"The Trial" illustration for "Pickwick Papers" by Phiz (Hablot K. Browne) [Click on image to enlarge it.] See below for passage illustrated. Scanned image and text by Philip V. Allingham . [You may use this image without prior permission for any scholarly or educational purpose as long as you (1) credit the person who scanned the image and (2) link your document to this URL in a web document or cite the Victorian Web in a print one.] The episodic novel now develops into the semblance of a plot as the picaresque hero of the various adventures of his "club," Mr. Pickwick, faces his accuser, Mrs. Martha Bardell, in court on the charge of "breach of promise." In the comic libretto for Trial by Jury (March 1875), W. S. Gilbert satirises this same situation, undoubtedly inspired by Dickens's handling of this peculiarly Victorian charge, prosecuted by the bombastic Buzfuz (whom Dickens based upon an actual barrister, Charles Carpenter Bompas, a Serjeant-at-Law, one of the most eminent advocates of his day, and leader of the Western Circuit).

Breach of Promise: Until 1970 women could, and did, take men to court for breaking off engagements. A contract to marry was as binding in law as any other contract, and therefore the party who broke it was liable for damages. The most famous action for breach of promise in Victorian literature was, of course, that brought by Mrs. Bardell against Mr. Pickwick in Charles Dickens's The Pickwick Papers. [Bradley 12] Whereas in the operetta at the Royalty Theatre, staged three hundred times in its initial two-year run, Gilbert's pallid young guitarist, Edwin, escapes the consequences of this fatuous law, Dickens's elderly Pickwick, found guilty, refuses to pay his fine of seven hundred and fifty pounds in damages, and is sent to prison. The passage from the trial of Bardell v. Pickwick — ironically staged on St. Valentine's Day — thus realised is this: Serjeant Buzfuz, who had proceeded with such volubility that his face was perfectly crimson, here paused for breath. The silence awoke Mr.

Justice Stareleigh, who immediately wrote down something with a pen without any ink in it, and looked unusually profound, to impress the jury with the belief that he always thought most deeply with his eyes shut. Serjeant Buzfuz proceeded — "Of this man Pickwick I will say little; the subject presents but few attractions; and I, gentlemen, am not the man, nor are you, gentlemen, the men, to delight in the contemplation of revolting heartlessness, and of systematic villainy." Here Mr. Pickwick, who had been writhing in silence for some time, gave a violent start, as if some vague idea of assaulting [the prosecuting attorney] Serjeant Buzfuz, in the august presence of justice and law, suggested itself to his mind. An admonitory gesture from [Pickwick's solicitor] Perker restrained him, and he listened to the learned gentleman's continuation with a look of indignation, which contrasted forcibly with the admiring faces of Mrs. Cluppins and Mrs. Sanders. [chapter 34] This illustration first appeared in monthly part 12 (March 1837). Details Charles Dickens.

The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club - Литературная классика в формате fb2 Charles Dickens. The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club Автор: andrey4444. Опубликовано в Чарльз Диккенс The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club (also known as The Pickwick Papers) is Charles Dickens's first novel. He was asked to contribute to the project as an up-and-coming writer following the success of Sketches by Boz, published in 1836 (most of Dickens' novels were issued in shilling instalments before being published as complete volumes). Dickens (still writing under the pseudonym of Boz) increasingly took over the unsuccessful monthly publication after the original illustrator Robert Seymour had committed suicide. With the introduction of Sam Weller in chapter 10, the book became the first real publishing phenomenon, with bootleg copies, theatrical performances, Sam Weller joke books, and other merchandise.

After the publication, the widow of Robert Seymour claimed that the idea for the novel was originally her husband's; however, in his preface to the 1867 edition, Dickens strenuously denied any specific input, writing that "Mr Seymour never originated or suggested an incident, a phrase, or a word, to be found in the book. Dickens was a young man, 24 years old, who had written nothing more than a group of sketches dealing mainly with London life. A firm of London publishers, Messrs. Chapman and Hall, was then projecting a series of "cockney sporting plates" by illustrator Robert Seymour. There was to be a club, the members of which were to be sent on hunting and fishing expeditions into the country. Their guns were to go off by accident; fishhooks were to get caught in their hats and trousers. All these and other misadventures were to be depicted in Seymour's comic plates. At this juncture, Charles Dickens was called in to supply the letterpress – that is, the description necessary to explain the plates and connect them into a sort of picture novel such as was then the fashion.

