The Pickwick Papers
 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) |
| Country | England |
| Language | English |
| Subject | Travels in the English Countryside |
| Genre | Novel |
| Published | Serialised March 1836 – November 1837; book format 1837 |
| Publisher | Chapman & Hall |
| 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 Charles Dickens. It was published as a serial, in a monthly magazine. In total, there are 19 episodes, published between March 1836 and November 1837. The publisher Chapman & Hall ordered these stories, because Dickens had been successful with Sketches by Boz, published in 1836. The publisher asked Dickens to explain a series of comic "cockney sporting plates" by illustrator Robert Seymour, and to connect them into a novel. The book became very successful. 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'." Published in 19 issues over 20 months, the success of The Pickwick Papers popularised serialised fiction and cliffhanger endings.
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."
Because it was so successful, there are several adaptations to other media:
- There is a theatre play, called Samuel Weller, or, The Pickwickians, done in 1837
- There's a play called Bardell versus Pickwick, done in 1871
- There are theatre adaptations of 1889 and 1963
- There are a total of 11 movies, produced between 1913 and 1985
- There's a dramatized version for radio, produced in the 1990s.