Dickensians! discussion

THE LIFE AND ADVENTURES OF MARTIN CHUZZLEWIT - First Thread



Engraved title-page: At the Finger Post, by Phiz
(From the Victorian Web, image scanned by Philip V. Allingham)

This is the first thread for Martin Chuzzlewit, which is our annual Big Read of a novel by Charles Dickens. It has been chosen to fit in with our theme this year of "All Around Dickens" and specifically to follow our read American Notes for General Circulation, which was the trigger for Charles Dickens writing it.

The Life and Adventures of Martin Chuzzlewit is considered the last of his picaresque novels, and was originally serialised between January 1843 and July 1844.

Reading will be between 28th August and 30th November. Plateresca will host the first half of the novel and Jean will host the second. The timetable and links follow in the next comment.

PLEASE ALLOW PLATERESCA TO COMMENT FIRST! Thanks!

Hi, all! Here is the schedule for our read of 'Martin Chuzzlewit', which will be updated with links as we read.

28 Aug: Preliminary Notes
29 Aug: Dedication to Miss Bourdett Coutts

[I]
30 Aug: Chapter 1
31 Aug: Chapter 2 Summary & Notes
1 Sept: Chapter 3 Summary
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[II]
3 Sept: Chapter 4 Summary & Notes
4 Sept: Chapter 5, part I Summary & Notes
5 Sept: Chapter 5, part II Summary
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[III]
7 Sept: Chapter 6 Summary
8 Sept: Chapter 7
9 Sept: Chapter 8
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10 Sept: Free day
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[IV]
11 Sept: Chapter 9, part I (until the words 'half their failure')
12 Sept: Chapter 9, part II (until the end)
13 Sept: Chapter 10
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14 Sept: Free day
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[V]
15 Sept: Chapter 11, part I (until the words 'thought of settling')
16 Sept: Chapter 11, part II (until the end)
17 Sept: Chapter 12, part I (until the words: 'acquainted with Mr Tigg')
18 Sept: Chapter 12, part II (until the end)
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19 Sept: Free day
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[VI]
20 Sept: Chapter 13, part I (until the words 'for conversion into money')
21 Sept: Chapter 13, part II (until the end)
22 Sept: Chapter 14
23 Sept: Chapter 15
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24 Sept: Free day
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[VII]
25 Sept: Chapter 16, part I (until the words 'almost insupportable')
26 Sept: Chapter 16, part II (until the end)
27 Sept: Chapter 17
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28 Sept: Free day
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[VIII]
29 Sept: Chapter 18
30 Sept: Chapter 19
1 Oct: Chapter 20
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2 Oct: Free day
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[IX]
3 Oct: Chapter 21, part I (until the words 'they enjoyed themselves as at Pawkins's')
4 Oct: Chapter 21, part II (until the end)
5 Oct: Chapter 22
6 Oct: Chapter 23
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7 Oct: Free day
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[X]
8 Oct: Chapter 24
9 Oct: Chapter 25
10 Oct: Chapter 26
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11 Oct: Free day
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[XI]
12 Oct: Chapter 27, part I
13 Oct: Chapter 27, part II
14 Oct: Chapter 28
15 Oct: Chapter 29
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16 Oct: Free day
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[XII]
17 Oct: Chapter 30
18 Oct: Chapter 31
19 Oct: Chapter 32
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20 Oct: Free day
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[XIII]
21 Oct: Chapter 33
22 Oct: Chapter 34
23 Oct: Chapter 35
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24 Oct: Free day
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[XIV]
25 Oct: Chapter 36, part I
26 Oct: Chapter 36, part II
27 Oct: Chapter 37
28 Oct: Chapter 38
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29 Oct: Free day
30 Oct: Prefaces & Postscript
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[XV]
31 Oct: Chapter 39, part I
1 Nov: Chapter 39, part II
2 Nov: Chapter 40
3 Nov: Chapter 41
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4 Nov: Free day
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[XVI]
5 Nov: Chapter 42
6 Nov: Chapter 43, part I
7 Nov: Chapter 43, part II
8 Nov: Chapter 44
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9 Nov: Free day
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[XVII]
10 Nov: Chapter 45
11 Nov: Chapter 46, part I
12 Nov: Chapter 46, part II
13 Nov: Chapter 47
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14 Nov: Free day
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[XVIII]
15 Nov: Chapter 48
16 Nov: Chapter 49
17 Nov: Chapter 50
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18 Nov: Free day
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[XIX–XX]
19 Nov: Chapter 51, part I
20 Nov: Chapter 51, part II
21 Nov: Chapter 52, part I
22 Nov: Chapter 52, part II
23 Nov: Chapter 53
24 Nov: Chapter 54