Though protesting that he knew nothing of sport, Dickens nevertheless accepted the commission; he consented to the machinery of a club, and in accordance with the original design sketched Mr Winkle who aims at a sparrow only to miss it. Only in a few instances did Dickens adjust his narrative to plates that had been prepared for him. Typically, he himself led the way with an instalment of his story, and the artist was compelled to illustrate what Dickens had already written. The story thus became the prime source of interest, and the illustrations merely of secondary importance. By this reversal of interest, Dickens transformed, at a stroke, a current type of fiction, consisting mostly of pictures, into a novel of contemporary London life. Simple as the process may appear, others who had tried the plan had all failed. Pierce Egan partially succeeded in his Tom and Jerry, a novel in which the pictures and the letterpress are held in even balance. Dickens won a complete triumph. In future years, however, Dickens was suspiciously eager to distance himself from suggestions that Pierce Egan's Life in London had been a formative influence. Robert Seymour provided the illustrations for the first two instalments before his suicide.

Robert Buss illustrated the third instalment, but his work was not liked by Dickens and the remaining instalments were illustrated by "Phiz" (Hablot Knight Browne) who went on to illustrate most of Dickens' novels. The instalments were first published in book form in 1837. Written for publication as a serial, The Pickwick Papers is a sequence of loosely-related adventures. The action is given as occurring 1827–8, though critics have noted some seeming anachronisms. It has been stated that Dickens satirized the case of George Norton suing Lord Melbourne in The Pickwick Papers. The novel's main character, Samuel Pickwick, Esquire, is a kind and wealthy old gentleman, and the founder and perpetual president of the Pickwick Club. To extend his researches into the quaint and curious phenomena of life, he suggests that he and three other "Pickwickians" (Mr Nathaniel Winkle, Mr Augustus Snodgrass, and Mr Tracy Tupman) should make journeys to places remote from London and report on their findings to the other members of the club. Their travels throughout the English countryside by coach provide the chief theme of the novel.

A distinctive and valuable feature of the work is the generally accurate description of the old coaching inns of England. (One of the main families running the Bristol to Bath coaches at the time was started by Eleazer Pickwick). Its main literary value and appeal is formed by its numerous memorable characters. Each character in The Pickwick Papers, as in many other Dickens novels, is drawn comically, often with exaggerated personality traits. Alfred Jingle, who joins the cast in chapter two, provides an aura of comic villainy. His devious tricks repeatedly land the Pickwickians in trouble. These include Jingle's nearly-successful attempted elopement with the spinster Rachael Wardle of Dingley Dell manor, misadventures with Dr Slammer, and others. Further humour is provided when the comic cockney Sam Weller makes his advent in chapter 10 of the novel. First seen working at the White Hart Inn in The Borough, Weller is taken on by Mr Pickwick as a personal servant and companion on his travels and provides his own oblique ongoing narrative on the proceedings.

The relationship between the idealistic and unworldly Pickwick and the astute cockney Weller has been likened to that between Don Quixote and Sancho Panza. Other notable adventures include Mr Pickwick's attempts to defend a lawsuit brought by his landlady, Mrs Bardell, who (through an apparent misunderstanding on her part) is suing him for breach of promise. Another is Mr Pickwick's incarceration at Fleet Prison for his stubborn refusal to pay the compensation to her — because he doesn't want to give a penny to Mrs Bardell's lawyers, the unscrupulous firm of Messrs. Dodson and Fogg. The generally humorous tone is here briefly replaced by biting social satire (including satire of the legal establishment). This foreshadows major themes in Dickens's later books. Mr Pickwick, Sam Weller, and Weller Senior also appear in Dickens's serial, Master Humphrey's Clock. Central characters Sam Weller and his father Tony Weller (The Valentine) Samuel Pickwick — the main protagonist and founder of the Pickwick Club. Following his description in the text, Pickwick is usually portrayed by illustrators as a round-faced, clean-shaven, portly gentleman wearing spectacles.

Nathaniel Winkle — a young friend of Pickwick's and his travelling companion; he considers himself a sportsman, though he turns out to be dangerously inept when handling horses and guns. Augustus Snodgrass — another young friend and companion; he considers himself a poet, though there is no mention of any of his own poetry in the novel. Tracy Tupman — the third travelling companion, a fat and elderly man who nevertheless considers himself a romantic lover. Sam Weller — Mr Pickwick's valet, and a source of idiosyncratic proverbs and advice. Tony Weller — Sam's father, a loquacious coachman. Alfred Jingle — a strolling actor and charlatan, noted for telling bizarre anecdotes in a distinctively extravagant, disjointed style. Supporting characters Joe — the "fat boy" who consumes great quantities of food and constantly falls asleep in any situation at any time of day; Joe's sleep problem is the origin of the medical term Pickwickian syndrome which ultimately led to the subsequent description of Obesity hypoventilation syndrome.

