The Pickwick Papers (Barnes & Noble Digital Library)

By Charles Dickens

The rollicking adventures of Samuel Pickwick and other members of the Pickwick Club as they travel around the English countryside getting into mischief are recounted in this satirical masterpiece. Brilliantly comic, the book also reveals Dickens’s growing interest in the parliamentary system, lawyers, the Poor Laws, and the ills of debtor’s prisons.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Barnes & Noble
• Release date: Feb 22, 2011
• ISBN: 9781411436688

Charles Dickens

Charles Dickens was born in 1812 and grew up in poverty. This experience influenced ‘Oliver Twist’, the second of his fourteen major novels, which first appeared in 1837. When he died in 1870, he was buried in Poets’ Corner in Westminster Abbey as an indication of his huge popularity as a novelist, which endures to this day.

Reviews for The Pickwick Papers (Barnes & Noble Digital Library)

[jonfaith · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

The Pickwick Papers promised heft. Weighing in at 900 pages and larded with indices and erudite observations, the project promised muscle training, if nothing else. The serial natural of the narrative and general zany approach was also apprehended. I simply wasn't prepared, however, for Sam Weller. Oh lord, he may be my favorite character in recent memory. I wasn't prepared for such. I was expecting tales of the idle and curious confronting rural and proltarian situations, if only for hilarity and general misunderstanding to ensue. I didn't expect the wit and loyalty of young Weller, especially as the novel takes a rather dark turn and visits the black humors of Dickens' past. Along the journey, politicans, journalists, bankers and lawyers submit to tar-and-feathering: we are all the better for such. There's a surfeit of humiliation, but few are actually mean, as such.

Yes, the final fifth met the approval standards of its period. There are a slew of marriage plots to be resolved. Somehow that struck me as an addendum for decorum's sake. The novel becomes a meditation on friendship; between Pickwick and Weller, Sam and his father, the reader and Dickens.

I'm looking forward to reading all of Dickens this year; The Pickwick Papers was a marvelous inaugeration.

[eamonn12 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

So much has been written about this book, first published in 1837. It remains a favourite with Dickens readers and the 1959 Collins edition which I have just read has a succinct introduction which gives a reason for this popularity. Alec Waugh writes: "['The Pickwick Papers'] is the work of a very young man, a young man with a heaven sent gift of friendliness and laughter, who was saying, exactly as he wanted to say it, the thing that he was impelled to say. And he was never quite that again; he was never again wholly free from the influence of his popularity and success". I am a great admirer of Dickens, and from a very early age, but I admit the truth of Waugh's remarks. As he grew older (and so phenomenally successful) he began to 'sermonise' a lot and sprawl out his plots rather too much. He was a great editor who, himself needed an editor.But that was later. This is his first, and it's a great book. A real 'pick-me-up'. So many parts still make me laugh, after so many readings: Mr Pickwick being discovered at night in the garden of the boarding school where he had been lured on a false errand; Then later ending up by mistake in an old lady's bedroom; and Mr Winkle agreeing to go horse riding, even though he had no experience in the equestrian arts ('What makes him go sideways?' said Mr Snodgrass [in the carriage] to Mr Winkle in the saddle. 'I can't imagine,' replied Mr Winkle. His horse was drifting up the street in most mysterious manner, side first…); and many more. Mr Pickwick is of course the prototype of many subsequent portly, good humoured old gentlemen who come to the rescue of various characters in distress in his later novels. such as the Cheeryble brothers, in Nicholas Nickleby, and Oliver's long lost grandfather in Oliver Twist. But none of these descendants are really so full of joviality, generosity and pure goodwill as is Pickwick. He's a tonic.

[rcorfield_2 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This book was much, much better than I was expecting.It's the first Dickens I've read and I can see now why he's so highly rated.It was very readable, funny and evocative of the period it is set in. The characterisation is superb and despite it being over 800 pages long, it was at no point a chore to read. It's full of amusing situations & events and interesting details. I was expecting the language to be much more archaic than it turned out to be, which is one of the reasons as to why I found it an easy read.I'm definitely going to try to read (at least one) more Dickens now.

