All About Books discussion

Maybe the other end then Tracey?

Chapter 1 "The Pickwickians"

Chapter 2 "The first Day's Journey..."

Chapter 3 "A New Acquaintance"

This is the same in both the versions I have.

Cross-posting, sorry!

No, the Penguin one is the one out of step, because if you look at the list, issue I has the first 2 of "our" chapters, issue II has the next 3. Then most have 3 chapters (just a couple have 2) except for the final "double issue" which had 6 of our chapters.

I'm wondering if Penguin have decided that "The Pickwickians" is a sort of introduction, so renumbered all the chapters. If so then that's a bit cheeky as Dickens was sill around to publish them collected into book form later, and he didn't number it that way.

I might suspect my large print copy, except that it matches the "Centennial" edition (which is the other one I have, and a pretty authentic set including all his published works. I don't have all the volumes though!) Also it matches the numbering system of the original magazines from 1836-7 which I found.

Did you notice there's no issue in May 1837? Apparently that's when his sister-in-law Mary Hogarth (whom he was devoted to, more than his wife, it's thought) died.

Jean same chapters at the beginning too how odd.

Aaargh! OK let's narrow this down. Halfway I have:

Chapter 28 - "A good-humoured Christmas chapter..."

Yes me too. :)

So it goes wrong between there and the end... Halfway is:

Chapter 43 - Showing how Mr Samuel Weller got into Difficulties

That's 42 in mine grrrr

I have just seen I have a chapter 28ii which is The story of the goblins who stole a Sexton which is a book in my Dickens ghost story collection. Is that why ?

You've got it Tracey - well done!!

(Glad to see you're as obsessed about this as I am!! LOL)

"The Story of the Goblins Who Stole a Sexton" is actually Chapter 29! Then Chapter 30 is:

"How the Pickwickians made and Cultivated..." which is going to be called 29 in yours, yes?

It makes it a real mess for anyone who's trying to match it up with the issue numbers, doesn't it? But at least you've got it all! I was beginning to wonder.

Perhaps Penguin have published "The Story of the Goblins..." separately. Is your Ghost Stories volume also Penguin? I must admit I was surprised to find it here, as I'd thought it was a separate short story. But we've already had an extra story within chapter 3, "The Stroller's Tale", haven't we, and I think there may be more like that to come.

I've just used some Christmas money to buy a BBC dramatisation on DVD of them from 1985 (woop woop!! 6 hours and I'm sure I never saw it at the time!) And it says that it doesn't include the "extra stories!" that are told by and to the Pickwickians. That might be a shame I suppose, but never mind :)

Oh thank goodness for that. I was starting to think mine was going to be missing something. I am really liking the stories win story bits. Dickens imagination knew no bounds and yes OCD about Dickens ha ha.

Me too LOL!

I'm finding it interesting that I "naturally" seem to break at the end of an issue up to now! When My DVDs come I don't want to watch ahead though - I like to read it first :)

Do they do a clothbound one of this Tracey? (I did the link to the ISBN you gave me, but that's an ordinary Penguin isn't it.)

oooh I was going to say your DVD sounds great. Pickwick isn't in those cloth bound editions yet Jean but other Dickens ones are.

It's this one

I got it post free for £9.95 from Amazon. Took a risk as it's 6 hours and the cast looks great!

Hooray, my second volume of Pickwick has arrived :)

Or should I say more accurately, "The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club".

I am relieved to find chapter 57 is all present and correct... LOL

ha ha yiphee Jean :)

And today the DVD came - 6 whole hours :)

I'm doing really well here! Chris has just given me the DVD of "A Christmas Carol" with Patrick Stewart as Ebenezer Scrooge in it, as I enjoyed watching it so much over Christmas! Now I can watch it any time I like :)

The latest chapter of Pickwick about the election at Eatanswill was a bit too verbose and not quite so entertaining, but in even in these overblown sections of Pickwick we still get Dickens' sly quips.

"Eatanswill people, like the people of many other small towns, considered themselves of the utmost and most mighty importance."

He won't let brackets escape without containing a joke "(for it's not at all necessary for a crowd to know what they are cheering about)" made me laugh!

