The Mudfog Papers, a collection of sketches by Charles Dickens, describes the local politics of the fi ctional town of Mudfog – such as thedelusions of grandeur of its mayor Nicholas Tulrumble and his disastrous attempts at putting on a public show – and the meetings of its Society for the Advancement of Everything, during which the town is overrun by illustrious scientists and professors conducting ostensibly pointless research.

First published as "The Mudfrog Papers" from 1837-38 in the monthly literary periodical "Bentley's Miscellany" of which Dickens was then editor, then in book form as "The Mudfrog Papers and Other Sketches" in 1880 by Richard Bentley.

The original germ of the idea for these portraits in words, lies with one of Dicken's publishers who required a series of stories to accompany some sporting cartoons in their magazine. A key character in this series is Mr. Winkle, a character who perhaps developed beyond the intended bounds of the stories. In this series of sketches, readers can discern characters and situations in common with Dickens full-blown novels.