Charles Dickens - A Vida e as Aventuras de Nicholas Nickleby

Dickens' third novel is based on real events and the author's visits to a school then run by one of the cruelest headmasters of his time.
Nicholas Nickleby's father dies after losing all his money in an investment that went terribly wrong. Nicholas, his mother, and his sister are forced to leave a quiet and comfortable life in Devonshire and seek the help of his paternal uncle, Ralph Nickleby, a rude and gruff businessman, little interested in helping poor relatives, much less young Nickleby, who reminds him precisely of his deceased brother. Even so, the uncle arranges for the young man a poorly paid position as assistant to the headmaster of a school. Newly arrived at his new job, Nicholas discovers the tremendous cruelty of the headmaster and his wife, who have together set up an elaborate scheme to receive money from parents who do not want to see their children go astray and pay whatever is necessary to ensure a good education without any hassles. However, the school conditions are terrible: there are beatings and abuses, the food is awful, the living conditions are unimaginable, psychological violence is constant, and the quality of education leaves much to be desired.

Young Nicholas tries to distance himself from this situation, thinking about the need to protect his mother and sister, but the situation worsens more and more, and one day Nicholas Nickleby decides to intervene. From then on, a web of lies and deceit begins to ensnare the small family in a difficult-to-unravel web.

This was one of Dickens' first novels to address the issue of education in the United Kingdom. The writer based it on a real case, having visited the school run by one of the most infamous headmasters of his time.