I am thrilled to be hosting the first part of this read! It's an exciting novel which I'm sure you will not regret reading. I'm also sure that Jean and I will do our best to make the experience even more enjoyable for you.

Now for some housekeeping...

The Schedule
This is a hefty volume! We've decided to break up longer chapters, so we'll be reading a chapter a day or half a chapter a day. The schedule is right above this post, and it will be updated with links to our summaries and notes as we go. There'll be a break day when we finish each instalment.

What I'm saying is, we've tried our best to make the schedule manageable, but be prepared to spend some time with this novel.

Notes and Introductory Articles
It is Jean's and my ambition that you can read this novel with us, without referring to any notes except those that we provide for you, and still have much more understanding and context than you would get from the notes to existing editions. So we ask you not to read the 'Penguin' and 'Oxford' notes and introductory articles, because they contain many spoilers, or sometimes even judgements on the characters, while we think it's better to form our own ones. If you've read the novel before and just have to read those notes in your edition, please be careful not to spoil the plot for other readers.

We also ask you to skip the three Prefaces and the Postscript for now, and start right with Chapter 1 on the day it is scheduled. We'll read and discuss these a bit later. (Again, if you must read them now, just pretend that you haven't ;)).

When writing our notes, we suppose that most of you have read 'American Notes', so we'll try not to repeat what has been said in that discussion.
Nevertheless, please forgive me if I mention something that you already know — I will try to avoid this, but it might happen anyway. On the other hand, please do not be shy to ask about anything that seems obscure! It's just not always obvious what needs commenting and what doesn't.

Editions
The notorious 'Clarendon' edition is supposed to be the best in that it contains the most accurate version of the original text. It is also said to be rare and expensive; I certainly have not been able to locate it.
The 'Penguin Classics' and the 'Oxford World's Classics' editions are more accessible and both fine, except NB what I said about spoilers in the introductions and notes. So you can be just as well with the free Gutenberg version, the 'Complete Dickens' Kindle, or what have you.

Thank you for your attention, and you are very welcome to this read! :)

I look forward to this, and with the exception of having read American Notes, I will be just like most readers from the 1840s awaiting each chapter.

I'm looking forward to this too. I'd forgotten that it was beginning this week but glad to see the notice. My only question relates to the subject listed for the 28th and 29th. I have a section, Appendix B, titled Preliminaries and number plans and wonder if that correlates with what you have listed as the reading for those two days.

John, it will be interesting to compare 'American Notes' to the American chapters of 'MC'. I'm looking forward to reading your thoughts and impressions of them, and of all the other chapters, too, of course :)

Sue, I'm glad to see you here :)
Appendix B has Dickens's notes for the novel, of the kind he would later call 'Mems', so no, don't read them before the book! Sorry if I haven't been quite clear, I'll edit this in the post now. On the 28th & 29th, we're not to read anything from the book, but I'll post some notes to place this novel in the context of Dickens's other work, on the history of its publication, etc, a sort of an introduction.

I'm planning to join in this read; but due to other reading commitments, I'm planning to join in (as I did with last years' read) in early October. (Since I read at my own speed, I expect that I'll eventually catch up.) This will be my first time reading this particular novel, so I'm looking forward to it!

This is one of the Dickens novels I haven't tackled yet and hope to join in. I bought a copy years ago and this will be an opportunity to join in.

Thanks for your excellent guide to how we'll approach this novel Plateresca 🙂 It's a unique one in his canon - but I'll not spoil the introductory notes you will post on 28th and 29th. I will just add that those of you who have read American Notes for General Circulation with us (thanks John!) will find this read very much enriched by that experience. And I fully endorse Plateresca's observation that:

"we've tried our best to make the schedule manageable, but be prepared to spend some time with this novel."

