This is a reproduction of the original artefact. Generally these books are created from careful scans of the original. This allows us to preserve the book accurately and present it in the way the author intended. Since the original versions are generally quite old, there may occasionally be certain imperfections within these reproductions. We're happy to make these classics available again for future generations to enjoy!

The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club (also known as The Pickwick Papers) was Charles Dickens's first novel. He was asked to contribute to the project as an up-and-coming writer following the success of Sketches by Boz, published in 1836. With the introduction of Sam Weller in chapter 10, the book became the first real publishing phenomenon, with bootleg copies, theatrical performances, Sam Weller joke books, and other merchandise.

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.

This novel, written when Dickens was only 25 years old, immediately brought him immense popularity. Presenting a host of now-classic characters in a series of adventures, it displays the richness of his skills of characterization and description. Mr Samuel Pickwick is general chairman of the Pickwick Club, whose members - Tracy Tupman, Augustus Snodgrass, and Nathaniel Winkle – form a society to report their adventures and observations. From these reports emerge the rascal Jingle and his servant, Job Trotter, the engaging Sam Weller, the greedy drunkard Stiggins, and many more of Dickens's best-loved characters.

Following the bumbling Pickwickians along the highways and byways of old England, he creates a vivid world of highwaymen, duels, lawsuits, jails, hilarious romantic imbroglios--but a world, too.