Pikeville Chronicle - (High School Part) (Volume 1 and 2) (Revised Edition)

Author: (English) Charles Dickens
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2002-11-01
Features: The Pickwick Papers is Dickens' first major novel and his debut work. This darkly humorous and satirical novel, rich in romantic fantasy yet closely tied to social reality, primarily tells the whimsical adventures and observations of the naive and innocent bourgeoisie, Mr. Pickwick, and his followers as they travel across England. The plot of the entire book is divided into two main threads: one is the repeated confrontations between Pickwick and the trickster, Mr. Jingle; the other is the lawsuit filed by Mrs. Bardell against Pickwick for breaking his engagement. Beyond these two interwoven main threads, the stories of Pickwick's followers and the tales heard during their journey form a series of subplots. The structure of stories within stories clearly draws inspiration from The Night Thoughts of Elia, The Decameron, Don Quixote, and The Canterbury Tales. Moreover, the panoramic view of British society presented through the travelogue undoubtedly reflects the influence of the picaresque novel. In fact, The Pickwick Papers has long been regarded as a representative work of the English picaresque novel, though the book does not fall into the conventional tropes of traditional picaresque novels.