It is certainly hefty and not one which is easy to catch up with or skip ahead. I would even go as far as to say that if you are used to reading more than one novel concurrently, you may not find it possible (even on our timetable) unless you want to spend a hefty part of your day reading. I certainly have not been able to do so!

But as long as everyone bears this in mind, I promise you it is well worth it 🙂 And if you are skipping ahead already, then I appeal to you to at least read Plateresca's comment 4.

In short, please clear your reading schedule as much as you possibly can!

I appreciate the advice about the length of this book and I found a certain hilarity about that advice which could perhaps even be Dickensesque.

Years ago when I was living in New Jersey I had my upstairs study and my books. This was before the age of Kindle and Nook and iPads. And I had a trade paperback of Chuzzlewit. I don’t think Penguin, but I don’t recall what edition. And I remember having it and just looking at it for years and years. Because it seemed like a very large brick and I found it just too daunting to try. So here I am.

I am impressed! This is definitely the great way to read Martin Chuzzlewit. Thank you very much

I'm planning on joining this read, and I'm thrilled it is almost here. I look forward to the Dickens read every year!! I appreciate the advice about the heftiness of this novel. I had been planning to read another book along with this one, and now I'm re-thinking that plan 🤔 - and actually knowing all this is increasing my excitement at starting!

Thanks Jean and Plateresca!

I'm excited for another Dickens read! I really must give this a try, even though I will be reading lots of other books during this time period. (Thank you for the warning that this will be a challenge, Jean!) And I was not able to read American Notes, so I'm afraid that will be another hindrance.

But I'm throwing caution to the wind and forging ahead anyway, knowing how helpful it is to have Plateresca and Jean to lead. ❤️

I feel the same, Kathleen. I will also be reading this as well as other books , just can’t keep from it! And I missed the read with John on American Notes but just read 2 chapters today and hopefully will be able to catch up and not feel hindered for not having read it. I am excited for another Dickens read!

I'm looking forward to reading Martin Chuzzlewit with Plateresca, Jean, and the group. I have commitments to read many other books so it's fortunate that I like to stay up late reading! I have the Penguin version of the book.

I’m also looking forward to another Dickens novel with this group. I’ll have to drop out near the end as I won’t have internet access for three weeks in November, but will complete the book and messages when access returns.

This will be a re-read for me. I read MARTIN CHUZZLEWIT many, many moons ago and I'll admit that I have absolutely no recollection of plot line or characters at all. My sole memory is one of first-rate Dickensian laugh-out loud humour and the fact that I enjoyed the novel thoroughly.

I'm definitely looking forward to the deeper, more critical, literary analysis that this very erudite group of fellow Dickens fans is sure to offer in the upcoming group discussion.

Plateresca, thanks for your response. It makes perfect sense. I’m looking forward to your guidance. This is a completely new book for me…I don’t even have any preconceptions about it. I will also be reading other books along with it but this is the norm for me and I will try to ration my time well.

Werner, you're welcome to the discussion whenever you have the time! I myself have often read Dickens novels at my own pace and caught up with the comments along the way.

Franky, it's exciting to have a Dickens novel you haven't yet read, isn't it? :) I'm glad you're joining us! Will be looking forward to your impressions.

I agree with what Jean says about the length of the chapters; they're longer than the ones in 'Robinson Crusoe', for instance, and sometimes very intense. But I'm sure the discussion will be worth the investment of time.

John, ha, I guess we've all had such intimidating volumes :) But this is Dickens, so the plot will keep us turning the pages.

Jodi, this group is special, isn't it? :) Welcome to the read!

Bridget, thank you for sharing your excitement! I'm glad to see you here :)

Kathleen of roses :) and Lori, I'd really love for both of you to join this read, and I'm sure you will find this novel interesting. I hope you can carve out some time for this read, even with your busy schedules.

Some people have mentioned that they haven't read 'American Notes', so I'd like to address this.