Job Trotter — Mr Jingle's wily servant, whose true slyness is only ever seen in the first few lines of a scene, before he adopts his usual pretence of meekness. Mr Wardle — owner of a farm in Dingley Dell. Mr Pickwick's friend, they meet at the military review in Rochester. Joe is his servant. Rachael Wardle — the spinster aunt who tries in vain to elope with the unscrupulous Jingle. Mr Perker — an attorney of Mr Wardle, and later of Mr Pickwick. Mary — "a well-shaped female servant" and Sam Weller's "Valentine". Mrs Martha Bardell — Mr Pickwick's widowed landlady who brings a case against him for breach of promise. Emily Wardle — one of Mr Wardle's daughters, very fond of Mr Snodgrass. Arabella Allen — a friend of Emily Wardle and sister of Ben Allen. She later elopes with Mr. Winkle and marries him. Benjamin "Ben" Allen — Arabella's brother, a dissipated medical student. Robert "Bob" Sawyer — Ben Allen's friend and fellow student.

Mr Serjeant Buzfuz — Mrs Bardell's lawyer in legal dealings with Mr Pickwick. The Pickwick Papers : [Illustrations and Free Audio Book Link] eBook by Charles Dickens - 9789878880396 | Kobo Show less Summary Written for publication as a serial, The Pickwick Papers is a sequence of loosely-related adventures. The action is given as occurring 1827–8, though critics have noted some seeming anachronisms.The novel's main character, Samuel Pickwick, Esquire, is a kind and wealthy old gentleman, and the founder and perpetual president of the Pickwick Club. To extend his researches into the quaint and curious phenomena of life, he suggests that he and three other "Pickwickians" (Mr Nathaniel Winkle, Mr Augustus Snodgrass, and Mr Tracy Tupman) should make journeys to remote places from London and report on their findings to the other members of the club. Their travels throughout the English countryside by coach provide the chief theme of the novel. A distinctive and valuable feature of the work is the generally accurate descriptions of the old coaching inns of England. Its main literary value and appeal is formed by its numerous memorable characters.

Each character in The Pickwick Papers, as in many other Dickens novels, is drawn comically, often with exaggerated personalities. Alfred Jingle, who joins the cast in chapter two, provides an aura of comic villainy. His devious tricks repeatedly land the Pickwickians in trouble. These include Jingle's nearly-successful attempted elopement with the spinster Rachael Wardle of Dingley Dell manor, misadventures with Dr Slammer, and others. Further humour is provided when the comic cockney Sam Weller makes his advent in chapter 10 of the novel. First seen working at the White Hart Inn in The Borough, Weller is taken on by Mr Pickwick as a personal servant and companion on his travels and provides his own oblique ongoing narrative on the proceedings. The relationship between the idealistic and unworldly Pickwick and the astute cockney Weller has been likened to that between Don Quixote and Sancho Panza. Other notable adventures include Mr Pickwick's attempts to defend a lawsuit brought by his landlady, Mrs Bardell, who (through an apparent misunderstanding on her part) is suing him for the breach of promise to marry her.

Another is Mr Pickwick's incarceration at Fleet Prison for his stubborn refusal to pay the compensation to her because he doesn't want to give a penny to Mrs Bardell's lawyers, the unscrupulous firm of Messrs. Dodson and Fogg. The general humorous tone is here briefly replaced by biting social satire (including against the legal establishment) and foreshadows major themes in Dickens' later books. Mr Pickwick, Sam Weller, and Weller Senior also appear in Dickens's serial, Master Humphrey's Clock. Buy the eBook The Pickwick Papers by Charles Dickens: Chapter 26 'I have just been thinking, Sam,' said Mr. Pickwick, 'that having left a good many things at Mrs. Bardell's, in Goswell Street, I ought to arrange for taking them away, before I leave town again.' 'Wery good, sir,' replied Mr. Weller. 'I could send them to Mr. Tupman's, for the present, Sam,' continued Mr. Pickwick, 'but before we take them away, it is necessary that they should be looked up, and put together.

