The Old Curiosity Shop – Charles Dickens

"One would have to have a heart of stone to read the death of Little Nell without laughing." – Oscar Wilde

Thanks to Oscar’s famous and acidic quip, I knew how this one ended. He was right too, as this displays some extreme examples of Dickens’ most well-known shortcomings; sentimentality, verbosity and a Manichean approach to humanity and morality. There is also a false start in which the first few chapters a narrated in the first person, only for our guide to bafflingly depart; the rest of the book is told through the third person omniscient voice.

Nevertheless, there is some fun to be had with the vivid characters, particularly the loquacious ne’er-do-well Dick Swiveller (!) and the vividly demonic Quilp. I also enjoyed the satirical depiction of a waxwork museum, surely the dullest form of entertainment yet devised by humankind?