Category Famous Characters from World Literature

Have you heard of the novel The Old Curiosity Shop? The novel is about Little Nell Trent and the evil Quilp.

Little Nell’s grandfather gambles away his curiosity shop to his creditor Quilp. The grandfather and granddaughter are left with no other option but to run away. Nell’s friend Kit Nubbles and a mysterious Single Gentleman attempt to find them but are thwarted by Quilp. The Single Gentleman turns out to be the wealthy brother of Nell’s grandfather. The novel ends on a sad note; Little Nell dies and her heartbroken grandfather dies days later.

Queen Victoria read The Old Curiosity Shop in 1841 and found it ‘very interesting and cleverly written’. The novel was popular beyond measure; it is said that readers in New York stormed the dock when the ship bearing the final installment arrived in 1841!

A case filed in the court may not be resolved immediately; some verdicts come out in months while some others may take many years. One such case filed in England’s Court of Chancery drags on through decades. The Bleak House is about this lawsuit, filed by Jarndyce and Jarndyce.

Esther Summerson is one of the most prominent characters in the novel. In fact, half the novel is narrated from her perspective. Esther was orphaned right after she was born; she is raised by Miss Barbary, whom she knows as her godmother. Miss Barbary was in fact, her mother’s sister. When she dies a sudden death, Esther is left in the care of John Jarndyce, a philanthropist. He also arranges for Esther to receive a sound education.

Esther stays at the Bleak House, Jarndyce’s house near St. Albans. Over the course of Esther’s stay at Bleak House, she learns more about her family, and learns the identity of her mother.

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Samuel Pickwick is remembered for his child-like simplicity and loyalty towards his friends. Moreover, he is the founder of the Pickwick Club. The tale of Samuel Pickwick is told in The Pickwick Papers, or The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club.

Samuel Pickwick is often tricked by conmen because of his innocence. Though he is always gallant towards women, young and old, he is indecisive in his dealings with them. It is Samuel who suggests that he and three other ‘Pickwickians’ should travel around the country and report whatever they saw to the members of the club.

Mr. Winkle, Mr. Snodgrass and Mr. Tupman accompany him in the mission. They come back to tell the tales of their adventures to the members of the club as planned beforehand.

The Pickwick Papers was first published in serialized form between 1836 and 1837. The witty accounts of the kindly, naive Samuel Pickwick and his friends in the Pickwick Club became an instant success. Though the novel offers a pleasurable reading, it addresses a serious issue-the injustice that prevails in the justice system. Dickens himself worked as a clerk in the law department and was aware of the inequities and incompetence of the system.

Oliver Twist is not the only famous orphan that Dickens created. Philip Pirrip, also known as Pip was another orphan kid that Dickens brought to life. Pip appears in Great Expectations; it is a coming of age novel.

Pip narrates his story many years after the events of the novel take place. He grows up in the marshlands of Kent, where he lives with his disagreeable sister and her sweet-natured husband, the blacksmith Joe Gargery. Pip is immature, kind and ambitious at the same time. He grows to be a gentleman towards the end of the novel.

Dickens throws light upon the societal conditions of the time along with Pip’s growth from childhood to adulthood. He also exposes the financial, moral and emotional states of Pip. In fact, Pip is one of the most popular characters in the whole of English literature.

A Tale of Two Cities is a historical novel that is set during the French Revolution. The two cities mentioned in the title are London and Paris. The novel is political in nature; it revolves around Sydney Carton and the sacrifice of his own life on behalf of his friends Charles Damay and Lucie Manette.

Carton is portrayed as a brilliant, yet depressed cynic who views himself as a wasted man. Though his love for Lucie Manette is unrequited, she nevertheless inspires him to try to be a better person. Towards the end of the novel, Carton manages to change places with her husband Charles Darnay hours before Darnay’s scheduled execution in France, thus giving his life for Lucie’s sake. Later, Lucie and Charles honour Carton by naming their second son after him.

A Tale of Two Cities is one of the best historical novels ever written. In 2003, the novel was ranked 63rd on the BBC’s The Big Read Poll.

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David Copperfield is popular not only because of its quality; it was also Dickens’s favourite novel. Needless to say, the novel is about David Copperfield and his life until his middle age. It is about his adventures and the numerous friends and enemies he meets along his way. It is often described as Dickens’s masterpiece.

The novel is about David’s growth and maturity from infancy. David goes through different stages of development and his personality transforms different people come and go in his life.

David Copperfield is the testimony of Dickens’s talent in narrating personal histories in a coherent manner. He was also able to bring in social changes like schooling for children and reforms in child labour through his penmanship.

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