I wish you would step up to Goswell Street, Sam, and arrange about it.' 'At once, Sir?' inquired Mr. Weller. 'At once,' replied Mr. Pickwick. 'And stay, Sam,' added Mr. Pickwick, pulling out his purse, 'there is some rent to pay. The quarter is not due till Christmas, but you may pay it, and have done with it. A month's notice terminates my tenancy. Here it is, written out. Give it, and tell Mrs. Bardell she may put a bill up, as soon as she likes.' 'Wery good, sir,' replied Mr. Weller; 'anythin' more, sir?' 'Nothing more, Sam.' Mr. Weller stepped slowly to the door, as if he expected something more; slowly opened it, slowly stepped out, and had slowly closed it within a couple of inches, when Mr. Pickwick called out-- 'Sam.' 'Yes, sir,' said Mr. Weller, stepping quickly back, and closing the door behind him. 'I have no objection, Sam, to your endeavouring to ascertain how Mrs.

Bardell herself seems disposed towards me, and whether it is really probable that this vile and groundless action is to be carried to extremity. I say I do not object to you doing this, if you wish it, Sam,' said Mr. Pickwick. Sam gave a short nod of intelligence, and left the room. Mr. Pickwick drew the silk handkerchief once more over his head, And composed himself for a nap. Mr. Weller promptly walked forth, to execute his commission. It was nearly nine o'clock when he reached Goswell Street. A couple of candles were burning in the little front parlour, and a couple of caps were reflected on the window-blind. Mrs. Bardell had got company. Mr. Weller knocked at the door, and after a pretty long interval--occupied by the party without, in whistling a tune, and by the party within, in persuading a refractory flat candle to allow itself to be lighted--a pair of small boots pattered over the floor-cloth, and Master Bardell presented himself.

'Well, young townskip,' said Sam, 'how's mother?' 'She's pretty well,' replied Master Bardell, 'so am I.' 'Well, that's a mercy,' said Sam; 'tell her I want to speak to her, will you, my hinfant fernomenon?' Master Bardell, thus adjured, placed the refractory flat candle on the bottom stair, and vanished into the front parlour with his message. The two caps, reflected on the window-blind, were the respective head-dresses of a couple of Mrs. Bardell's most particular acquaintance, who had just stepped in, to have a quiet cup of tea, and a little warm supper of a couple of sets of pettitoes and some toasted cheese. The cheese was simmering and browning away, most delightfully, in a little Dutch oven before the fire; the pettitoes were getting on deliciously in a little tin saucepan on the hob; and Mrs. Bardell and her two friends were getting on very well, also, in a little quiet conversation about and concerning all their particular friends and acquaintance; when Master Bardell came back from answering the door, and delivered the message intrusted to him by Mr.

Samuel Weller. 'Mr. Pickwick's servant!' said Mrs. Bardell, turning pale. 'Bless my soul!' said Mrs. Cluppins. 'Well, I raly would not ha' believed it, unless I had ha' happened to ha' been here!' said Mrs. Sanders. Mrs. Cluppins was a little, brisk, busy-looking woman; Mrs. Sanders was a big, fat, heavy-faced personage; and the two were the company. Mrs. Bardell felt it proper to be agitated; and as none of the three exactly knew whether under existing circumstances, any communication, otherwise than through Dodson & Fogg, ought to be held with Mr. Pickwick's servant, they were all rather taken by surprise. In this state of indecision, obviously the first thing to be done, was to thump the boy for finding Mr. Weller at the door. So his mother thumped him, and he cried melodiously. 'Hold your noise--do--you naughty creetur!' said Mrs. Bardell. 'Yes; don't worrit your poor mother,' said Mrs. Sanders.

'She's quite enough to worrit her, as it is, without you, Tommy,' said Mrs. Cluppins, with sympathising resignation. 'Ah! worse luck, poor lamb!' said Mrs. Sanders. At all which moral reflections, Master Bardell howled the louder. 'Now, what shall I do?' said Mrs. Bardell to Mrs. Cluppins. 'I think you ought to see him,' replied Mrs. Cluppins. 'But on no account without a witness.' 'I think two witnesses would be more lawful,' said Mrs. Sanders, who, like the other friend, was bursting with curiosity. 'Perhaps he'd better come in here,' said Mrs. Bardell. 'To be sure,' replied Mrs. Cluppins, eagerly catching at the idea; 'walk in, young man; and shut the street door first, please.' Mr. Weller immediately took the hint; and presenting himself in the parlour, explained his business to Mrs.