When a coach of voters is overturned, Sam says "Why...I rather think one old gentleman was missin'; I know his hat was found but I a'n't quite certain whether his head was in it or not."

During a boring reading of a newspaper article, Pickwick's eyes "were closed, as if with excess of pleasure, during the whole time of their perusal."

He pokes fun at all the voters. "Exciseable articles were remarkable cheap at all the public houses; and spring vans paraded the streets for the accommodation of voters who were seized with any temporary dizziness in the head - an epidemic which prevailed among the electors, during the contest, to a most alarming extent, and under the influence of which they might frequently be seen lying on the pavements in a state of utter insensibility."

And there's a lovely section where Pickwick as a candidate is expected to kiss the hand of his female supporters. He gets very flustered and indignant at the catcalls and ribaldry which follow!

You laughed at the same parts I did Jean lol. I like the irony in Dickens writing it is lost on so many people my children for 2.

Maybe it comes later? I never studied Dickens at school (despite Eng Lit being one of my "A" Levels) and I think that is why I appreciate him so much now. I feel I discovered him all by myself (Forgetting that the whole world thinks he's a master too. LOL)

People often talk about being "forced to read Dickens" at school and I think that is so sad for lots of reasons.

And you feel that too, don't you, Tracey? You too discovered him recently "all on your own"!

Some of the best things in the world are discovered by chance Jean and Dickens for me is one of them. :)

:)

Jean wrote: "I'm doing really well here! Chris has just given me the DVD of "A Christmas Carol" with Patrick Stewart as Ebenezer Scrooge in it, as I enjoyed watching it so much over Christmas! Now I can watch i..."

Jean, I love the Patrick Stewart version!

Yes he's so good in it, isn't he?! I always have to wonder what the actor's name really is as I always think of him as Jean-Luc Pickard! LOL

I recorded it on the hard drive over Christmas and we watched it, and didn't immediately delete it as I wanted to watch it again. But apparently Chris then deleted it "by accident" and so bought it for me before I spotted it wasn't there any more! Hope he has a few more "accidents" like that!! :D

I must note down "Count Smorltork" before I forget his oh so appropriate name. So many, many wonderfully named cameos!

I've now watched a couple of episodes of the dramatisation from 1985. I wondered how I missed this! It's marvellous! The main cast is:

Mr Pickwick - Nigel Stock
Mr Tupman - Clive Swift
Mr Winkle - Jeremy Nicholas
Mr Snodgrass - Alan Parnaby
Mr Jingle - Patrick Malahide
Sam Weller - Phil Daniels

So far I'm enjoying Patrick Malahide's interpretation the best! I also love the way the director is posing the actors in little "tableaux" occasionally, so that you immediately think of the illustration.

Tracey - I think you might be coming up to the part where Dickens missed deadlines for the only time in his life, in June 1837. In May 1837 his wife (Catherine)'s sister Mary Hogarth had died, and he was grieving for her. (It's thought by many that he was closer to her than to his wife.) Monthly issues of Pickwick Papers and Oliver Twist were not published.

That's at the end of chapter 39, just before the one that starts:

"Introduces Mr Pickwick to a new and not uninteresting Scene in the great Drama of Life."

It will be interesting to see if there's any "feel" for this in the narrative; if the mood is any different.

Well after a bit of a lull - a couple of chapters where Dickens didn't sparkle for me as much as usual - I've just been grinning from ear to ear (with the occasional splutter of laughter) at the Pickwickians' antics on the ice. Oh my! :D

This series of episodes definitely has its highs and lows!

What do you think of Little Dorrit? I'm currently reading it for my dissertation and really enjoying it. I'm quite surprised at how easy it is to read, maybe I'm just getting used to Dickens's style of writing, haha.

Oh I am so pleased, Alannah! Yes, I love that book! I remember saying to you that I preferred it to The Old Curiosity Shop because Amy is a stronger portrayal than Nell. Personally I think the weakest part of his writing is his perception of female characters.

It's probably easier to read because he'd honed his writing skills by then - 2 thirds through his writing career.

I hope you'll be able to come in on some of the novels with me. Next up (March) is Oliver Twist

That's cool, just checked my deadlines and March is a quiet month for me. Would love to join you in reading that.