[fatherofaeris · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This was my first exposure to Dickens as an adult. I had recently read Stoker's Dracula which is a good example of the end of Victorian literature. Craving more of this era in literature and knowing that Dickens was the most highly acclaimed author of this period, I decided to read his first novel. It enthralled me. There are most likely tons of little quips and satirical stabs at society in this book that will go over my head because I have not lived through those times......but it was still a hell of a read and I enjoyed every moment. This is one of the oldest books that has ever made me laugh out loud. I will definitely be reading more of Mr. Dickens.

[bookmarkme · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

My first Dickens and a struggle to get into. I'll re-visit when I've developed my reading some more.

[esquilinho_1 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

delightful.: Dickens's first, and most light-hearted, work. It's an episodic novel, originally published in monthly installments, about the adventures of Mr Pickwick, the wannabe-womaniser Mr Tupman, the poet Mr Snodgrass and Mr Winkle, who have all formed a club, the aim of which is simply to observe life. You can see the influence it had on much later works by the likes of P G Wodehouse, E F Benson etc. There are many funny scenes here, some involving broad slapstick, such as Mr Pickwick being dumped in a wheelbarrow in the village pond! There's even fore-runners of the bedroom farce, as in the episode when Mr Pickwick ends up, (purely by accident you understand), in the bedroom of a middle-aged lady at a hotel in Ipswich. Coming in and out of the story at intervals is the incorrigible chancer Mr Jingle, who makes a living trying to con money out of impressionable women. This also must be where the Dickensian image of Christmas first came from, with the Pickwickians going to spend a traditional Christmas at Dingley Dell. Dickens achieves the feat of creating a light-hearted comedy, which never descends into whimsy. It is a tale of stagecoaches (coming to the end of their natural life, as the railway was beginning to take off when Dickens wrote this), poor people living off oysters, with oyster-stalls along the streets (not then a rich man's delicacy), and vivid details of coaching inns and old London hostelries. It is an engaging tribute to the late Georgian era of Dickens's youth.

[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.

[john257hopper · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Dickens's first published novel (1836-37) and what an absolute comic masterpiece this was and still is. Pickwick and Sam Weller are incredibly memorable creations and one of the best comedy double acts in English literature. There are numerous other memorable characters in this novel which, though slightly rambling, does have a central plot other than Pickwick and his companions' peregrinations across the country, that of the slapstick accusation against him of breach of promise by the widow Mrs Bardell and her unscrupulous lawyers, Dodson and Fogg, for which our hero is tried, found guilty, refuses to pay the fine and is in consequence sent to the Fleet prison. This provides Dickens with the opportunity to expose another evil of his time, that of the condition of poor debtors, those unable to pay their way in the prisons of the time, where food and lodging had to paid for by the prisoners, thus meaning that the poor debtors rotted and starved, unless charitable persons outside took pity on them (rich prisoners could afford to pay for luxury and comfort so had a much easier time of it inside). Indeed the whole concept of imprisoning people for debt seems absurd, as they by definition cannot then even try to repay their debts. An absolute gem of a novel that set Dickens on the road to well deserved fame and literary immortality.

[fluffyblue_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

It was with great sadness that I finished The Pickwick Papers. I enjoyed this book so much, it really was a joy to pick up every day. It made me laugh out loud so many times. I think my poor husband got fed up of me quoting parts of the books all of the time!The characters were wonderful, of course particularly Pickwick and Sam Weller, but the side characters were all well set out as well, and just added to the whole fabulousness of the story. This is a book I know I will turn to again and again and it has made me want to read more Dickens (and classics in general) faster than I am able to!

[morryb_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Charles Dickens wit and humor is readily made apparent in his novel the Pickwick Papers. In many cases it made me laugh out loud. It was truly an enjoyable and fun read. In particular the hunting adventure and the bag man's tale of a chair tuning into an old man. Throughout the novel there are nine different short stories that are either told by a character passing through or read by Pickwick that seem to have nothing to do with the novel, but these certainly do not detract from the story. In true Dickens style, he does question some of the English Institutions such as the debtors prisons. I did truly admire Mr. Pickwick's sense of values and his sense of what was right and what was wrong. I am also curious as to whether this novel had any influence of P.G. Wodehouse's Jeeves. This is a long book, but I wouldn't have minded it even if it were a bit longer.

