Physical description

Martin Chuzzlewit.
Author: Charles Dickens.
Introduction by Kenneth Hayens.
Publisher: Collins, London & Glasgow.
Date: 1953. (See note section this document for more information on Edition).
Blue leather hardcover with title on spine in gold lettering and pattern. The spine has a Library label and no Volume information only title and author.

Publication type

fiction

Inscriptions & markings

The label on the spine with typed label text PAT 823.8 DIC
Front fly cover has Introduction by Kenneth Hayens.

Summary

Charles Dickens (1812–1870) was one of the great English novelists of the Victorian era, famous for vivid characters, social criticism, and stories that were first published in serial form. He began as a journalist, rose to enormous popularity during his lifetime, and wrote major works such as Oliver Twist, David Copperfield, and Great Expectations.
“Martin Chuzzlewit” is Charles Dickens’s sixth novel serialised 1843-1844, with a novel published in 1844 by Chapman and Hall. The themes are about selfishness, hypocrisy, and moral reform, its plot follows young Martin, his proud grandfather, the hypocritical architect Pecksniff, the loyal Tom Pinch, and the good humoured Mark Tapley. There is also a criminal subplot around Jonas Chuzzlewit. The core plot in short is where Martin becomes at odds with his miserly grandfather as he works for Pecksniff, becomes friends with Tom Pinch. He travels to America, is nearly ruined by a swindle, eventually returning to England. Several villains are ultimately exposed and punished while virtuous characters are rewarded.