The Old Curiosity Shop

Charles Dickens' The Old Curiosity Shop is a novel following the life of Nell Trent an orphan, who lives with her grandfather in his shop of odds and ends. Nell does not complain, but she lives a lonely existence with almost no friends her own age. Her only friend is Kit, an honest boy employed at the shop, whom she is teaching to write. Obsessed with ensuring that Nell does not die in poverty as her parents did, her grandfather attempts to make Nell a good inheritance through gambling at cards. He borrows heavily from the evil Daniel Quilp and in the end, gambles away what little money they have. Quilp seizes the opportunity to take possession of the shop and evict Nell and her grandfather.