Book review: the pickwick papers, by charles dickens

HISTORY OF CREATION

The novel was published as a serial, issued in instalments, as was common with many other works at the time. Dickens was commissioned to write the book by his publisher, who originally wanted Dickens to merely provide the text to complement illustrations by Robert Seymour, who had proposed to draw a series of illustrations surrounding the comic adventures of the members of a sporting club. However, Dickens indicated that he knew nothing about hunting and other sports activities, and so he redefined the work.
The original concept of a group of characters experiencing comical adventures was retained, but in Dickens' version the characters belonged to the Pickwick Club, named after its founder and perpetual president Samuel Pickwick. The objective of the club is to explore life and to this end, Pickwick and the other members of the Club make journeys out of London to various parts of England, meeting quaint and bizarre character along the way. Some critics have seen similarities between the Pickwick Papers and other picaresque novels such as Don Quixote,
Robert Seymour was relegated to a secondary role, and now instead of Dickens providing the text to illustrations created by Seymour, Seymour was required to illustrate Dickens's writing. Only part way through the publication of the book, Seymour committed suicide, apparently despondent over a number of reverses including his lack of creative control over the Pickwick Papers. A controversy developed as to whether Seymour ought to have been credited with the idea for the Pickwick Papers, but Dickens and his publisher denied that Seymour had any meaningful input.

Mr Pickwick Chases his Hat - Illustration by Robert Seymour
The Pickwick Papers became a publishing phenomenon. Readers eagerly awaited each new instalment; those who could afford to buy a copy would read it to their friends and relatives who could not. The success of the book was due to Dickens' creation of a cast of eccentric, humorous characters as well as his nostalgic portrait of England which contrasted with the cynical reality of the time.
The Pickwick Papers was published in 19 episodes spread over 20 months; the last instalment was of double length and cost two shillings since Dickens had skipped the May 1837 issue due to the death of his sister, Mary Hogarth. Each instalment was usually published at the end of the month.
As the author's first novel, The Pickwick Papers had a somewhat troubled history: the first two issues included four illustrations by Robert Seymour and 24 pages of text. After the suicide of the artist, the latter was replaced by RW Buss for the third instalment and the composition of the editions was changed to two illustrations and two pages of text each. However, Buss did not like the work and so he was replaced in turn by Hablot Knight Browne (Phiz) for the fourth instalments. This was the beginning of a very fruitful collaboration between Phiz and Dickens; Phiz continued to work for the author for over 23 years.
The Pickwick Papers describes the travels of Mr. Samuel Pickwick, founder of the Pickwick Club, with his friends Nathaniel Winkle, Augustus Snodgrass and Tracy Tupman through early nineteenth century England. The book features a cast of bizarre characters and situations.
There is no overriding plot to the novel, but rather a series of somewhat connected vignettes involving the characters. One story involves a lawsuit between Mr. Pickwick and his landlady, who, due to a misunderstanding, sues Mr. Pickwick for breach of promise to marry. The landlady wins the lawsuit and is awarded damages, but Mr. Pickwick stubbornly refuses to pay her and so is imprisoned in the Marshalsea, the prison for debtors ( a recurring theme in Dickens's works - for example Little Dorrit - as well as in Dickens own family history). Other characters are more lucky in love: Augustus Snodgrass falls in love with the daughter of Mr. Wardle, a jovial and wealthy gentleman of peasant origins whom the travelers encounter during a trip. And then there are other romantic pairings, some successful, some mercenary, and always comical.
This novel, Dickens' first and last humorous one, was born in the amazing world of English magazines of the XIX century. Many wonderful books, included in the Golden Fund of World Literature, were created thanks to an English magazine. Writers, even such large figures as Charles Dickens and William Thackeray, wrote big novels with sequels for the journals. Because of journalistic specifics, the authors had to finish the text for the next issue with an effective scene to maintain readers' interest. That is why the classic English novel is so full of sharp plot twists and turns.
Of course, the editors of literary magazines also operated in the same way in other countries, but the results were much less impressive. And yet, the story of the creation of the first novel by Dickens seems even more amusing. You can name a lot of books, which were subsequently painted comics, but the "Posthumous notes of the Pickwick Club" itself was born as comic books.