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Desirable Dickens Handwritten Quotation on the Death of “Dear, gentle, patient, Noble Nell”

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Item: 23521
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DICKENS, CHARLES. (1812-1870). British novelist and one of the best-loved writers in the English language; author of A Christmas Carol, David Copperfield and A Tale of Two Cities. AQS. (“Charles Dickens”). 1p. Small 8vo. London, June 13, 1849. The famous quotation from Dickens’ The Olde Curiosity Shoppe.

“Dear, gentle, patient, noble Nell was dead. Her little bird – a poor slight thing, the pressure of a finger would have crushed – was stirring nimbly in its cage; and the strong heart of its child mistress was mute and motionless for ever…”

Charles Dickens, one of the most celebrated authors in English literature, achieved immense fame during his lifetime. In addition to his many novels, he edited the periodicals Household Words and All the Year Round, which featured fiction, essays, news, and poetry—including his serialized works Hard Times, A Tale of Two Cities, and Great Expectations. Known as a meticulous journalist and editor, Dickens also wrote Bleak House and Little Dorrit. Between 1840 and 1841, he serialized Barnaby Rudge and The Old Curiosity Shop, the latter telling the story of the orphaned Nell Trent and her grandfather. The novel’s popularity in the United States was so immense that, when the final installment arrived in New York in 1841, eager readers reportedly crowded the docks, shouting to the ship’s crew, “Is Little Nell dead yet?”

When Dickens wrote the quoted passage, he was working on the third monthly installment of David Copperfield. On June 6, he expressed his confidence in the story to his friend and literary advisor John Forster, stating, “I feel, thank God, quite confident in the story. I have a move in it ready for this month; another for next; and another for the next” (The Life of Charles Dickens, Forster). We extend our thanks to Dr. Leon Litvack, Principal Editor of The Charles Dickens Letters Project.

Folded with some light dust staining and wear. Framed with a portrait. Not examined out of the frame and in fine condition. One of the most desirable of Dickens’ quotations and rare.

Desirable Dickens Handwritten Quotation on the Death of “Dear, gentle, patient, Noble Nell”

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