The essence of what I want to say is this:
This is really not a problem at all! :)

It's like this: Dickens's American impressions were first published in his travel book (of sorts), and then some of them found their way to the novel 'Martin Chuzzlewit'. So for those who have read 'American Notes', it might be interesting to compare how Dickens approached the same subjects in these two works, and to know how much of what we are reading in the fictional novel is based on real facts.
But then, of course, many of the events in the 'English' part of the novel are also based on real facts, and I'm sure nobody ever knows the contents of every Victorian newspaper Dickens might have read, but that's never prevented people from enjoying his novels :)

We will definitely explain everything that seems to need explaining for the modern reader.

Also, I'd like to say, — and I actually said this in my previous post, but then edited it out :) — that although 'MC' is called Dickens's Amercian novel, the 'American' chapters are really not that plentiful, most of the plot deals with English characters and situations. So I'd say, if you normally enjoy Dickens, you're likely to enjoy this novel :)

Connie, I must warn you that there are a couple of chapters further along that you might not want to read in the dark... 😱 And your laughter at some other chapters might wake somebody up. Otherwise, it's an excellent plan :) I'm glad you're joining us!

Kathleen, it's a pity you'll have to drop out, but we'll be happy to read your thoughts afterwards, whenever you have the time and opportunity to post them. Welcome to the discussion :)

Paul, I agree, many of the scenes in 'MC' are hilarious, I'm glad you enjoyed the novel when you read it, and I hope you'll enjoy it even more this time! Oh yes, this group is special, I'm proud to be a member of it.

Sue, I think it's super-exciting to start a novel by Dickens that one hasn't ever read. I know that you read a lot, but I trust that you'll manage your reading commitments perfectly, of course :)

Plateresca, I'm glad you addressed some issues about Martin Chuzzlewit vis-a-vis American Notes for General Circulation that have been keeping me on the fence about whether to tackle this Dickens novel.

Your statement of "Dickens's American impressions were first published in his travel book (of sorts), and then some of them found their way to the novel 'Martin Chuzzlewit' " is precisely why I thought this book would be a definite NO for me. As an American, I was somewhat put off by what I felt were Dickens' overly critical assessment of the "New Country" and its ordinary citizens. I was afraid Martin Chuzzlewit might be more of the same.

But then you said, "...although 'MC' is called Dickens's American novel, the 'American' chapters are really not that plentiful, most of the plot deals with English characters and situations. So I'd say, if you normally enjoy Dickens, you're likely to enjoy this novel. :)"

Thank you for this very useful, additional information on Martin Chuzzlewit, Plateresca. I'm now looking forward to joining in our annual Big Read, although like Kathleen, Lori and Connie, I will also be reading other books, working toward completion of my annual Bingo Challenge. I'm glad you and Jean divided up the longer chapters. Thank you!

I read this one alone several years ago. Like Paul, I have little memory of either the plot or the characters. I love Dickens, and yet I did not love this novel when I read it. Without expounding at all, I will just say life was a turmoil at the time and I think that I should not have been tackling something as long and complex as this work. I am really looking forward to reading this with the group and expecting that my second reaction is not going to have much in common with my first.

Shirley, thank you for bringing this up. You see, I'd really love for you to join this read. Knowing your experience with Dickens, I'm sure your comments would add to the discussion, but also, I am sure that the themes of this book would not leave you indifferent.

But the question is, basically, if somebody didn't quite love 'American Notes', how will they feel about 'Martin Chuzzlewit'.
You're right in supposing that some of the traits which Dickens criticized in 'American Notes' did find their reflection in the American chapters of 'Martin Chuzzlewit'. It is natural for an American to consider such representation not quite objective. I just want to draw everybody's attention to the fact that in his novels, Dickens always criticized what he thought was worthy of criticism. So yes, a reader of 'MC' will be aware there were things about America which Dickens hated; but in this novel, there are also enough things about Victorian mores that Dickens opposed no less.
I think that if you approach this novel without great expectations of the American chapters, but keeping in mind that there are not that many of them, and that it's not only America that gets criticized, you might enjoy this read, and we all of us might enjoy your participation in the discussion :)

Sara, thank you for giving this novel a second try! I do hope you will find it more enjoyable this time. I will be looking forward to reading your thoughts.

