nicholas Nickleby, Dickens' third novel, is about social injustice in England. Nicholas Nickleby's father dies and the family, Nicholas, sister Kate, and their mother, are forced to move to London to ask for assistance from their Uncle Ralph...
Florence Dombey's maid. She confronts Paul Dombey about how he treats his daughter, and is dismissed for her efforts. Later she marries Toots
Dombey and Son
First published as a 20 part monthly serial, Dombey and Son is the tale of Paul Dombey, a wealthy shipping merchant who desires a son. His wife dies giving birth to this son, Paul the Younger, who Dombey focuses all his affection on at the expense...
Although once a wealthy man, he lost all of his money, and becomes Ralph Nickleby's clerk. He is an alcoholic, and has a paralytic limb which causes him to limp when he walks. He wears shabby clothes and has a singular manner. He befriends...
Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby, The
Nicholas Nickleby, Dickens' third novel, is about social injustice in England. Nicholas Nickleby's father dies and the family, Nicholas, sister Kate, and their mother, are forced to move to London to ask for assistance from their Uncle Ralph...
Kit Nubbles is Little Nell's devoted friend and the shop-boy at the Curiosity Shop owned by Nell's grandfather. He is later hired by Garlands and dedicated to the family. He is falsely accused of theft, but his name is finally cleared. At the end,...
Old Curiosity Shop, The
This novel is Dickens's fourth novel, and one of two novels Dickens wrote for the short-lived magazine Master Humphrey's Clock, begun in March 1840 and finished in January 1941. It was published as a separate book in 1841. The novel tells the story...
Mayor of Ipswich. "George Nupkins, Esquire, the principal magistrate aforesaid, was as grand a personage as the fastest walker would find out between sunrise and sunset. In front of a big book-case; in a big chair; behind a big table; and...
Pickwick Papers, The
A series of adventures of Mr. Samuel Pickwick and three friends, who travel around the environs of London
Orlick is a surly journeyman working for Joe Gargery. He later is employed by Miss Havisham as a porter. Pip reports to Jaggers that Orlick is dangerous. Orlick then falls in with Compeyson. He admits that he had attacked Mrs. Joe and attempts...
Great Expectations
Great Expectations is Dickens's 13th novel. It appeared in monthly installments from December 1860 to August 1961 in the periodical All the Year Round. It was also published in the United States in Harper's Weekly. It is one of Dickens's best...
Mr. Marton is a kindly old schoolmaster. He becomes a good friend of Nell and her grandfather. When Mr. Marton meets with Nell and her grandfather again at the end of their journey, he takes them to live with him in the village where he has been...
Old Curiosity Shop, The
This novel is Dickens's fourth novel, and one of two novels Dickens wrote for the short-lived magazine Master Humphrey's Clock, begun in March 1840 and finished in January 1941. It was published as a separate book in 1841. The novel tells the story...
Mr. Casby's clerk and rent-collector who assists the Dorrit family in finding William's fortune
Little Dorrit
Little Dorrit was originally published in 20 parts in 19 monthly installments, with the last two parts published in a double installment. William Dorrit, father of the title character, Amy, has been sent to Marshalsea debtor's prison in London,...
Mr. Seth Pecksniff, an architect and land surveyor, is the widowed father of Mercy and Charity Pecksniff. He is a cousin to the Chuzzlewit family. Pecksniff took the young Martin Chuzzlewit as student/apprentice. He then throws young Martin out...
Life and Adventures of Martin Chuzzlewit, The
Martin Chuzzlewit appeared in monthly parts, January 1843-July 1844, as Charles Dickens' sixth novel. The novel was not as successful as earlier novels, although Dickens thought it was best of his stories to that point. Dickens' 1842 trip to...
Mr. Seth Pecksniff, an architect and land surveyor, is the widowed father of Mercy and Charity Pecksniff. He is a cousin to the Chuzzlewit family. Pecksniff took the young Martin Chuzzlewit as student/apprentice. He then throws young Martin out...
Life and Adventures of Martin Chuzzlewit
Martin Chuzzlewit appeared in monthly parts, January 1843-July 1844, as Charles Dickens' sixth novel. The novel was not as successful as earlier novels, although Dickens thought it was best of his stories to that point. Dickens' 1842 trip to...
Mr. John Peerybingle is a middle-aged man, who works as a Carrier, a deliverer of goods. He is deeply in love with Mary (Dot, as he calls her), his much younger wife. They have a two month old baby boy. John is described as a slow, honest,...
