The Pickwick Papers - Charles Dickens

Dickens’ first full-length novel betrays its roots as an episodic narrative rather too obviously but remains a major work of humour and humanity. It’s essentially a variant on Cervantes’ Don Quixote but Pickwick is so beautifully drawn that he stands independently as a figure of huge warmth – he’s great company for the reader throughout, as is his sidekick Samuel Weller. There’s no plot to speak of, more like a sequence of events that serve as opportunities for comedy or lively characterisations. There are signs of the rage at the era’s iniquities that are so prominent in Dickens’ later, greater works, but the overall tone is one of fun and entertainment.