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David Lodge - Nice Work Chapter 1 (Full Text Excerpt) | Vic Wilcox Character Analysis | Business

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This is a complete, full-text excerpt of Chapter One from David Lodge's celebrated 1988 novel, "Nice Work." Immerse yourself in the opening chapter that introduces Victor "Vic" Wilcox, the managing director of a struggling Midlands engineering firm. This resource provides the original text, perfect for in-depth analysis and study. Key Features & Analysis Points: Full Chapter Text: The entire first chapter as published, detailing a morning in the life of Vic Wilcox. Character Introduction: A deep dive into the character of Vic Wilcox – his anxieties, his family dynamics, his conservative worldview, and his identity as a self-made industrialist. Themes & Context: Explores central themes such as: Industry vs. Academia (setting up the novel's central conflict) Social Class and Aspiration British Industrial Decline in the 1980s (Thatcherism, unemployment, foreign competition) Capitalism, Consumerism, and Family Life Gender Roles and Generational Conflict Lodge's Style: A prime example of Lodge's satirical, comic, and socially observant writing style. Literary Devices: Use of free indirect discourse to blend third-person narration with Vic's internal thoughts and anxieties.

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WORKS BY DAVID LODGE DAVID LODGE
FICTION
The Picturegoers
Ginger, You’re Barmy
The British Museum is Falling Down NICE WORK
Out of the Shelter
Changing Places
How Far Can You Go?
Small World
Nice Work
Paradise News
Therapy
Home Truths
Thinks ... -


LITERARY CRITICISM AND ESSAYS
The Language of Fiction
The Novelist at. the Crossroads
Twentieth-Century Criticism
The Modes of Modern Writing
Working with Structuralism
Write On: Occasional Essays
After Bakhtin: Essays on Fiction and Criticism
The Art of Fiction
The Practice of Writing




PENGUIN BOOKS

, PENGUIN BOOKS
Published by the Penguin Group
Penguin Books Ltd, 80 Strand, London WC2R ORL, England
Penguin Putnam Inc., 375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014, USA
Penguin Books Australia Ltd, 250 CinrberwJI Road, Camberr ell, Victoria 3124, Australia
Penguin Books Canada Ltd, 10 Alcorn Avenue, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M4V 3B2
Penguin Books India (P) Ltd. 11 Community Cantre, Panchsheel Park, New Delhi - 110 0ï7, India To Andy and Marie,
Penguin Books (NZ) Ltd, Cnr Rosedale and Airborne Roads, Albany, Auckland, New Zealand
Penguin Books (South Africa) (Pty) Lid, 24 Sturdee Avenue, Rosebank 2196, South Africa
in friendship and gratitude
Penguin Books Ltd. Registered Offices: 80 Strand, London WC2R ORL, England

wr .penguin.com


First published by Seeker & Warburg 1988
Published in Penguin Books 1989
33

Copyright C David Lodge, 1988
All rights reserved

Lyrics are quoted by permission from

“The Power of Love' (De Rougc/Mende/Rush/Apþlegate), C 1985 SBK Songs Ltd,
3-5 Rathbone Place, London W1P IDA

‘Come Give Me Your Hand' (De Rouge/MendcZRusb), O 1983 SBK Songs Ltd,
3-S Rathbone Place, London W1P IDA

'Surrender' (Rush/KJapperton), 01985 SBK Songs Ltd,
3-5 Rathbone Place; London W1P IDA

Printed in England by Clays Ltd, St Ives pk
Filmset in КУ12 Linotron Plantin

Except in the United States of America, this book is sold subject
to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent,
re-sold, hired out, or otherwise circi ter without the publishers
prior consent in any form of binding or cover other than that in
which it is published and without a similar condition including this
condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser

, Author’s Note


Perhaps I should explain, for the benefit of readers who
have not been here before, that Rummidge is an imaginary
city, with imaginary universities and imaginary factories,
inhabited by imaginary people, which, occupies, for the
purposes of fiction, the space where Birmingham is to be
found on maps of the so-called real world.

I am deeply grateful to several executives in industry, and
to one in particular, who showed me around their factories
and offices, and patiently answered my often naïve
questions, while this novel was in preparation.

Connected book
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David Lodge Nice Work
Publisher: 2012 ISBN: 9781446496732 Edition: Unknown

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November 7, 2025
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