The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby (play) reception was enthusiastic, critical reception was mixed. Frank Rich in "New York Times" reported dull passages piling up as "dead weight", while John Simon in the "New York Magazine" felt that the work was a "middlebrow enterprise" doing "scant justice" to the novel. In contrast Mel Gussow, again in "The New York Times", noted that ""Nicholas Nickleby" remains true to Dickens – many of the lines are taken directly from the novel, dialogue as well as narration – and to first principles of theater" when describing the RSC's recast production in 1986. Playwright and reviewer Thomas Hischak, writing in retrospect
Nicholas Nickleby (2002 film) it took the famous stage production eight hours to tell the story of "Nicholas Nickleby". But in the new movie, writer-director Douglas McGrath manages to tell it all in 132 minutes, without the story ever seeming rushed or curtailed. Instead, the impression is one of abundance: It's a generous tale, told through big performances by a talented cast." Peter Travers of "Rolling Stone" awarded the film three out of a possible four stars and commented, "Christopher Plummer steals the show without resorting to camp as Nicholas' wounded and wounding Uncle Ralph. It's a great performance and a reminder of Dickens'