"Nickleby" redirects here. For other uses, see Nicholas Nickleby (disambiguation).Nicholas Nickleby; or, The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby is a novel by Charles Dickens. Originally published as a serial from 1838 to 1839, it was Dickens' third novel.The novel centers on the life and adventures of Nicholas Nickleby, a young man who must support his mother and sister after his father dies.