Dickens' first best-selling novel traces the story of the immortal Mr. Samuel Pickwick and his travels on behalf of The Pickwick Club.
The Pickwick Papers (Oxford World's Classics)
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"No essay in fiction ever gave more incontestable assurance of genius. . . . Never, perhaps, was satire so large-hearted and so entertaining." --George Gissing
--This text refers to the
Paperback
edition.
Book Description
'His greatest success' George Orwell
--This text refers to the
Paperback
edition.
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First Sentence
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. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
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. Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
66 of 67 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
The Pickwick Papers was my first real encounter with a Charles Dickens novel. Before I started reading this epic comedy, my only experience of Dickens was having read the seasonal Christmas Books (mini-masterpieces in themselves)and seen the various cinematic adaptations that we are all bought up on. I will confess at this point that I had already seen Noel Langley's 1952 film version of the book, which I deem to be one of the most hilarious films i've ever had the pleasure of seeing, and so I was a bit biased when I started reading.
However, from the first chapter I was hooked and can safely say that the novel surpassed any expectations the film had given me. Never before have I encountered a piece of literature that has made me laugh so much. The novel depicts the adventures of Mr Pickwick and his friends as they travel the country in order to observe human nature. Beyond this, there is only the faintest notion of a plot but this is the intention of the author due to the monthly form in which the book was published. The novel pretends to be nothing more than it is.
And what the novel IS, is jolly good fun. It does not take itself seriously and spans all kinds of humour, ranging from the verbal kind to memorable scenes of slapstick.This is the book by which all other comedies, be they written or cinematic, should be judged! Each new situation is unique and virtually all the characters, be they major ones or minor, are so vividly drawn that they remain with the reader a long while after the novel ends. Each of them from Mr Pickwick to Dodson and Fog are distinct, and what is even more wonderful is that the reader can laugh both at, and with, the characters.
... Read more ›18 of 19 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
Format:Paperback
...Dickens' first novel is a comic masterpiece; his reading public hoped in vain that he would continue to produce humorous novels, and although his subsequent works have humorous (generally satirical) elements, they all fundamentally bear a much heavier, serious message. This is simply an enjoyable romp. "Ode to an expiring frog" is genius.
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
By Didier
TOP 500 REVIEWER
Format:Paperback
For some reason I had been reading - as I'm writing this - English literature quite intensively for the last 25 years but had never read anything by Dickens. Was it because I feared being disappointed by the books, having seen several film and television adaptations? Or because of the rumours of his 'flat' characters? Whatever the case, when I recently determined this could no longer do I simultaneously resolved to go about it methodically and read Dickens' novels chronologically, which meant starting with 'The Pickwick Papers'.
I confess I felt at first rather daunted by the prospect due to the sheer size of this novel (in comparison: Oliver Twist (Oxford World's Classics) is a mere 480 pages, Hard Times (Oxford World's Classics) just over 300 pages), but as soon as I got started I was hooked instantly, and every time I opened the book to read on (an urge I could barely suppress, even during working hours) I was immediately transported back to the England of the 1820s, in the delightful company of Mr. Samuel Pickwick and his companions.
In a way, this is surprising as 'The Pickwick Papers' has little, if anything, of a plot. Mr. Pickwick founds an amateur club 'to enlarge his sphere of observation, to the advancement of knowledge, and the diffusion of learning' (as it says on page 1), and the rest of the book chronicles the adventurous travels across England of Mr. Pickwick and his 3 companions (Mr. Snodgrass, Mr. Tupman, and Mr. Winkle). So why would one feel this incessant appetite to read on and find out 'what happens next'? Well, in my case there were a number of reasons.... Read more ›
I confess I felt at first rather daunted by the prospect due to the sheer size of this novel (in comparison: Oliver Twist (Oxford World's Classics) is a mere 480 pages, Hard Times (Oxford World's Classics) just over 300 pages), but as soon as I got started I was hooked instantly, and every time I opened the book to read on (an urge I could barely suppress, even during working hours) I was immediately transported back to the England of the 1820s, in the delightful company of Mr. Samuel Pickwick and his companions.
In a way, this is surprising as 'The Pickwick Papers' has little, if anything, of a plot. Mr. Pickwick founds an amateur club 'to enlarge his sphere of observation, to the advancement of knowledge, and the diffusion of learning' (as it says on page 1), and the rest of the book chronicles the adventurous travels across England of Mr. Pickwick and his 3 companions (Mr. Snodgrass, Mr. Tupman, and Mr. Winkle). So why would one feel this incessant appetite to read on and find out 'what happens next'? Well, in my case there were a number of reasons.... Read more ›
23 of 25 people found the following review helpful
By S. Hapgood
VINE™ VOICE
Format:Paperback
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.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Thank you
This was a free item, but I enjoyed it. I used to borrow books from a local library, but have begun to get something to read from Amazon. Thank you.
Published 18 days ago by White owl
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Great Classic
The Pickwick Papers is an interesting classic Charles Dickens novel which I found quite amusing with very short stories added as well.
Published 24 days ago by Mr. K. A. Lee
4.0 out of 5 stars
Delightful
With something of a sub-theme of social commentary on the plight of the poor in the eyes of the law, the hapless Pickwick's ventures, whether in court, hunting or at an election,... Read more
Published 27 days ago by Susanna Deakin
5.0 out of 5 stars
Very good
Along with 'A Tale of Two Cities' probably one of the most readable Dickens novels. I tried it when I was too youngsome years ago and then did not really grasp tghe 'blokish' type... Read more
Published 1 month ago by SUPERMAC
4.0 out of 5 stars
An excellent read
Having read very little Dickens in my youth I decided to try some of the books out. They are long as would be expected from the methods used to publish the books in the first... Read more
Published 2 months ago by William MacRae
5.0 out of 5 stars
pure brilliance
If there is ever one book that I wished to be written this is it, here are good books then theres this book this is without doubt one of the best stories ever written and thats... Read more
Published 2 months ago by M. Hallows
4.0 out of 5 stars
A bit wordy
I enjoyed the story, but found there was too much description, but of course I guess that was the style in Dickens' day. Read more
Published 3 months ago by L. Hurst
4.0 out of 5 stars
Pickwick
A complete book, but difficult to read. it is not a book which can be read in small pieces, because concentration is required
Published 3 months ago by Wrinkly
5.0 out of 5 stars
who doesnt love pickwick
i love the naive mr pickwick and his friends. their innocence could be taken as stupidity but i prefer to think of them as an eccentric group!
Published 3 months ago by Lesley
3.0 out of 5 stars
Spelling mistakes
The story is excellent but this copy contains too many spelling errors. The transcriber obviously didn't understand the language used by characters such as Sam.
Published 3 months ago by Pls
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