Editing Nicholas Nickleby (section)

===The Crummles troupe===
*'''Mr Vincent Crummles''': Head of the Crummles theatre [[wiktionary:Troupe|troupe]], a larger-than-life [[actor-manager]] who takes Nicholas under his wing. He takes great pride in his profession, but also sometimes yearns for a quieter life, settled down with his wife and children. Eventually, he and his family take their act to America to pursue greater success on the theatrical stage.
*'''Mrs Crummles''': Mr Crummles's wife. A formidable but loving presence in the company, she is a great diva, but Dickens leaves the question of her actual ability up to the reader.
*'''Miss Ninetta Crummles, The "Infant Phenomenon"''': Daughter of Mr and Mrs Crummles. She is a ''very'' prominent member of the Crummles troupe: a dancing part is written for her in every performance, even if there is no place for it. She is supposedly ten years old, but is actually closer to eighteen, having been kept on a steady diet of gin to keep her looking young. (Said to be inspired by English child actress [[Jean Margaret Davenport]], with her parents the inspiration for Vincent and Mrs. Crummles as well.<ref name="inf1">Gubar, Marah. [https://books.google.com/books?id=gdueS8nAXX8C&pg=PA75 The Drama of Precocity: Child Performers on the Victorian Stage], p. 75, in Dennis Denishoff (ed.), ''The Nineteenth-century Child and Consumer Culture'' (2008).</ref>) 
*'''Mr Folair''': A pantomimist with the Crummles company. He is an apt flatterer but does not hesitate to say exactly what he thinks of people once their backs are turned.
*'''Miss Snevellicci''': The talented leading lady of the Crummles troupe. She and Nicholas flirt heavily, and there is a mutual attraction, but nothing comes of it. She eventually leaves the troupe to get married.
*'''Mr Lenville''': A melodramatic, self-centred tragedian, who becomes jealous of the attention Nicholas is receiving as an actor, and attempts to pull his nose in front of the company, an act which results in the actor himself being knocked down and his cane broken by Nicholas.