Pikewick Adventures (Volume 1 and 2)

Author: (English) Charles Dickens
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2002-11-01
Features: The Pickwick Papers is Dickens' first major novel and his breakthrough work. This darkly 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, as he leads his followers on journeys across England. The plot of the entire book is divided into two main threads: one is the repeated confrontations between Pickwick and the trickster, Jaggers; the other is the lawsuit filed by Mrs. Bardell against Pickwick for breaking the engagement. In addition to these two interwoven main threads, the stories of Pickwick's followers and the tales heard during the journey form a series of subplots. The structure of stories within stories clearly draws inspiration from The Night Thoughts of a Deaf Man, The Decameron, Don Quixote, and The Canterbury Tales. Moreover, the panoramic view of English society offered by 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, although the book does not fall into the conventional traps of traditional picaresque novels.