The Pickwick Papers Introduction

by Charles Dickens

Written for publication as a serial, The Pickwick Papers is a sequence of loosely-related adventures. The novel’s main character, Mr. 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 members of the club. Their travels throughout the English countryside provide the chief theme of the novel. 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 provides an aura of comic villainy. His misadventures repeatedly land the Pickwickians in trouble. These include Jingle’s elopement with the spinster, Aunt Rachael of Dingley Dell manor, misadventures with Dr. Slammer, and others. Other notable adventures include Mr. Pickwick’s legal case against 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; the unscrupulous Dodson and Fogg’s law firm prosecuted poor Pickwick.

The Pickwick Papers EPISODE I.

The Pickwick Papers CHAPTER I. THE PICKWICKIANS

The Pickwick Papers CHAPTER II. THE FIRST DAY’S JOURNEY, AND THE FIRST EVENING’S ADVENTURES;

The Pickwick Papers EPISODE II.

The Pickwick Papers CHAPTER III. A NEW ACQUAINTANCE—THE STROLLER’S TALE—A DISAGREEABLE

The Pickwick Papers CHAPTER IV. A FIELD DAY AND BIVOUAC—MORE NEW FRIENDS—AN INVITATION TO

The Pickwick Papers CHAPTER V. A SHORT ONE—SHOWING, AMONG OTHER MATTERS, HOW Mr. PICKWICK

The Pickwick Papers EPISODE III.

The Pickwick Papers CHAPTER VI. AN OLD-FASHIONED CARD-PARTY—THE CLERGYMAN’S VERSES—THE

The Pickwick Papers CHAPTER VII. HOW Mr. WINKLE, INSTEAD OF SHOOTING AT THE PIGEON AND

The Pickwick Papers CHAPTER VIII. STRONGLY ILLUSTRATIVE OF THE POSITION, THAT THE COURSE OF

The Pickwick Papers EPISODE IV.

The Pickwick Papers CHAPTER IX. A DISCOVERY AND A CHASE

The Pickwick Papers CHAPTER X. CLEARING UP ALL DOUBTS (IF ANY EXISTED) OF THE

The Pickwick Papers CHAPTER XI. INVOLVING ANOTHER JOURNEY, AND AN ANTIQUARIAN DISCOVERY;

The Pickwick Papers EPISODE V.

The Pickwick Papers CHAPTER XII. DESCRIPTIVE OF A VERY IMPORTANT PROCEEDING ON THE PART OF

The Pickwick Papers CHAPTER XIII. SOME ACCOUNT OF EATANSWILL; OF THE STATE OF PARTIES

The Pickwick Papers CHAPTER XIV. COMPRISING A BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE COMPANY AT THE