The Old Curiosity Shop

Synopsis

Framing device

Characters

Major

• Nell Trent, the novel's main character. Portrayed as infallibly good and angelic, she leads her grandfather on their journey to save them from misery. Her health gradually becomes weaker throughout the journey.
• Nell's Grandfather, Nell's guardian. After losing both his wife and daughter, he sees Nell as the embodiment of their good spirits. His grandson Fred is seen as the successor to his son-in-law, who he felt unworthy of his daughter. As such, he shows him no affection. He is paranoid about falling into poverty and gambles to try to stave that off; as his money runs out, he turns to Quilp for loans to continue to furnish for Nell the life he feels she deserves. After believing Kit has revealed his secret addiction, he falls ill and is mentally unstable afterwards. Nell then protects him as he had done for her.
• Christopher "Kit" Nubbles, Nell's friend and servant. He watches out for Nell when she is left in the shop alone at night and will 'never come home to his bed until he thinks she safe in hers'. After Quilp takes over the shop, Kit offers Nell a place in his house. His mother is concerned about his attachment to Nell, and at one point jokes, 'some people would say that you'd fallen in love with her', at which Kit becomes very bashful and tries to change the subject. He is later given a position at the Garlands' house, and becomes an important member of their household. His dedication to his family earns him the respect of many characters and the resentment of Quilp. He is framed for robbery, but is later released and joins the party traveling to recover Nell.
• Daniel Quilp, the novel's primary villain. He mistreats his wife, Betsy, and manipulates others to his own ends through a false charm he has developed over the years. He lends money to Nell's grandfather and takes possession of the curiosity shop during the old man's illness. He uses sarcasm to belittle those he wishes to control, most notably his wife, and takes a sadistic delight in the suffering of others. He eavesdrops so as to know all of 'the old man's' most private thoughts, and teases him, saying 'you have no secrets from me now'. He also drives a wedge between Kit and the old man by pretending it was Kit who told him about the gambling.
• Richard "Dick" Swiveller, in turn, Frederick Trent's manipulated friend, Sampson Brass's clerk, and the Marchioness' guardian and eventual husband. He delights in quoting and adapting literature to describe his experiences. He is very laid-back and doesn't seem to worry about anything, despite the fact that he owes money to just about everybody. Following Fred's departure from the story, he becomes more independent and eventually is seen as a strong force for good, securing Kit's release from prison and the Marchioness's future. His transformation from an idle and vacant youth to a key helpmate bridges the depiction of the main characters that are either mostly villainous or goodly in nature.
• The Single Gentleman, who is never named, is the estranged younger brother of Nell's grandfather. He leads the search for the travelers after taking lodging in Sampson Brass' rooms and befriending Dick, Kit, and the Garlands.

  Minor

• Mrs. Betsy Quilp, Quilp's mistreated wife. She is mortally afraid of her husband but appears to love him in spite of everything, as she was genuinely worried when he disappeared for a long period.
• Mr. Sampson Brass, an attorney of the Court of the King's Bench. A grovelling, obsequious man, he is an employee of Mr. Quilp, at whose urging he frames Kit for robbery.
• Miss Sarah "Sally" Brass, Mr. Brass' obnoxious sister and clerk. She is the real authority in the Brass firm. She is occasionally referred to as a "dragon", and she mistreats the Marchioness. Quilp makes amorous advances towards her, but is rebuffed.
• Mrs. Jarley, proprietor of a travelling waxworks show, who takes in Nell and her grandfather out of kindness. However, she only appears briefly.
• Frederick Trent, Nell's worthless older brother, who is convinced that his grandfather is secretly wealthy. Initially a major character in the novel and highly influential over Richard Swiveller, he is dropped from the narrative after chapter 23. Briefly mentioned as travelling to Great Britain and the wider world following his disappearance from the story, before being found injured and drowned in the River Seine after the story's conclusion. The character was named after the novelist's younger brother, Frederick Dickens.
• Mr. Garland, a kind-hearted man, father of Abel Garland and employer of Kit.
• The Small Servant, Miss Brass' maidservant. Dick Swiveller befriends her and, finding that she does not know her age or name or parents, nicknames her "The Marchioness" and later gives her the name Sophronia Sphynx. In the original manuscript, it is made explicit that the Marchioness is in fact the illegitimate daughter of Miss Brass, possibly by Quilp, but only a suggestion of this survived in the published edition.
• Isaac List and Joe Jowl, professional gamblers. They are fellow guests at the public house where Nell and her grandfather, unable to get home, pass a stormy night. Nell's grandfather is unable to resist gambling with them and fleeces Nell of what little money she has to this end. That same night, he also robs her of even more money.
• Mr. Chuckster, the dogsbody of the notary Mr. Witherden, who employs Mr. Abel Garland. He takes a strong dislike to Kit after Mr. Garland overpays Kit for a job and Kit returns to work off the difference; he shows his dislike at every opportunity, calling Kit 'Snobby'.
• Mr. Marton, a poor schoolmaster. He befriends Nell and later inadvertently meets her and her grandfather on the roads. Nell approaches him to beg for alms, not realising who he is. She faints from a combination of shock and exhaustion, and, realising she is ill, he takes her to an inn and pays for the doctor, and then takes her and her grandfather to live with him in the distant village where he has been appointed parish clerk.
• Thomas Codlin, proprietor of a travelling Punch and Judy show.
• Mr. Harris, called 'Short Trotters', the puppeteer of the Punch and Judy show.
• Barbara, the maidservant of Mr. and Mrs. Garland and future wife of Kit.
• The Bachelor, brother of Mr. Garland. Lives in the village where Nell and her grandfather end their journey, and unknowingly alerts his brother to their presence through a letter.
• Mrs. Jiniwin, Mrs. Quilp's mother and Quilp's mother-in-law. She resents Quilp for the way he treats her daughter, but is too afraid to stand up to him.