[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.

[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.

[souloftherose · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

The Pickwick Papers was Dickens' first novel, written at the tender age of 24 and published in monthly instalments from 1836-1837. The story follows the 'perambulations, perils, travels, adventures and sporting transactions of the corresponding members' of The Pickwick Club as they travel across England.I found the funniest parts of the book to be the early chapters where Dickens seems to be concentrating more on pure humour/satire by creating brilliant caricatures and there were several incidents that had me laughing out loud whilst I was reading (fortunately I was reading at home). As the serial progresses Dickens seems to move away from this approach to create more rounded, sympathetic characters, particularly where Mr Pickwick himself is concerned and whilst that meant there were fewer laugh out loud moments it also meant I became fonder of the characters. A note on my edition: My copy was the 2003 Penguin Classics edition and as well as including some very helpful notes on the text and an introduction, this edition also showed where each monthly part ended so I was able to read along as the original subscribers to the serial would have received it (yes, I am a Dickens geek). This edition also comes complete with the original illustrations by Seymour and Phiz which are absolutely superb and really add to the story.All in all, I can't recommend this book enough and I'm only sorry it took me so long to get round to rereading it.

[literarysarah · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

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

[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.

[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.

[readafew · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This was a long read but continually improved to the end. I enjoyed this book even though it took me longer than normal to get through it. Dickens seemed to poke fun at everyone in this book, Lawyers, Doctors, Gentlemen, Politicians and many others. The first half of the book Pickwick and friends are made out to be just bumbleing ignorant gentlemen whose escapades we are able to laugh at. By the end they are shown to be careing generous people we don't want to say goodbye to. I shall in the future read more of Dickens works.

[dsc73277 · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

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

[greatrakes · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Mr Pickwick is undoubtedly a sentimental man and, as the book is a comedy, it has a happy ending for the members of the club, and an ambivalent one for the villains, but despite that, this book is less sentimental than most Dickens I have read. I suppose I think of Dickens as being the leading Victorian novelist, but this book was started before Victoria became Queen, and was set a decade before it was written, so it is clearly pre-Victorian - I'm not sure what that signifies!Although the Pickwick Club is a populous body, the book is concerned with just a few members:Samuel Pickwick - founder of the Pickwick Club,Nathaniel Winkle - an inept sportsman,Augustus Snodgrass - a poet with no known output,Tracy Tupman - an inept Lothario.They are taking time out (over a year) to travel and examine the world, before (in the case of Winkle and Sodgrasse) settling down to matrimony. Mr Pickwick, their quixotic leader, has taken early retirement. This gives the book the flavour of a nineteenth centre lads weekend away, stretched over many months, accentuated by the fact that it was published monthly, making it feel very episodic. The female characters seem to be victims or stooges - only Mrs Pott made a lasting impression on me and we get a male perspective on the world.Sam Weller is my least favourite character, despite having some of the best lines, I hate subservient, but chirpy, Cockney Sparras, it has become such a cliche. There are some excellently done stereotypes, amongst others: solicitors, their clerks, barristers, doctors, politicians, journalists and preachers are hatcheted

[extrajoker · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

first line: "The first ray of light which illumines the gloom, and converts into a dazzling brilliancy that obscurity in which the earlier history of the public career of the immortal Pickwick would appear to be involved, is derived from the perusal of the following entry in the Transactions of the Pickwick Club, which the editor of these papers feels the highest pleasure in laying before his readers, as a proof of the careful attention, indefatigable assiduity, and nice discrimination, with which his search among the multifarious documents confided to him has been conducted."*deep breath*Despite its formidable opening (and no less daunting volume), this really is a fun (and funny) read, a sort of comedy of errors about the bookish, clueless Samuel Pickwick, Esq.

