When Nicholas's father dies he, his mother and sister are left penniless.

To earn his keep, Nicholas becomes a tutor at Dotheboys Hall but soon discovers that the headmaster, Wackford Squeers, is a one-eyed tyrant who insists on a harsh regime.

Nicholas embarks on an adventure that takes him from loathsome boarding schools to the London stage.

Dickens confronts issues of neglect and cruelty in this blackly comic masterpiece.