Great! That's lovely Alannah - I'm looking forward to it :)

When are you planning to read The Old Curiosity Shop, Jean?

Jean chapter 39 is next for me. I will look out for differences in the writing ans indications of what had happened in the authors life. I agree this book has definite lulls and filler parts but the funny stuff is truely slapstick just my thing.

This summer sometime Alannah - it's the next but one after "Oliver Twist", and I'm spacing them out so each is just under 2 months apart, to fit over 2 years :)

I would love to read it sometime.

Ok I read chapters 39 and 40 today they were still amusing and I didn't note anything that would suggest his personal tragedy was interfering with his writing. That being said he was in the throws of a masterpiece and maybe it was mostly written by this point just waiting to be published?

I don't think so, no - he was usually in a right old rush! And even more so after a few more chapters as then he had to write the first few chapters of "Oliver Twist" at the same time!

He was just an exraordinary man, I think. Interesting that it's seamless, though.

I was chuckling my way through the trial chapter earlier today! :D

That was a good one Jean. I am relishing this book and it has worked well 2 chapters a day because I have fitted in lots of other books around it including the 500 plus page Inkheart which I am halfway through. I may employ this method for my bigger classic reads all through the year. :)

That's not a bad idea - it might help in the "saggy" parts of a big classic. I wanted to keep the episodic feel of this book by reading it in short bits, and it seems to have worked well for both of us. My other reads were shorter than yours though.


I read a few more pages than usual today, so may catch you up. Or may not... :)

I am being very strict and will finish the story as planned on the 28th then the sundries at beginning and end if my edition. Review and contemplation.

ps even a 'saggy' part of Dickens is worth while. :)

I agree :)

My plan was to read this over 2 months but I think I will finish it in January, then read Oliver Twist in March. I've been reading bits and pieces about this book as I go on, rather than at the end, as it's not the sort of book where you could spoil the plot!

I've been discovering that The Pickwick Papers were published at a very eventful period of Dickens' life.

During the month issue 2 was published, not only did the illustrator Seymour commit suicide but Dickens married Catherine Hogarth. For issue 11, his first son Charley was born, issue 12 came at the same time as the first installment of "Oliver Twist" (again in serial form). For issue 13 the couple moved house to Doughty Street, and during April when issue 14 was out, Catherine's sister died.

What a whirlwind year!

And today I've been reading Obesity hypoventilation syndrome (also known as Pickwickian syndrome.)

This is a real medical condition! The description of the "fat boy" who was always falling asleep, wasn't just invented by Dickens - this has since been recognised as a true medical complaint. I'm glad they named it after one of his characters though...

Jean wrote: "And today I've been reading Obesity hypoventilation syndrome (also known as Pickwickian syndrome.)

This is a real medical condition! The description of the "fat boy" who was always falling aslee..."

LOL! I started laughing before I got to your second paragraph & then had to laugh again, this time at myself :)

LOL Leslie!

Oooh Jean 2 five star plus chapters today I am loving this book. p.s you only gave it 2 stars when you read it before ?

I know. I feel very ashamed of myself :( I must have been young and foolish!! LOL

The star rating was from memory - and I think I must have "rushed at it" to be honest! It is long, isn't it? It gets 4* from me now :)

And you know, I think you can tell when he was depressed by his sister-in-law's death. I agree those chapters are funny, but they're also more "biting". He goes on about the debtors' prison for longer than you'd expect, as if memories of his own early life have come back when he's feeling low, to haunt him with a vengeance.

It got so very funny towards the end though - and such a nice warm glow :) I finished it this morning. And I finished my review just now too and have posted it.

I should think you're nearly there as well Tracey, though you have read more extra things recently than I have :)

Tracey wrote: "Oooh Jean 2 five star plus chapters today I am loving this book. p.s you only gave it 2 stars when you read it before ?"

Jean wrote: "I know. I feel very ashamed of myself :( I must have been young and foolish!! LOL

The star rating was from memory - and I think I must have "rushed at it" to be honest! It is long, isn't it? It ge..."

Interesting, as my "memory rating" of Pickwick Papers was also on the low end - I think I gave it 2½ stars which I rounded up (just because it's Dickens!)... Perhaps I need to do what you ladies are doing and read it in installments. Something for me to think about :-)