After my advice to "clear the reading schedule" for this book, I hoped I hadn't put anyone off. It seems I didn't - phew! That's the last thing I would want, but did think it only fair to warn everyone.

I do salute all you multiple book readers. 👏 Wow! Preparing this novel, I am reading far less than a chapter of it a day, and know that for our Big Read I cannot possibly read another book at the same time.

In terms of chapter length, it is probably similar to Nicholas Nickleby. I know from their reviews that a couple of members reacted negatively to their length, and those often contained more light and amusing conversations, which sped them along. There is humour - but also more sarcastic elements in the first half of this one, (and as Plateresca says, Charles Dickens's scathing sarcasm is definitely not restricted to America or Americans!) But that's why we will be splitting some of these longer chapters.

Anyway, you'll see what I mean when we get there 🙂It's great that we have 29 in already for our Big Read, and lovely to see both familiar and new faces.

Paul wrote: "This will be a re-read for me. I read MARTIN CHUZZLEWIT many, many moons ago and I'll admit that I have absolutely no recollection of plot line or characters at all. My sole memory is one of first-..."

I could have written this. As I wrote in my intro to this group, also “many moons ago,” I read all of Dickens in preparation to writing my grad school thesis on him, before I realized that too many people had already tried to find something new to write about his works.

Plateresca wrote: "Shirley, thank you for bringing this up. You see, I'd really love for you to join this read. Knowing your experience with Dickens, I'm sure your comments would add to the discussion, but also, I am..."

Thank you for your kind comments, Plateresca. You have put my mind at ease about another foray of Dickens in America. As long as he doesn't find himself on steamships with settlers, we should be okay. LOL With all of Dickens' humor brought up in this discussion, I'm looking forward to diving in when my library book arrives tomorrow.

Bionic Jean wrote: "After my advice to "clear the reading schedule" for this book, I hoped I hadn't put anyone off. It seems I didn't - phew! That's the last thing I would want, but did think it only fair to warn everyone."

Well, Jean, you did have me go check to see just how long Martin Chuzzlewit is! LOL. I was happy to see that it was not quite as long as Bleak House and Dombey and Son, and I think most of us kept pace with your schedule for those. So hopefully, your special schedule here should work out fine for us multiple book readers. 🤞

I’m looking forward to reading along with everyone. MC is certainly a hefty novel. Glad I’m retired and have time to read it again.

I’d like to add my own two cents about the American Notes issue as it relates to our reading of Chuzzlewit. I respect all opinions. My own opinion was that Dickens was no more critical of what he saw here than what is represented in his works — when looked at as an entire body of work. He was laudatory about things and people here when his observations told him so, and he was also critical when he believed it was warranted. This, to me, represents a particular honesty — a truth teller — that is foundational in all his works. I have not read a single word of Chuzzlewit. So I am a blank page and with the help of Plateresca and everyone here, I’ll see how the blanks get filled.

Kathleen, it's hard to disagree, a lot has been said about Dickens :) But I think the merit of great writers is that every new reading may bring new insights.

Peter, welcome to the read :)

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John, thank you for adding your thoughts re: 'American Notes'. Indeed, we'll discuss the American chapters of 'MC' when we've all read them.
I just know that the first American readers of both 'American Notes' and 'MC' were not happy about how America was represented in both works*, and I can imagine that a modern American reader might be uncomfortable about some of this material. I am not saying that the American chapters are bad; in fact, the main actors in them are still the English characters, the same as in every other Dickens novel. But, since they were upsetting to American readers of the time, they might not quite delight a modern American either.
But, but, I think it would be sad if this discouraged anybody from reading 'MC', because, firstly, 'MC' has more to do with Dickens and England than with America; secondly, it's an interesting novel; thirdly, as Dickens scholars :) — well, and aren't we? — we will surely find a lot to discuss, and even if we won't love each and every chapter of the book (which was certainly not the case for me with 'Robinson Crusoe'), I am sure we will enjoy our discussion greatly, and it will enrich our understanding of other Dickens's novels, too.

