The Pickwick Papers
The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club, best known as The Pickwick Papers, was the first novel by Charles Dickens.
Samuel Pickwick is a kind and wealthy old gentleman and he is the founder and perpetual president of the Pickwick Club.
He suggests that he and three other Pickwickians should make journeys to places remote from London and report on their findings to the other members of the club.
Their travels throughout the English countryside by coach provide the chief subject matter of the novel. After a romantic misunderstanding with Mrs. Bardell, his landlady, both are sentenced to prison terms and a fairly large financial fine.
The popularity of the book The Pickwick Papers spawned several print sequels, as well as actual clubs and societies inspired by the novel's club.
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Public domain (US)·No sign-up·DRM-free·Real text, not scans
Copyright note. The Pickwick Papers by Charles Dickens is believed to be in the public domain in the United States only. It may still be copyrighted in other countries. If you are not in the United States, please check your local laws to ensure this eBook is in the public domain in your country before downloading The Pickwick Papers in PDF or EPUB.
- Pages
- 860
- Reading time
- 25 hours 20 minutes
- Pace
- Intermediate
- First published
- 1836
- Language
- English
- Downloads
- 3,572
190 years later, still timely
Why Read The Pickwick Papers in 2026?
Road-trip comedy before the road movie: an amiable club wanders, eats, argues, and befriends its way through England. Laughter opens the door to observation.
Today's connection
Perfect for light, serial reading. Episodes stand alone yet accumulate warmth and insight into law, lodging, and everyday theater. Friendship is the plot engine.
Episodic fun
Stories you can read out of order.
Camaraderie
Generous humor without cruelty.
Social snapshot
Travel reveals systems and quirks.
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About the author
Charles Dickens
Panoramic storytelling with comic energy and structural heart for the city and the outsider.
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From The Pickwick Papers
Most people are when they've little to do and less to get.
She never went out herself, and ... was apt to consider it an act of domestic treason, if anybody else took the liberty of doing what she couldn't.
Lawyers hold that there are two kinds of particularly bad witnesses–a reluctant witness, and a too-willing witness.
Great men are seldom over scrupulous in the arrangement of their attire.
Dumb as a drum vith a hole in it, sir.