The Old Curiosity Shop tells the story of Nell, a young girl of thirteen An orphan, who lives with her grandfather in his shop of curiosities. Her grandfather loves her dearly, she lives a lonely existence with almost no friends her own age. Her only friend is Kit, a boy employed at the shop, who, she is teaching to write. Secretly 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 keeps his nocturnal games a secret, but borrows heavily from the evil Daniel Quilp, a malicious, grotesquely deformed, hunchbacked dwarf moneylender. In the end, he gambles away what little money they have, and Quilp seizes the opportunity to take possession of the shop and evict Nell and her grandfather. Her grandfather suffers a breakdown that leaves him witless, they go to the Midlands of England, to live as beggars. A4 Easy Read S