Cricket on the Hearth, The
In 1845, Dickens planned a periodical about home life called Cricket. The plan did not materialize, so he turned the idea into The Cricket on the Hearth, a book with a domestic setting. This was published as Dickens' third Christmas book by...
Mr. John Peerybingle is a middle-aged man, who works as a Carrier, a deliverer of goods. He is deeply in love with Mary (Dot, as he calls her), his much younger wife. They have a two month old baby boy. John is described as a slow, honest,...
Cricket on the Hearth, The
In 1845, Dickens planned a periodical about home life called Cricket. The plan did not materialize, so he turned the idea into The Cricket on the Hearth, a book with a domestic setting. This was published as Dickens' third Christmas book by...
Clare Pegotty's fisherman brother who sells lobsters, crabs, and crawfish. His home is a converted boat on the beach at Yarmouth, where he lives with Emily, Ham, and Mrs. Gummidge. He vows to find Emily after she elopes with Steerforth. In the end,...
David Copperfield
David Copperfield is the partly autobiographical story of the trials of a boy born at the Rookery, Blunderstone. His father dies before he is born, and his mother marries Mr. Murdstone, who is cruel to the boy. When she dies, he is sent to work in...
An insolvent-court attorney employed by Mr. Weller. "The Attorneys who sit at a large bare table below the Commissioners are after all the greatest curiosities. The professional establishment of the more opulent of these gentlemen consists of...
Pickwick Papers, The
A series of adventures of Mr. Samuel Pickwick and three friends, who travel around the environs of London
Solicitor to Mr. Wardle and Mr. Pickwick. "He was a little high-dried man, with a dark squeezed-up face, and small restless black eyes, that kept winking and twinkling on each side of his little inquisitive nose, as if they were playing a...
Pickwick Papers, The
A series of adventures of Mr. Samuel Pickwick and three friends, who travel around the environs of London
Solicitor to Mr. Wardle and Mr. Pickwick. He was a little high-dried man, with a dark squeezed-up face, and small restless black eyes, that kept winking and twinkling on each side of his little inquisitive nose, as if they were playing a perpetual...
Pickwick Papers, The
Series of adventures of Mr. Samuel Pickwick and three friends, who travel around the environs of London
Pet is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Meagle, and friends with Arthur Clennam, Amy Dorrit, and Daniel Doyce
Little Dorrit
Little Dorrit was originally published in 20 parts in 19 monthly installments, with the last two parts published in a double installment. William Dorrit, father of the title character, Amy, has been sent to Marshalsea debtor's prison in London,...
The founder and general chairman of the Pickwick Club, a retired merchant with independent means, perhaps the most famous of Dickens' characters. "A casual observer might possibly have remarked nothing extraordinary in the bald head and...
Pickwick Papers, The
A series of adventures of Mr. Samuel Pickwick and three friends, who travel around the environs of London
Founder and general chairman of the Pickwick Club, a retired merchant with independent means, perhaps the most famous of Dickens' characters. A casual observer might possibly have remarked nothing extraordinary in the bald head and circular...
Pickwick Papers, The
Series of adventures of Mr. Samuel Pickwick and three friends, who travel around the environs of London
Tom Pinch is a devoted admirer and assistant to Mr. Pecksniff. He is a kindly, sweet-tempered fellow about 30; bald, ungainly, awkward-looking, and extremely short-sighted. He is the village organist. Mr. Pinch eventually leaves Mr. Pecksniff...
Life and Adventures of Martin Chuzzlewit, The
Martin Chuzzlewit appeared in monthly parts, January 1843-July 1844, as Charles Dickens' sixth novel. The novel was not as successful as earlier novels, although Dickens thought it was best of his stories to that point. Dickens' 1842 trip to...
Tom Pinch is a devoted admirer and assistant to Mr. Pecksniff. He is a kindly, sweet-tempered fellow about 30; bald, ungainly, awkward-looking, and extremely short-sighted. He is the village organist. Mr. Pinch eventually leaves Mr. Pecksniff...
Life and Adventures of Martin Chuzzlewit
Martin Chuzzlewit appeared in monthly parts, January 1843-July 1844, as Charles Dickens' sixth novel. The novel was not as successful as earlier novels, although Dickens thought it was best of his stories to that point. Dickens' 1842 trip to...
