Written in the early part of Dickens's career, Nicholas Nickleby (1838) is a masterly piece of comic fiction that recalls the roistering picaresque novels of the previous century. Nicholas's adventures throw him in with some of Dickens's most memorable characters: Wackford Squeers, the sadistic one-eyed headmaster of Dotheboys Hall; poor ill-used Smike, victim of a grim family secret; and the eccentric Crummies theatre troupe, complete with their 'Infant Phenomenon' - her growth stunted on a diet of gin-and-water since infancy.Often regarded as the work that established Dickens as a novelist, Nicholas Nickleby has always found a delighted and devoted readership.This edition includes the original illustrations of Hahlot K. Browne ('Phiz').