"The Old Curiosity Shop" is one of Charles Dickens' most popular and beloved novels. It caused such a sensation when it was first serialized that when the ship bearing the final installment of the book arrived in New York, people actually stormed the wharf to be the first to hear the conclusion to the story.

The plot follows the life of Nell Trent - known as "Little Nell" - an orphan who lives with her grandfather in London. Together they run the eponymous shop filled with odds and ends, but Nell's is a lonely life and her only friend is young Kit, a young employee of the store whom Nell is teaching to read and write. When her grandfather, who has been attempting to become wealthy through gambling - becomes mired in debt, the shop is taken over by the evil, deformed moneylender Daniel Quilip, who evicts Nell and her grandfather, causing them to flee into the country to live as beggars.

At times a heartfelt and beautiful tale of love and filial devotion and at others a pulse-pounding drama of greed and malevolence, "The Old Curiosity Shop" is often listed by Dickens' fans as among their favorites of his works and it is presented here in its original and unabridged format.