The character of Wackford Squeers appears in Charles Dickens' novel "Nicholas Nickleby." Wackford Squeers is the brutal headmaster of Dotheboys Hall, a boarding school for boys where the protagonist Nicholas Nickleby works as a teacher. Squeers is depicted as a cruel and dishonest man who mistreats his students and embezzles money from their families. The character has become infamous as a representation of the harsh conditions and abuses that were sometimes prevalent in 19th-century boarding schools.