Pip, an orphan, is the protagonist and narrator of Great Expectations. When Pip meets Miss Havisham and Estella, he becomes unhappy with his life. He is glad to receive money from an unknown benefactor to go to London to become a gentleman. He...
Great Expectations
Great Expectations is Dickens's 13th novel. It appeared in monthly installments from December 1860 to August 1961 in the periodical All the Year Round. It was also published in the United States in Harper's Weekly. It is one of Dickens's best...
Owns the boarding house in Brighton where Paul the Younger and Florence stay for a while. Paul Dombey later hires her to be his housekeeper
Dombey and Son
First published as a 20 part monthly serial, Dombey and Son is the tale of Paul Dombey, a wealthy shipping merchant who desires a son. His wife dies giving birth to this son, Paul the Younger, who Dombey focuses all his affection on at the expense...
Owns the boarding house in Brighton where Paul the Younger and Florence stay for a while. Paul Dombey later hires her to be his housekeeper
Dombey and Son
First published as a 20 part monthly serial, Dombey and Son is the tale of Paul Dombey, a wealthy shipping merchant who desires a son. His wife dies giving birth to this son, Paul the Younger, who Dombey focuses all his affection on at the expense...
Plornish is a plasterer who formerly was imprisoned at Marshalsea's debtor prison. Upon leaving the prison, his wife and two children move to Bleeding Heart Yard
Little Dorrit
Little Dorrit was originally published in 20 parts in 19 monthly installments, with the last two parts published in a double installment. William Dorrit, father of the title character, Amy, has been sent to Marshalsea debtor's prison in London,...
Plornish is a plasterer who formerly was imprisoned at Marshalsea's debtor prison. Upon leaving the prison, his wife and two children move to Bleeding Heart Yard
Little Dorrit
Little Dorrit was originally published in 20 parts in 19 monthly installments, with the last two parts published in a double installment. William Dorrit, father of the title character, Amy, has been sent to Marshalsea debtor's prison in London,...
Caleb Plummer, a poor toymaker, is employed by Gruff and Tackleton. He has two children: a blind daughter Bertha and a son Edward. Dickens described him as little, meager, thoughtful, and dingy-faced. Caleb deceives Bertha by leading to her to...
Cricket on the Hearth, The
In 1845, Dickens planned a periodical about home life called Cricket. The plan did not materialize, so he turned the idea into The Cricket on the Hearth, a book with a domestic setting. This was published as Dickens' third Christmas book by...
Caleb Plummer, a poor toymaker, is employed by Gruff and Tackleton. He has two children: a blind daughter Bertha and a son Edward. Dickens described him as little, meager, thoughtful, and dingy-faced. Caleb deceives Bertha by leading to her to...
Cricket on the Hearth, The
In 1845, Dickens planned a periodical about home life called Cricket. The plan did not materialize, so he turned the idea into The Cricket on the Hearth, a book with a domestic setting. This was published as Dickens' third Christmas book by...
He is a wealthy upper middle class man who has an inheritance and married a woman with an inheritance. His occupation is in Marine Insurance. He is very satisfied with himself and feels that he sets a brilliant social example. He is the father...
Our Mutual Friend
Our Mutual Friend, Dickens' last novel, addresses the issues of money, social class, and human values. John Harmon, heir to his father's fortune made as a dust collector, pretends to be dead in order to find out what people thought about him. He...
A friend of the Veneerings, she is the wife of John Podsnap and has a daughter named Georgiana. She is a fine woman from a wealthy family with hard features
Our Mutual Friend
Our Mutual Friend, Dickens' last novel, addresses the issues of money, social class, and human values. John Harmon, heir to his father's fortune made as a dust collector, pretends to be dead in order to find out what people thought about him. He...
Honourable Elijah Pogram is a member of U.S. Congress. Young Martin Chuzzlewit and Mark Tapley meet him on their return trip to New York City from Eden. He is considered a great orator by fellow Americans. He is described as having a muddy...
Life and Adventures of Martin Chuzzlewit
Martin Chuzzlewit appeared in monthly parts, January 1843-July 1844, as Charles Dickens' sixth novel. The novel was not as successful as earlier novels, although Dickens thought it was best of his stories to that point. Dickens' 1842 trip to...
