Dickens's huge, rambling novel tells the story of the Nickleby family after the death of the father, when the family is tyrannized by their nefarious Uncle Ralph. Nicholas becomes a schoolmaster at a brutal Yorkshire school run by the evil-hearted Wackford Squeers, who treats his young charges with neglectful brutality. Nicholas and the orphan boy, Smike, run away and join a troupe of traveling actors. Hearing that his sister Kate is in danger, Nicholas travels to London and foils his uncle's vile plans for her. The frail and saintly (if simpleminded) Smike dies, after which it is revealed that he was Uncle Ralph's son. Uncle Ralph hangs himself, leaving the tormented Nickleby family in peace at last.