UPD:
*Ha, but NB this:
'<...> one contemporary reviewer, writing in the North British Review in March 1845, was distinctly unamused and took Dickens to task for "a very uncalled for and, we will say, unfeeling attack on a respectable class of tradesmen" <...>.' I am quoting Sylvère Monod here who later goes on to suppose that 'This pious reviewer may have had [the representatives of this respectable trade] among his relatives or friends, or money invested in the trade'.
So no, it's definitely not like only America is crticized :)

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Some of the group regulars have not yet commented in this thread, but I hope they're just too busy to write 'I'm in' and are still going to participate! You know we'll miss you if you don't join us.

Jean, frankly, I intend to squeeze some other reading in, too :) But we'll see how this goes, I'm prioritizing this read, of course.

Hello - I am Jan Zahrly (peacejanz) - live in Florida in the USA, retired business prof - thank goodness I have lots of time to read and, contrary to some, I always have at least two books going. I do keep notes about names of people and places because my 82 year old memory sometimes slips. And, of course, I will be asking a dumb question here and there, usually about current stuff like electronics or the current "popular people" that some of you may reference. I do know about the football player and Taylor Swift. I did not get an invitation to their wedding yet. peace, janz

I will be joining in on this one also.

Hi, Janz! I'm afraid I won't be able to answer a question about any football player, but I might to better with anything Dickens-related :) Welcome to the read!

It seems to me that 'MC' has fewer characters than, say, 'Nicholas Nickleby', but I think keeping notes is always a good practice!

Welcome, Katy! Is this the first time you're reading 'MC'?

Frontispiece: Tom Pinch at the Organ, by Phiz
Image from the Victorian Web, scanned by Philip V. Allingham.

Preliminary Notes
'Martin Chuzzlewit' ('MC' for short) is Charles Dickens's sixth novel, written after 'Oliver Twist' and 'Nicholas Nickleby', but before 'David Copperfield' and 'Bleak House'. About 'MC', Dickens said in his letter to Forster:
'You know, as well as I, that I think Chuzzlewit in a hundred points immeasurably the best of my stories. That I feel my power now more than I ever did.' .
And in the Preface to the first edition (which we are skipping for now!), Dickens wrote:
'I have endeavoured in the progress of this Tale, to resist the temptation of the current Monthly Number, and to keep a steadier eye upon the general purpose and design.'
Evidence of planning survives in working notes and some other documents, among them several letters to Hablot Knight Browne with instructions for the illustrations.

So this novel is much more structured than the previous ones, although the structure might not be as complicated as in his later works. As Sylvère Monod puts it: ' Chuzzlewit is <...> either the last novel of the first period or the earliest of the later novels.'

Dickens signed an agreement for this serial with his publishers Chapman and Hall in 1841, and began writing it in the autumn of 1842. At that time, it is unlikely he was going to write about America. The phrase 'English life and manners' was still used as the description of the future novel up to a few days before the publication of the first of nineteen monthly numbers on 1 January 1843.

While working on 'MC', Dickens (characteristically!) found the time to write a blank-verse prologue for Macready's* forthcoming production. It included the line, 'Yourselves the Actors, and Your Homes the scene' , which Dickens proposed using as a title-page motto for 'MC' to drive home the nature of his satire, until Forster talked him out of it.

In the period between the signing of the agreement and the writing of the novel, Dickens decided to visit America and spent six months (from January to June 1842) there. Out of his American experiences and materials presumably grew the idea of setting his proposed novel partly in America. It is also often said that Dickens probably decided to send some of his characters to America in order to increase sales, which were not as good originally as he had hoped they would be (because of trade depression, and also, maybe he had been a tad overconfident). And maybe he wanted to further distil his American impressions.

Dickens's experience of writing 'MC' was one of 'exhilaration'! The final instalment was completed in mid-June 1844, just in time for its publication on 1 July 1844. Shortly after the final instalment, the text of the serialized version and its artwork (38 illustrations, frontispiece and vignette provided by 'Phiz' alias Hablot K. Browne) were published in volume form by Chapman and Hall. Apart from the Prefaces and the Postscript, Dickens did little revision for subsequent editions.

