
Alistair MacNichol
Dickens researcher and long-distance walker who recreates literary journeys, known for BBC Ramblings appearance tracing Little Nell's route
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OCT 5
Jul 2, 2026
In the Footsteps of Little Nell
3:11
3:27
3:37
3:51

Alistair MacNicholGUEST
I, I always think the, the book itself, that the title of the book anyway, is a, something of a misnomer, The Old Curiosity Shop, because of the 73 chapters that make up that book, only five are set within the shop itself, and a further two, you know, are only partly so.

Alistair MacNicholGUEST
So, um, at, at its core, the book is about a long distance journey, mostly made on foot, by a young girl, Nell, who is 14 years of age, and her grandfather.

Alistair MacNicholGUEST
And the reason they make the journey is because Nell's grandfather is a compulsive gambler, and he runs into money difficulties, and he borrows money from a, a villainous loan shark called Daniel Quilp, and he can't repay the, the debt.

Alistair MacNicholGUEST
And so Quilp evicts them, he takes possession of the shop and evicts them.
16 MINS LATER