Bardell thus-- 'Wery sorry to 'casion any personal inconwenience, ma'am, as the housebreaker said to the old lady when he put her on the fire; but as me and my governor 's only jest come to town, and is jest going away agin, it can't be helped, you see.' 'Of course, the young man can't help the faults of his master,' said Mrs. Cluppins, much struck by Mr. Weller's appearance and conversation. 'Certainly not,' chimed in Mrs. Sanders, who, from certain wistful glances at the little tin saucepan, seemed to be engaged in a mental calculation of the probable extent of the pettitoes, in the event of Sam's being asked to stop to supper. 'So all I've come about, is jest this here,' said Sam, disregarding the interruption; 'first, to give my governor's notice--there it is. Secondly, to pay the rent--here it is. Thirdly, to say as all his things is to be put together, and give to anybody as we sends for 'em.

Fourthly, that you may let the place as soon as you like-- and that's all.' 'Whatever has happened,' said Mrs. Bardell, 'I always have said, and always will say, that in every respect but one, Mr. Pickwick has always behaved himself like a perfect gentleman. His money always as good as the bank--always.' As Mrs. Bardell said this, she applied her handkerchief to her eyes, and went out of the room to get the receipt. Sam well knew that he had only to remain quiet, and the women were sure to talk; so he looked alternately at the tin saucepan, the toasted cheese, the wall, and the ceiling, in profound silence. 'Poor dear!' said Mrs. Cluppins. 'Ah, poor thing!' replied Mrs. Sanders. Sam said nothing. He saw they were coming to the subject. 'I raly cannot contain myself,' said Mrs. Cluppins, 'when I think of such perjury. I don't wish to say anything to make you uncomfortable, young man, but your master's an old brute, and I wish I had him here to tell him so.' 'I wish you had,' said Sam.

'To see how dreadful she takes on, going moping about, and taking no pleasure in nothing, except when her friends comes in, out of charity, to sit with her, and make her comfortable,' resumed Mrs. Cluppins, glancing at the tin saucepan and the Dutch oven, 'it's shocking!' 'And your master, young man! A gentleman with money, as could never feel the expense of a wife, no more than nothing,' continued Mrs. Cluppins, with great volubility; 'why there ain't the faintest shade of an excuse for his behaviour! Why don't he marry her?' 'Ah,' said Sam, 'to be sure; that's the question.' 'Question, indeed,' retorted Mrs. Cluppins, 'she'd question him, if she'd my spirit. Hows'ever, there is law for us women, mis'rable creeturs as they'd make us, if they could; and that your master will find out, young man, to his cost, afore he's six months older.' At this consolatory reflection, Mrs. Cluppins bridled up, and smiled at Mrs. Sanders, who smiled back again.

'The action's going on, and no mistake,' thought Sam, as Mrs. Bardell re-entered with the receipt. 'Here's the receipt, Mr. Weller,' said Mrs. Bardell, 'and here's the change, and I hope you'll take a little drop of something to keep the cold out, if it's only for old acquaintance' sake, Mr. Weller.' Sam saw the advantage he should gain, and at once acquiesced; whereupon Mrs. Bardell produced, from a small closet, a black bottle and a wine-glass; and so great was her abstraction, in her deep mental affliction, that, after filling Mr. Weller's glass, she brought out three more wine-glasses, and filled them too. 'Lauk, Mrs. Bardell,' said Mrs. Cluppins, 'see what you've been and done!' 'Well, that is a good one!' ejaculated Mrs. Sanders. 'Ah, my poor head!' said Mrs. Bardell, with a faint smile. Sam understood all this, of course, so he said at once, that he never could drink before supper, unless a lady drank with him.

A great deal of laughter ensued, and Mrs. Sanders volunteered to humour him, so she took a slight sip out of her glass. Then Sam said it must go all round, so they all took a slight sip. Then little Mrs. Cluppins proposed as a toast, 'Success to Bardell agin Pickwick'; and then the ladies emptied their glasses in honour of the sentiment, and got very talkative directly. 'I suppose you've heard what's going forward, Mr. Weller?' said Mrs. Bardell. 'I've heerd somethin' on it,' replied Sam. 'It's a terrible thing to be dragged before the public, in that way, Mr. Weller,' said Mrs. Bardell; 'but I see now, that it's the only thing I ought to do, and my lawyers, Mr. Dodson and Fogg, tell me that, with the evidence as we shall call, we must succeed. I don't know what I should do, Mr. Weller, if I didn't.' The mere idea of Mrs. Bardell's failing in her action, affected Mrs.

