When Charles Dickens wrote

, between March 1838 and September 1839, he was a vivacious young author whose creative powers seemed boundless.

would be his third novel to be published but he began it within days of completing his first,

, having signed a contract for it on 24 November 1837. (His collection of stories,

, was completed before

but was, as its title implies, a series of disconnected interludes rather than a ‘novel' as such.) Four months later, when he actually began writing

, at least half of his second novel,

, was still to be completed. By this contract, therefore, Dickens bound himself to producing two full-length novels simultaneously. Thus, between February and October 1838 he was…

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Citation: Garner-Jones, Susan. "Nicholas Nickleby". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 12 June 2006 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=3280, accessed 24 November 2024.]