 Original cover issued in 1836 | |
| Author | Charles Dickens ("Boz") |
|---|---|
| Original title | The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club, Containing a Faithful Record of the Perambulations, Perils, Travels, Adventures and Sporting Transactions of the Corresponding Members |
| Illustrator | Robert Seymour Robert William Buss Hablot Knight Browne (Phiz) |
| Language | English |
| Subject | Travels in the English Countryside |
| Genre | Novel |
| Published | Serialised March 1836 – November 1837; book format 1837 |
| Publisher | Chapman & Hall |
| Publication place | England |
| Media type | |
| Preceded by | Sketches by Boz |
| Followed by | Oliver Twist |
| Text | The Pickwick Papers at Wikisource |
The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club (also known as The Pickwick Papers) was the first novel by English author Charles Dickens. His previous work was Sketches by Boz, published in 1836, and his publisher Chapman & Hall asked Dickens to supply descriptions to explain a series of comic "cockney sporting plates" by illustrator Robert Seymour,[1] and to connect them into a novel. The book became a publishing phenomenon, with bootleg copies, theatrical performances, Sam Weller joke books, and other merchandise.[2] On its cultural impact, Nicholas Dames in The Atlantic writes, "'Literature' is not a big enough category for Pickwick. It defined its own, a new one that we have learned to call 'entertainment'."[3] The Pickwick Papers was published in 19 issues over 20 months, and it popularised serialised fiction and cliffhanger endings.[4]
Seymour's widow claimed that the idea for the novel was originally her husband's, but Dickens strenuously denied any specific input in his preface to the 1867 edition: "Mr. Seymour never originated or suggested an incident, a phrase, or a word, to be found in the book."[5]
- ^ This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Cross, Wilbur L. (1920). . In Rines, George Edwin (ed.). Encyclopedia Americana.
- ^ "The Sam Weller Bump". The Paris Review. Retrieved 26 June 2021.
- ^ Dames, Nicholas (June 2015). "Was Dickens a Thief?". The Atlantic. Retrieved 27 June 2021.
- ^ "The modern serialised story". Medium. Retrieved 3 January 2020.
- ^ C. Dickens, The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club (1867 reprint), p.8