[atimco-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Pickwick Papers is one of Charles Dickens' earliest works and so it's hard not to read it looking for the seeds of everything to come later in his body of writing. Absurdity, humor, tragedy, chicanery, romance, fancy, lawsuits, debtors' prison, and more are here in good measure to richly repay Dickens' readers. At times the interposition of tragic or comedic vignettes seem a bit forced, like short stories Dickens edited in to fill space. Pickwick and the others interact with these tales very little, simply hearing them and then moving on with their adventures without commentary. Some are unrelievedly tragic; others are crazily hilarious and fanciful, like the armchair coming to life and telling his story. But it's the characters that make this loosely connected string of stories so memorable. Samuel Weller is one of my favorite literary characters of all time. I think he must have inspired Tolkien's Sam Gamgee at some level; both are utterly devoted to their masters and have a sturdy, rustic self possession that is highly distinctive. And I can't think of Tony Weller without smiling. And of course, Mr. Pickwick himself. And Snodgrass, and Tupman, and Winkle, and Wardle, and Jingle, and Job, and all the rest of that merry bunch. Quite simply, this is splendid fun.

[birdy55 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

One of the three books I read when I'm either doing chemo or recovering from a bad illness.

[santhony_35 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

It was a happy day when I, for whatever reason, elected to sample Charles Dickens. Having read A Tale of Two Cities in high school, I digressed to more popular fiction (Michener, Clavell, McMurtry, King, Grisham), as well as periods of science fiction and even non-fiction (Ambrose, McCollough for example), before making an effort to upgrade my reading list.I read some Tolstoy, Dostoyevsky, Steinbeck and Hemingway with mixed success before reading Great Expectations. I liked it enough to read David Copperfield, and I was hooked. A Tale of Two Cities followed and then Oliver Twist (not my favorite), Bleak House, Nicholas Nickleby and Martin Chuzzlewit before taking on this lengthy novel.The Pickwick Papers was Dickens’s first published novel and set him apart among his contemporaries. It features a club of London gentlemen, headed up by Mr. Pickwick, who travel the countryside and chronicle their adventures. Within many chapters are short vignettes or “tales” either told by the characters or presented from another written source, very reminiscent of The Canterbury Tales.As in almost all Dickens’s work, the beauty of the novel lies in the original and classic characters created therein. Sam Weller and Mr. Jingles take their places alongside such other Dickens characters as Uriah Heap and Mr. Pecksniff as truly memorable Dickensian creations.As in other Dickens works, a period of acclimation is required to become comfortable with the vocabulary and social conventions of the era, and while I can’t rank this work at the absolute top of the Dickens pantheon (David Copperfield and A Tale of Two Cities), I certainly enjoyed it more than Oliver Twist, Bleak House and Martin Chuzzlewit, putting it on a par with Nicholas Nickleby and Great Expectations.

[wvlibrarydude · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I would actually give Pickwick Papers 3.5 stars. One can tell that Dickens wrote this at the beginning of his career. The characters and situational humor comes through at times, but there are chapters that struggle. As the chapters progress, the writing becomes stronger.
Sam Weller and Mr Pickwick are characters that one warms to with fondness and many a chuckle. If you would like to read a more modern version of this type of story telling with situational comedy founded on humorous characters, then I strongly recommend the adventures of the Moosepath League by Van Reid. It starts with Cordelia Underwood.

[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.

[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.

[sullywriter_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I would have found this book more engrossing and read it more quickly if there were an overarching plot holding it all together. The disadvantages of publishing first as a serial are obvious here. This "novel" is really a collection of loosely connected episodes that are quite entertaining. The strength of this book are the wonderful characters of which I believe there are over 150. Pickwick, of course, and Sam Weller stand out but there are many others who are quite memorable. I love Dickens's obvious delight in creating so many outrageous names for his characters.

[satyridae · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This book makes me want to outlaw the teaching of classics to schoolchildren and hide all the Dickens on a high shelf with the porn so that there's half a chance that kids might read it. This is hilarious stuff. Who knew that they got to be classics for a reason? I approached this book with no small amount of trepidation, and in next to no time was laughing out loud. It's one thing to be reading alone and smile at a funny bit, but to be laughing, no, whooping helplessly, is another thing entirely. DH was sure he hated Dickens, any and all Dickens, so I read to him some of the elder Weller's philosophy on marriage. He kept trying not to laugh, but it was hopeless. This is really funny stuff. And Dickens was a mere lad of 24 when he wrote it.

[klerulo · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Very droll, highly entertaining.