The Pickwick Papers

By Charles Dickens

Charles Dickens’s satirical masterpiece, The Pickwick Papers, catapulted the young writer into literary fame when it was first serialized in 1836–37. It recounts the rollicking adventures of the members of the Pickwick Club as they travel about England getting into all sorts of mischief. Laugh-out-loud funny and endlessly entertaining, the book also reveals Dickens’s burgeoning interest in the parliamentary system, lawyers, the Poor Laws, and the ills of debtors’ prisons. As G. K. Chesterton noted, “Before [Dickens] wrote a single real story, he had a kind of vision . . . a map full of fantastic towns, thundering coaches, clamorous market-places, uproarious inns, strange and swaggering figures. That vision was Pickwick.”

• Language: English
• Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
• Release date: Sep 26, 2006
• ISBN: 9780553902990

Charles Dickens

Charles Dickens (1812-1870) was an English writer and social critic. Regarded as the greatest novelist of the Victorian era, Dickens had a prolific collection of works including fifteen novels, five novellas, and hundreds of short stories and articles. The term “cliffhanger endings” was created because of his practice of ending his serial short stories with drama and suspense. Dickens’ political and social beliefs heavily shaped his literary work. He argued against capitalist beliefs, and advocated for children’s rights, education, and other social reforms. Dickens advocacy for such causes is apparent in his empathetic portrayal of lower classes in his famous works, such as The Christmas Carol and Hard Times.

Reviews for The Pickwick Papers

[therebelprince · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Dickens' second important book (after Sketches by Boz), and first novel, The Pickwick Papers is a real delight. A comic travelogue that reminds me of a cross between Pynchon's Mason and Dixon and a particularly silly Jeeves short story, it's a book in which only the most minor things go wrong, characters' lives are primarily about meditation and misunderstanding, and one can easily understand why it caused a sensation in 1836, and how Dickens came about at just the right time to capture the public spirit with his own twist on the sentimental literature of the era. I probably wouldn't recommend this for newcomers to Dickens, who should go on to read his next work, Oliver Twist, but once you know you enjoy works from this era, this is a kind of warm sip of brandy for the soul.

[justagirlwithabook · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

The Pickwick Papers had me cracking up to myself all the way through. I hadn't heard of this piece by Dickens until I read Little Women, where the girls are a part of the Pickwick Club and read little writings of their own. I have no clue how I discovered the connection (perhaps after watching the movie and doing a Google search), but I quickly grabbed a copy of the book to read it and fell into all of its nonsense.

[pnorman4345 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The language is vital, the cast of characters is great, the beginnings of an interest in the issues of the industrial revolution is starting, altogether this is a wonderful book.

[klerulo · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Very droll, highly entertaining.

[samfsmith_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Dickens' first novel, and it shows a little in the beginning, I think. A very slow start. Throughout the novel there is the convention of the author speaking to the reader, commenting on the action. Quite old fashioned.It's a series of anecdotes and tales, loosely linked, but it improves greatly as it progresses. I think Dickens was learning his craft, and getting better at it, as he went along.

[j5v5d5a5 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Hilarious in parts.

[mattmcg_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

The best book ever about the immortality of donkeys and page-boys.

[literarysarah · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

One of Dickens' most lighthearted works. Laugh-out-loud funny at times.

[yogipoet · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

i think this was the first dickens i'd read and was surprised i enjoyed it so much, went on to read more after that.

[pickwick817 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This book describes the adventures of a newly retired wealthy businssman, Mr Pickwick. He, his fellow members of the Pickwick club, and his servant Sam set out in search of adventure. The book is very well written, quite funny, and was a very enjoyable read.

[goldengrove_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

The strange thing with Pickwick is that, although I enjoyed it a lot whilst actually reading, I wasn't desperate to get back to it in between. I think it's because it's so very episodic (far more so than Dickens' other works), and because it takes a while for the characters to establish themselves. It's fascinating to trace the origins of a lot of JKJerome's humour in it - parts are so very like Three Men in a Boat

[nicole_a_davis · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Definitely not one of Dickens' best works. I actually could only get through about a third, maybe less, of it. It was a little bit too scattered--there's a cast of characters common to each chapter but no over-arching plot which I did not like.

[cbfiske · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I loved this book. It presented me with humor, both broad (Mr. Pickwick and the lady in the yellow curl papers) and more subtle ("Ode to an Expiring Frog" by Mrs. Leo Hunter, anyone?) and also managed to discuss with pathos more serious issues (debtors in Fleet Prison). The characters were memorable. To tell the truth, I now have a bit of a crush on Mr. Sam Weller. To top it all off the ending was happy. What could be better?

[bradgers-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I agree with Roald Dahl -- this book alone is proof that Dickens was a genius. Until I read this I was not aware of how much Wodehouse owed to Dickens. Seriously, though, it's basically a series of short stories loosely linked with a pasted-together plot, but the stories are, by and large, absolutely hilarious. It does slow down a bit with the debtor's prison preachiness, but hey, it's Dickens, you've gotta expect a bit of that. A great, great read.

[bria4lynne · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I believe this was my favorite book in ninth grade. Once through the first chapter I laughed through the whole book.

[charlie68_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

What can I say about this book and this performance? Spectacular! Classic Dickens, with classic Prebble narration, it doesn't get better than this.

[wktarin · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

LIght-hearted and delightful.

[dsc73277 · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

The only Dickens novel that I have never been able to finish.

[paulusm_3 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

A top read: witty and enjoyable