In 1849, Martin Chuzzlewit was included in the first collected edition, The Cheap Edition, published by Bradbury and Evans with a new Preface. It was dated 1850. (We're skipping this Preface, too, for now).

Dickens's original title for the series was:
The Life and Adventures of Martin Chuzzlewit
His relatives, friends, and enemies. Comprising all His Wills and His Ways, With an Historical record of what he did and what he didn't; Shewing moreover who inherited the Family Plate, who came in for the Silver spoons, and who for the Wooden Ladles. The whole forming a complete key to the House of Chuzzlewit.
The heavily revised final title is: The Life and Adventures of Martin Chuzzlewit .

This title, and the descriptive titles of some of the chapters, can be viewed in the tradition of the picaresque, the genre we discussed when reading 'Nicholas Nickleby'. In England, it was represented by writers such as Smollett and Fielding. In a picaresque novel, a young man usually has various adventures and undergoes various trials. If 'Martin Chuzzlewit' is indeed a picaresque, this is the last one of Dickens's novels in this genre; but we shall see in what ways it is similar to a picaresque, and how it differs. Hint: think character development; also, focus on a single central theme stated in the preface. I wonder if we'll be able to guess the theme! :)

Before settling on 'Martin Chuzzlewit', Dickens came up with many other versions of the name: Chuzzletoe, Chuzzleboy, Chubblewig, Chuzzlewig, Sweezleback, Sweezleden and Sweezlewag. This is also viewed as an evolution of his design and maybe a step away from a more satirical treatment.

(Characteristically, again), Charles Dickens remained supremely confident about his novel, even when his publisher William Hall suggested that his salary might have to be reduced on account of poor sales. About one character, the Inimitable said, 'I mean to make a mark with her'. (We shall see how many of you can guess who this is!). Dickens also said, 'I have nearly killed myself with laughter at what I have done in the American no.'

NB: Even as 'Chuzzlewit' was in full flow, Dickens managed to find time to write 'A Christmas Carol', published in December 1843. Again, we might see some overlap between the themes of these two works.

Some topical allusions help date the action of 'Martin Chuzzlewit', but not with absolute consistency. References to coaching would suggest that the story unfolds in the early to mid-1830s. The American episodes of the novel appear to exist in a more modern timeframe: most allusions can be dated to the years 1837–40, and the American repudiation of foreign debt, also alluded to, happened in 1841–2.

Reviews were mixed. A number of American reviews were, of course, somewhat hostile. On the other hand, many critics loved 'Chuzzlewit' then, and many more loved it later, and found many interesting aspects to it. Some, for instance, have found it 'Joycean', and a particular passage is compared to the work of Jean-Paul Sartre.

Although adapters tended to cut the American scenes (as did David Lodge in his 1994 BBC television dramatization), the novel had a considerable stage history.

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*William Charles Macready was a leading stage actor.

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Sources used:
Introduction and A Note on the Text and its History from the Penguin Classics edition by Patricia Ingham
'Martin Chuzzlewit' article in The Oxford Companion to Charles Dickens by Paul Schlicke
'Martin Chuzzlewit' by Sylvère Monod
'The Companion to Martin Chuzzlewit' by Nancy Aycock Metz

Housekeeping
This is the post with our schedule!
If you're ever at a loss about where we are in the text, just check the dates here.
Links to summaries and notes will be added there as we go.

My tomorrow's post will be much shorter than this one, and we're starting Chapter 1 on the 30th of August (i.e., the day after tomorrow).

This is an excellent and comprehensive basis for our read Plateresca. People can read it all - or as much as they like - without fear of spoilers, and come back to refer to it later once our read has started. I am pleased that you linked it to the start!

Thank you! And welcome to friends here, both old and new. It will be so good to read this one together. There is one character already featured in the illustrations, who is one of my all-time favourites 🙂

I'm in! Looking forward to great discussions as always.

Jean, I love this character, too, and I'm sure some of the people here will not be indifferent to this person either :)
(And thank you!)

Stephen, welcome to the read! Is this the first time you're reading 'MC'?