Sanders so deeply, that she was under the necessity of refilling and re-emptying her glass immediately; feeling, as she said afterwards, that if she hadn't had the presence of mind to do so, she must have dropped. 'Ven is it expected to come on?' inquired Sam. 'Either in February or March,' replied Mrs. Bardell. 'What a number of witnesses there'll be, won't there,?' said Mrs. Cluppins. 'Ah! won't there!' replied Mrs. Sanders. 'And won't Mr. Dodson and Fogg be wild if the plaintiff shouldn't get it?' added Mrs. Cluppins, 'when they do it all on speculation!' 'Ah! won't they!' said Mrs. Sanders. 'But the plaintiff must get it,' resumed Mrs. Cluppins. 'I hope so,' said Mrs. Bardell. 'Oh, there can't be any doubt about it,' rejoined Mrs. Sanders. 'Vell,' said Sam, rising and setting down his glass, 'all I can say is, that I vish you MAY get it.' 'Thank'ee, Mr. Weller,' said Mrs. Bardell fervently.

'And of them Dodson and Foggs, as does these sort o' things on spec,' continued Mr. Weller, 'as vell as for the other kind and gen'rous people o' the same purfession, as sets people by the ears, free gratis for nothin', and sets their clerks to work to find out little disputes among their neighbours and acquaintances as vants settlin' by means of lawsuits--all I can say o' them is, that I vish they had the reward I'd give 'em.' 'Ah, I wish they had the reward that every kind and generous heart would be inclined to bestow upon them!' said the gratified Mrs. Bardell. 'Amen to that,' replied Sam, 'and a fat and happy liven' they'd get out of it! Wish you good-night, ladies.' To the great relief of Mrs. Sanders, Sam was allowed to depart without any reference, on the part of the hostess, to the pettitoes and toasted cheese; to which the ladies, with such juvenile assistance as Master Bardell could afford, soon afterwards rendered the amplest justice--indeed they wholly vanished before their strenuous exertions. Mr.

Weller wended his way back to the George and Vulture, and faithfully recounted to his master, such indications of the sharp practice of Dodson & Fogg, as he had contrived to pick up in his visit to Mrs. Bardell's. An interview with Mr. Perker, next day, more than confirmed Mr. Weller's statement; and Mr. Pickwick was fain to prepare for his Christmas visit to Dingley Dell, with the pleasant anticipation that some two or three months afterwards, an action brought against him for damages sustained by reason of a breach of promise of marriage, would be publicly tried in the Court of Common Pleas; the plaintiff having all the advantages derivable, not only from the force of circumstances, but from the sharp practice of Dodson & Fogg to boot. The Pickwick Papers | The East Room The Pickwick Papers Posted on August 4, 2012 by Miss Sneyd “I am ruminating,” said Mr. Pickwick, “on the strange mutability of human affairs.” “Ah! I see—in at the palace door one day, out at the window the next. Philosopher, sir?” “An observer of human nature, sir,” said Mr.

Pickwick. “Ah, so am I. Most people are when they’ve little to do and less to get.” (Ch. 2, p. 34.) [Note: I read The Pickwick Papers from June 24, 2012 – July 11, 2012. I waited to post my review of it until now because “Sophie” from A Reasonable Quantity of Butter and I have decided to read through the novels of Charles Dickens in chronological order and to blog about them together. You can read her review “ The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club ”.] The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club (also known simply as The Pickwick Papers) is the first novel of Charles Dickens. Like many of his novels, it was published as a monthly serial — running from April 1836 to November 1837. The story purports to be gathered (by “Boz”) from the papers of the Pickwick Club — a club founded by the “immortal Pickwick”. Some of the humor of the story comes from the seriousness with which these papers and the “unwearied researches” of Samuel Pickwick are viewed.

The club, “deeply sensible of the advantages which must accrue to the cause of science from the production” of Mr. Pickwick’s paper entitled ‘Speculations on the Source of the Hampstead Ponds, with Some Observations on the Theory of Tittlebats’, decide to extend his travels (“consequently enlarging his sphere of observation”). So they send him and three other club members — Mr. Tupman, Mr. Winkle, and Mr. Snodgrass — off with this view, “to the advancement of knowledge and the diffusion of learning.” The four travel here and there, faithfully recording all that happens to them. The story is somewhat desultory, and could have benefitted from a stronger storyline. Charles Dickens himself later said, “It was observed, in the preface to the original edition, that they [The Pickwick Papers] were designed for the introduction of diverting characters and incidents; that no ingenuity of plot was attempted or even at that time considered very feasible by the author in connexion with the desultory mode of publication adopted; and that the machinery of the club, proving cumbrous in the management, was gradually abandoned as the work progressed.

