The Pickwick Papers

Charles Dickens

OUP Oxford, May 8, 2008 - Fiction - 784 pages

In 1836 the 23-year-old Dickens was invited by his publishers to write `a monthly something' illustrated by sporting plates. Thus the Pickwick Club was born: its supposed `papers' soom outgrew their origins and became a brilliantly comic novel, still among Dicken's most popular works. ABOUT THE SERIES: For over 100 years Oxford World's Classics has made available the widest range of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford's commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading authorities, helpful notes to clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies for further study, and much more.

Contents

• INTRODUCTION: 1804
• NOTE ON THE TEXT: 1817

About the author

Charles Dickens, perhaps the best British novelist of the Victorian era, was born in Portsmouth, Hampshire, England on February 7, 1812. His happy early childhood was interrupted when his father was sent to debtors' prison, and young Dickens had to go to work in a factory at age twelve. Later, he took jobs as an office boy and journalist before publishing essays and stories in the 1830s. His first novel, The Pickwick Papers, made him a famous and popular author at the age of twenty-five. Subsequent works were published serially in periodicals and cemented his reputation as a master of colorful characterization, and as a harsh critic of social evils and corrupt institutions. His many books include Oliver Twist, David Copperfield, Bleak House, Great Expectations, Little Dorrit, A Christmas Carol, and A Tale of Two Cities. Dickens married Catherine Hogarth in 1836, and the couple had nine children before separating in 1858 when he began a long affair with Ellen Ternan, a young actress. Despite the scandal, Dickens remained a public figure, appearing often to read his fiction. He died in 1870, leaving his final novel, The Mystery of Edwin Drood, unfinished.

Bibliographic information

• Title: The Pickwick Papers; Oxford World's Classics, ISSN 2755-4058; World's classics
• Author: Charles Dickens
• Editor: James Kinsley
• Contributor: James Kinsley
• Edition: illustrated, reprint, reissue
• Publisher: OUP Oxford, 2008
• ISBN: 0199536244, 9780199536245
• Length: 784 pages
• Subjects: Fiction / Classics; Fiction / Friendship; Fiction / Humorous / General; Fiction / Literary; Foreign Language Study / English as a Second Language; Literary Criticism / General