I love to see the various Chuzzle names he was coming up with. His character names, all of them in all his works, were miniature pieces of art.

Plateresca wrote: "I just know that the first American readers of both 'American Notes' and 'MC' were not happy about how America was represented in both works*, and I can imagine that a modern American reader might be uncomfortable about some of this material."

I wonder if this might have been <50 year old residual animosity stemming from the USA's departure from England with the violence of the American Revolution.

Thank you for this fabulous introduction, Plateresca. I love seeing the frontispiece illustration at the top. This will be my first time reading MC, and I look at that and think "soon I will know all of these people and little scenes." :-)

I appreciate you grounding us in the timeframe of the novel, and Dickens' feelings while writing. I feel ready to go!

Jean and Plateresca Here is a third vote for a favourite character in Dickens. A brilliant creation … and a tip of my hat to Browne’s skill as well.

John, I agree. I often quote Chesterton, who thought that each novel by Dickens had great characters. And the names of Dickens's characters reflect their singularity :)

Paul, I guess we'll be able to judge of that when we've read the American chapters of 'MC' ;)

Kathleen of roses (I hope you don't mind this epithet? To distinguish you from the other Kathleen), thank you for your enthusiasm! :) I feel like I'm introducing friends to other friends :)

Peter, welcome to the fan club :) Oh yes, Browne's artwork is special, and, indeed, it seems that his skill was evolving along with Dickens's writing.

Wonderful introduction Plateresca. I am looking forward to your lead of this part of the book. It will be my first time reading. Thanks for the material on the change in Dickens' writing process. It will be interesting to see how going from a monthly chapter focus changes how the chapters read considering the book was still initially a serial release.

Plateresca wrote: "Kathleen of roses (I hope you don't mind this epithet? To distinguish you from the other Kathleen)."

Its lovely, Plateresca, and something I've never been called before! Happy to be here with another Kathleen. :-)

Hi 👋. I've been meaning to reread Dickens for some time now. So looking forward to reading it with you all.

Plateresca - Yes, this is my first time reading MC. I think it is the only full length novel by Dickens that I have not read yet.

Sam, thank you, I'm happy to see you here!
Is this what you'll be focusing on during this read, on whether you perceive a change in Dickens's writing? (I know you often choose a particular focus).
There's an opinion (shared by Forster, I believe) that the trip to America made Dickens a more mature person and, consequently, a better writer.
Although, of course, I believe that Dickens was always striving to better himself as a writer, and this is partly why he did not tend to exploit his successful schemes; but that's another topic.

Hi, Anna! Welcome to the read! If I understand correctly and you've read the novel before, you have this advantage that you can be less caught up in the plot and pay more attention to the intricacies of writing and composition :)

Katy, I honestly think it's an enviable experience to be reading a novel by Dickens for this time with this group. So cheers :)

Dedication to Miss Bourdett Coutts
Although we've discussed the Urania Cottage multiple times, I have not found a post dedicated to Miss Burdett Coutts in the group, so let's have it now.


Lady Burdett-Coutts, ca. 1840

Angela Georgina Burdett Coutts (1814–1906) inherited a fortune from her grandfather, a wealthy banker, and became a philanthropist. She accomplished so much that she was eventually raised to the peerage for her contributions to public service.

Dickens was introduced to Miss Coutts when he was a newspaper reporter, probably in 1838, and they soon became friends. She helped the Dickens family: among other things, she paid for Charley's education. Dickens advised Miss Coutts on her charity projects and helped her with them. The most elaborate of their collaborative projects was the Urania Cottage for fallen women.

Miss Coutts attempted to reconcile Dickens and his wife Catherine in 1857, which strained their relationship and eventually caused Dickens to withdraw from the Urania project.

In 1843, Dickens wrote to Miss Coutts from Devonshire Terrace: 'I shall have a request—a petition I ought to say—to make to you before I finish the Chuzzlewit, which is very selfish, for it will give the book a new interest in my eyes'. This was partly a testimony to his respect and affection for her, and partly because she indirectly influenced the creation of one of the characters.

(Based on Nancy Aycock Metz's note in 'The Companion to Martin Chuzzlewit'.)