Although on one of these points, experience and study has taught me something, and I could perhaps wish now that these chapters were strung together on a stronger thread of general interest, still, what they are they were designed to be.” (Preface to the First Cheap Edition, 1847, p. ix). I think, however, that the story grows stronger as the book progresses. Dickens’s summary of his intent in writing the book, summarizes what it is: “The Author’s object in this work was to place before the reader a constant succession of characters and incidents; to paint them in as vivid colours as he could command; and to render them, at the same time, life-like and amusing.” (Preface to the First Edition, 1837, p. vii). That is just what the Pickwick papers are — a collection of vivid characters and varied incidents. Mr. Pickwick himself leads the story, as an “observer of human nature”. Since there really is no story line to The Pickwick Papers, besides Mr.

Pickwick traveling here and there and the court case against him (an action is taken against him for breach of promise of marriage), I won’t try to detail one, but will just write about characters and incidents that interested me. My favorite characters were Mr. Jingle and Sam Weller. Sam Weller (that is Weller spelled with a “We”) understandably was and continues to be one of the most popular characters in The Pickwick Papers. He has a distinctive, amusing style of speech. Like Mr. Pickwick, he is something of a philosopher. “When I wos first pitched neck and crop into the world to play at leap-frog with its troubles,” replied Sam. “I wos a carrier’s boy at startin’; then a vagginer’s, then a helper, then a boots. Now I’m a gen’lm’n’s servant. I shall be a gen’lm’n myself one of these days, perhaps, with a pipe in my mouth, and a summer-house in the back-garden. Who knows? I shouldn’t be surprised for one.” “You are quite a philosopher, Sam,” said Mr. Pickwick. “It runs in the family, I b’lieve, sir,” replied Mr. Weller.

“My father’s wery much in that line now. If my mother-in-law blows him up, he whistles. She flies in a passion and breaks his pipe; he steps out and gets another. Then she screams wery loud, and falls into ’sterics; and he smokes wery comfortably till she comes to agin. That’s philosophy, sir, an’t it?” (Ch. 16, pp. 241-242.) The book is sprinkled with Sam’s little maxims and bits of advice. Here are a few of my favorites: “That’s the pint, sir,” interposed Sam; “out vith it, as the father said to the child wen he swallowed a farden.” (Ch. 12, p. 185.) “Raly, gentlemen,” said Sam, “I’m not wery much in the habit o’ singin’ without the instrument; but anythin’ for a quiet life, as the man said wen he took the sitivation at the lighthouse.” (Ch. 42, p. 662.) “Yes, sir,” rejoined Mr. Weller.

“Wotever is, is right, as the young nobleman sweetly remarked wen they put him down in the pension list ’cos his mother’s uncle’s vife’s grandfather vunce lit the king’s pipe vith a portable tinder-box.” (Ch. 51, p. 772.) I did find it disappointing that Sam waited so long to get married. Loyalty to Mr. Pickwick is all well and good, but I think that his loyalty to the girl he wanted to marry should have been greater. And I don’t see why Mr. Pickwick couldn’t have had Mary (the object of Sam’s affections) as his housekeeper to begin with, instead of hiring another woman and waiting a couple of years for her to die, before hiring Mary. Dickens used the character Sam Weller (along with that individual’s father and Mr. Pickwick) again in his serial, Master Humphrey’s Clock, which I intend to read sometime soon. Mr. Jingle is an entertaining scamp — causing Mr. Pickwick some trouble, but always collected and serene through it all. Like Sam Weller, he has a very distinctive and amusing style of speech.

He is fond of telling anecdotes from his life (at least, he claims that they happened to him). “Ah! You should keep dogs—fine animals—sagacious creatures—dog of my own once—pointer—surprising instinct—out shooting one day—entering enclosure—whistled—dog stopped—whistled again—Ponto—no go; stood still—called him—‘Ponto, Ponto’—wouldn’t move—dog transfixed—staring at a board—looked up, saw an inscription—‘Gamekeeper has orders to shoot all dogs found in this enclosure’—wouldn’t pass it—wonderful dog—valuable dog, that—very.” (Ch. 2, p. 34) “Conquests! Thousands.

