Sun, Nov 4, 2012
When her husband dies Mrs Nickleby and her children Kat and Nick lose their farm and ask for help from her estranged brother-in-law,ruthless businessman Ralph,who has obtained,through bribery,a chain of residential homes with corrupt Russian Hawkovsky. Ralph employs Nick as a care assistant in one of his homes,run by sadistic Squeers and his saucy daughter Frannie and Nick is appalled by the treatment of the residents,especially put-upon,illiterate Mrs Smike,whom he befriends. When Squeers tortures Mrs Smike after she has retrieved a locket from his office Nick punches him and goes on the run with the old lady. Meanwhile Ralph's ex-employee Maddy Bhray,whom Nick briefly met,agrees to an arranged marriage to help her elderly father.
Mon, Nov 5, 2012
Squeers calls the police,claiming Nick robbed him. Nick and Mrs Smike get a lift to London with pushy stage mother Venetia Crummles and her shy daughter Maria,the Infant Phenomenon, whom Venetia is entering for endless talent contests to compensate for her own lack of success as a singer. Mrs Smike makes Venetia see sense,reconciling mother and daughter but Squeers follows Nick to London and informs Ralph,who has his nephew arrested. Ralph sets about grooming Kat as a hostess in his night club,planning her to deliver her to Hawkovsky to have his way with her in return for financial support. Ralph's secretary Newman Noggs is disgusted but Ralph blackmails him into keeping quiet.
Tue, Nov 6, 2012
Newman gets Nick out of jail by claiming Ralph wants all charges dropped. Nick and Mrs Smike are befriended by Mrs Khenwig and his fat,lazy son Muzz and Nick is appalled to find that Muzz is the man Maddy is marrying for money. Mrs Smike contacts welfare inspector Mr Cheeryble,who goes to Dotheolds Hall but Squeers gets there ahead of him and bullies the residents into giving a good account of their care. Unaware that Ralph has contributed to her father's ruin Kat prepares to entertain Hawkovsky but Mrs Smike and Nick overhear his plan to drug her and try to persuade her to escape with them to the Bhrays' house though she refuses. Mrs Smike however is clearly unwell.
Wed, Nov 7, 2012
Kat learns from Ralph's bar manager Ms Knag that her uncle was complicit in the plan to let Hawkovsky have sex with her so she tells him she will comply if he signs a document discharging her family's debts. Hawkovsky duly arrives but Kat accidentally kills him with a poisoned umbrella tip. Squeerts comes to London and abducts Mrs Smike before Nick can get her to Mr Cheeryble to tell him the truth. Ralph orders Newman to kill Nick but Newman lets him go after Mrs Smike and rescue her. However she dies as she and Nick arrive at Nick's old family home.
Thu, Nov 8, 2012
Maddy prepares to marry Muzz but calls the wedding off when she finds he plans to put her father in Dotheolds Hall whilst at the home itself the residents rebel,taking photographic evidence of Squeers' cruelty,which they send to Nick. He tells Mr Cheeryble who has Squeers arrested and the deal to but any more homes stopped. Nick learns from a local doctor that Mrs Smike was from his home village - and was actually Ralph's mother,Ralph being adopted by the Nicklebys. Newman and Ms Knag come to Kat's aid,planning to make it look as if Ralph killed Hawkovsky and,along with Nick and his mother and sister,they confront Ralph over his parentage. This and the knowledge of his forthcoming arrest drives Ralph to suicide and,as his only kin,the Nicklebys inherit his money and reclaim their home. Some months later they are entertaining their friends as Ms Knag and Newman marry and romance looks likely for Nick and Maddy.