The Old Curiosity ShopNew critical introduction, outlining the novel's publishing history, and discussing its reception, the character of Little Nell, Dickens's style, and the illustrations The tale of Little Nell gripped the nation when it first appeared in 1841. Described as a \"tragedy of sorrows\", the story tells of Nell uprooted from a secure and innocent childhood and cast into a world where evil takes many shapes, the most fascinating of which is the stunted,