Don Bolaro Fizzgig—grandee—only daughter—Donna Christina—splendid creature—loved me to distraction—jealous father—high-souled daughter—handsome Englishman—Donna Christina in despair—prussic acid—stomach-pump in my portmanteau—operation performed—old Bolaro in ecstasies—consent to our union—join hands and floods of tears—romantic story—very.” (Ch. 2, p. 35.) What happened to the lady? “Dead, sir—dead …. Never recovered the stomach-pump—undermined constitution—fell a victim.” And her father? “Remorse and misery …. Sudden disappearance—talk of the whole city—search made everywhere—without success—public fountain in the great square suddenly ceased playing—weeks elapsed—still a stoppage—workmen employed to clean it—water drawn off—father-in-law discovered sticking head first in the main pipe, with a full confession in his right boot—took him out, and the fountain played away again as well as ever.” Would you like to note down that little story?

“Certainly, sir, certainly—fifty more if you like to hear ’em—strange life, mine—rather curious history—not extraordinary, but singular.” (Ch. 2, p. 35.) I also enjoyed the characters Arabella Allan, “a young lady with black eyes, and arch smile, and a pair of remarkably nice boots with fur round the tops” (Ch. 28, pp.423-424), and Mr. Perker, the attorney who helps Mr. Pickwick through his court case and in other matters. He was a little high-dried man, with a dark squeezed-up face, and small restless black eyes that kept winking and twinkling on each side of his little inquisitive nose, as if they were playing a perpetual game of peep-bo with that feature. He was dressed all in black, with boots as shiny as his eyes, a low white neckcloth, and a clean shirt with a frill to it. A gold watch-chain and seals depended from his fob.

He carried his black kid gloves in his hands, not on them, and, as he spoke, thrust his wrists beneath his coat-tails, with the air of a man who was in the habit of propounding some regular posers. (Ch. 10, pp. 152-153.) Sam Weller’s evidence for Mr. Pickwick in the case of ‘Bardell against Pickwick’ (Ch. 34, pp. 529-533) was a highlight of that “memorable trial”. Afterwards, Mr. Pickwick travels to Bath with his friends, on which journey he meets Mr. Dowler, who is very proud of his wife. He tells the Pickwickians: “I courted her under singular circumstances. I won her through a rash vow. Thus. I saw her; I loved her; I proposed; she refused me. ‘You love another?’ ‘Spare my blushes.’ ‘I know him.’ ‘You do.’ ‘Very good; if he remains here, I’ll skin him.’ … I wrote him a note, I said it was a painful thing. And so it was. … I said I had pledged my word as a gentleman to skin him.

My character was at stake. I had no alternative. As an officer in his Majesty’s service, I was bound to skin him. I regretted the necessity, but it must be done. He was open to conviction. He saw that the rules of the service were imperative. He fled. I married her. Here’s the coach.” (Ch. 35, p. 539.) They make quite an adorable couple and were another of the highlights of the book for me. I also enjoyed Mr. Bob Sawyer’s mode of travelling (Ch. 50). There were several things about the book that I did not like, or found deficient. For one, Charles Dickens considered drunkenness to be hilarious. I do not find it as funny, so the many descriptions of people drinking to excess and their subsequent behaviour failed to amuse me. Charles Dickens had a flair for description. While his descriptions can be quite amusing, he sometimes overdoes it. So many of the rooms in the book are lengthily described as dirty, that it can be quite tiresome. On the other hand, it really was ingenious of him to find that many different ways to describe dirt and filth. Still, his descriptions are part of the charm of all of his novels.

Take for example, his description of one lady’s flower garden: “There was a bower at the further end, with honeysuckle, jessamine, and creeping plants—one of those sweet retreats which humane men erect for the accommodation of spiders.” (Ch. 8, p. 124.) Throughout the book, Mr. Pickwick collects stories told to him by various sources. These stories are clearly all written by the same pen. I just recently read The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins, in which I was impressed by how the author managed to make each person’s viewpoint (the story is told by several people) sound unique. Charles Dickens is not as good at this. This does not affect the interest of the stories themselves, however. The story that I found most interesting was “A Madman’s Manuscript” (Ch. 11, pp. 169-178) — a manuscript that a clergyman gives to Mr. Pickwick. Altogether, I don’t think that The Pickwick Papers is Dickens’s greatest work, but it was mildly amusing — though far too long for the subject matter. I will probably never read it again, but I’m glad to have read it once.

Question: In the novel, "The Pickwick Papers", by Charles Dickens, who brought an action against Mr Pickwick, for breach of promise to marry?
Answer: MRS BARDELL