The editor of the Eatanswill Gazette. "A tall, thin man, with a sandy-coloured head inclined to baldness, and a face in which solemn importance was blended with a look of unfathomable profundity"
Pickwick Papers, The
A series of adventures of Mr. Samuel Pickwick and three friends, who travel around the environs of London
Editor of the Eatanswill Gazette. A tall, thin man, with a sandy-coloured head inclined to baldness, and a face in which solemn importance was blended with a look of unfathomable profundity
Pickwick Papers, The
Series of adventures of Mr. Samuel Pickwick and three friends, who travel around the environs of London
A boisterous city clerk; friend of Smithers. "Mr. Thomas Potter then was a clerk in the city, and Mr. Robert Smithers was a ditto in the same; their incomes were limited, but their friendship was unbounded; they lived in the same street,...
Making a Night of It
A series of papers of a humorous character dealing with life and scenes, chiefly in London, at the time of publication and the earlier part of the nineteenth century
Mrs. Betsey Prig is a nurse at St. Bartholomew's Hospital and friend of Mrs. Gamp. "Mrs. Prig was of the Gamp build, but not so fat; and her voice was deeper and more like a man's. She had also a beard." Mrs. Prig and Mrs. Gamp often...
Life and Adventures of Martin Chuzzlewit, The
Martin Chuzzlewit appeared in monthly parts, January 1843-July 1844, as Charles Dickens' sixth novel. The novel was not as successful as earlier novels, although Dickens thought it was best of his stories to that point. Dickens' 1842 trip to...
Mrs. Betsey Prig is a nurse at St. Bartholomew's Hospital and friend of Mrs. Gamp. "Mrs. Prig was of the Gamp build, but not so fat; and her voice was deeper and more like a man's. She had also a beard." Mrs. Prig and Mrs. Gamp often...
Life and Adventures of Martin Chuzzlewit
Martin Chuzzlewit appeared in monthly parts, January 1843-July 1844, as Charles Dickens' sixth novel. The novel was not as successful as earlier novels, although Dickens thought it was best of his stories to that point. Dickens' 1842 trip to...
Mr. Pumblechook is Joe Gargery's uncle. He is a bachelor corn merchant. Pumblechook was Pip's first connection to Miss Havisham. Pumblechook attempts to pass himself off as Pip's benefactor. He is portrayed as a hypocrite
Great Expectations
Great Expectations is Dickens's 13th novel. It appeared in monthly installments from December 1860 to August 1961 in the periodical All the Year Round. It was also published in the United States in Harper's Weekly. It is one of Dickens's best...
Daniel Quilp is the primary villain in the novel. He mistreats his wife and manipulates other people to his own ends. He lends money to Mr. Trent for his gambling. When Mr. Trent is not able to pay back the money, he seizes the Old Curiosity Shop...
Old Curiosity Shop, The
This novel is Dickens's fourth novel, and one of two novels Dickens wrote for the short-lived magazine Master Humphrey's Clock, begun in March 1840 and finished in January 1941. It was published as a separate book in 1841. The novel tells the story...
Mr. Daniel Quilp is the primary villain in the novel. He mistreats his wife and manipulates other people to his own ends. He lends money to Mr. Trent for his gambling. When Mr. Trent is not able to pay back the money, he seizes the Old Curiosity...
Old Curiosity Shop, The
The Old Curiosity Shop is Dickens's fourth novel, and one of two novels Dickens wrote for the short-lived magazine Master Humphrey's Clock, begun in March 1840 and finished in January 1941. It was published as a separate book in 1841. The novel...
Mr. Redlaw is the main character in this novella. He is a chemistry instructor who often broods over grief from his past. After a Phantom removes his power of memory on Christmas Eve, he becomes wrathful and spreads his bitterness to others. Milly...
Haunted Man and the Ghost's Bargain, The
The Haunted Man and the Ghost's Bargain is the fifth and last of Dickens's long stories with a Christmas theme. This book, which is centered around a chemist and lecturer Redlaw, is more about the spirit of the holidays than about the holidays...
Mr. Redlaw is the main character in this novella. He is a chemistry instructor who often broods over grief from his past. After a Phantom removes his power of memory on Christmas Eve, he becomes wrathful and spreads his bitterness to others. Milly...
Haunted Man and the Ghost's Bargain, The
This is the fifth and last of Dickens's long stories with a Christmas theme. This book, which is centered around a chemist and lecturer Redlaw, is more about the spirit of the holidays than about the holidays themselves. Redlaw often broods over...
Little Nell is the novel's main character. Portrayed as infallibly good and angelic, she is devoted to her grandfather as he is to her. She leads her grandfather on their journey to save them from misery, and is protective of him on their...
