Pickwick Papers, The, is a novel by the English author Charles Dickens that describes the adventures of four mismatched characters. The novel was first published in installments in 1836 and 1837. In 1837, it was published in one volume, under the title The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club. See Dickens, Charles.
The Pickwick Papers was Dickens’s first novel and made him, at the age of 24, an immediate success. It remains one of the world’s best-known novels. The hero of the novel is Mr. Pickwick, who has founded the Pickwick Club. The membership of the club consists of four eccentric characters—Pickwick, Augustus Snodgrass, Tracy Tupman, and Nathaniel Winkle. The four set off on a journey to observe the characters and manners of their time. This journey is the rather slender thread that holds the novel together. The series of humorous adventures and misadventures that the four pass through are barely linked in a consistent plot. The novel’s strength lies in its successful mix of storytelling, farce, social criticism, and characterization.
One of the story’s plots involves a breach-of-promise case brought against Pickwick by Mrs. Bardell, his landlady, whom he promised to marry. The case results in Pickwick being fined. He refuses to pay the fine and is imprisoned. Another plotline involves the visit of the Pickwick Club to Dingley Dell, where Mr. Wardle and his daughter Emily live. Snodgrass falls in love with Emily and eventually marries her. Other incidents that befall the club include Winkle’s becoming involved in a duel (which is prevented) and his wooing of Arabella Allen. Jingle, a rascally character, creates havoc for the Pickwick Club on several occasions throughout the novel. One of the novel’s best-known characters is Sam Weller, a comical Cockney who becomes Mr. Pickwick’s servant and devoted companion.
