Sketches of Young Ladies, Young Gentlemen, and Young Couples

by Charles Dickens

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Genres: Fiction, Short Stories, Classics, Essays, Humor, Victorian, Historical

324 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 1875

About the author

Charles John Huffam Dickens (1812-1870) was a writer and social critic who created some of the world's best-known fictional characters and is regarded as the greatest novelist of the Victorian era. His works enjoyed unprecedented popularity during his lifetime, and by the twentieth century critics and scholars had recognised him as a literary genius. His novels and short stories enjoy lasting popularity.

Dickens left school to work in a factory when his father was incarcerated in a debtors' prison. Despite his lack of formal education, he edited a weekly journal for 20 years, wrote 15 novels, five novellas, hundreds of short stories and non-fiction articles, lectured and performed extensively, was an indefatigable letter writer, and campaigned vigorously for children's rights, education, and other social reforms.

Dickens was regarded as the literary colossus of his age. His 1843 novella, A Christmas Carol, remains popular and continues to inspire adaptations in every artistic genre. Oliver Twist and Great Expectations are also frequently adapted, and, like many of his novels, evoke images of early Victorian London. His 1859 novel, A Tale of Two Cities, set in London and Paris, is his best-known work of historical fiction. Dickens's creative genius has been praised by fellow writers—from Leo Tolstoy to George Orwell and G. K. Chesterton—for its realism, comedy, prose style, unique characterisations, and social criticism. On the other hand, Oscar Wilde, Henry James, and Virginia Woolf complained of a lack of psychological depth, loose writing, and a vein of saccharine sentimentalism. The term Dickensian is used to describe something that is reminiscent of Dickens and his writings, such as poor social conditions or comically repulsive characters.

On 8 June 1870, Dickens suffered another stroke at his home after a full day's work on Edwin Drood. He never regained consciousness, and the next day he died at Gad's Hill Place. Contrary to his wish to be buried at Rochester Cathedral "in an inexpensive, unostentatious, and strictly private manner," he was laid to rest in the Poets' Corner of Westminster Abbey. A printed epitaph circulated at the time of the funeral reads: "To the Memory of Charles Dickens (England's most popular author) who died at his residence, Higham, near Rochester, Kent, 9 June 1870, aged 58 years. He was a sympathiser with the poor, the suffering, and the oppressed; and by his death, one of England's greatest writers is lost to the world." His last words were: "On the ground", in response to his sister-in-law Georgina's request that he lie down.

(from Wikipedia)

Reviews

[Connie G · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read four of the sketches from this collection with the Dickensian group. Dickens was a wonderful observer of people, and these sketches were spot on. I enjoyed Dickens' humor in these light reads, perfect for the summer. The illustrations by Phiz enhanced Dickens' work. It's good to know that there are more sketches to read at another time--and they are available online at Project Gutenberg.

The group read these four sketches:
The Theatrical Young Gentleman
The Poetical Young Gentleman
The Contradictory Couple
The Couple Who Dote Upon Their Children

[Niki (nikilovestoread) · Rating 3 out of 5]

As a Dickens fan, it pains me a little writing this review. I started out reading the collection by really enjoying Sketches of Young Ladies by Edward Caswell. Evidently, his collection of humorous, tongue-in-cheek sketches about the different types of ladies a young gentleman might encounter inspired Dickens to write Sketches of Young Gentlemen and Sketches of Young Couples. Now, Dickens is one of my favorite authors and I've enjoyed everything I've read by him. So, I had high expectations about where he would go after enjoying another author's take on the young ladies. Unfortunately, Sketches of Young Gentlemen was extremely boring and the Sketches of Young Couples was only a bit better and neither lived up to the predecessor.

[Yue · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun, satirical short stories, narrated with humor. I found myself chuckling here and there.

My favorite "characters" may have been "The Bashful Gentleman" (imagine a Rom Com with him as a MC!), "The Abstemious Young Lady", "The Contradictory Couple" and "The Loving Couple", they were all so ridiculous funny 🤣

[Deborah Siddoway · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was unfamiliar with these sketches, and it has been somewhat like discovering a long-lost treasure. The sketches are short vignettes - where the author delights in painting a picture of some socially familiar Victorian "specimens". Dickens uses his keen eye for observation for satirical effect, and the result is a fascinating portrait of life in the early 19th century. Written just as Dickens's career was about to take off, they also provide a useful insight into the mind of the young author, especially in connection with his views on marriage. The Young Couples sketches were inspired by Queen Victoria announcing her engagement to Albert. The concluding sketch, the Old Couple, was wistful, if a little sentimental. Perhaps it was a picture of what might have been for the writer if he had chosen to stay in his marriage?

[Eustacia Tan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wanted to read something by Charles Dickens before my trip and this looked interesting. Plus the library didn’t have David Copperfield or A Christmas Carol.

Sketches of Young Gentlemen and Young Couples is a collection of ‘sketches’ of different stereotypes of men and couples in Victorian Times. Sketches of Young Gentlemen was written in response to Sketches of Young Ladies by Edward Caswall (aka ‘Quiz’), and so Sketches of Young Ladies is also included in this slim volume. The people profiles include:

- The Young Lady who Sings
- The Literary Young Lady
- The Mysterious Young Lady
- The Bashful Young Gentlemen
- The Political Young Gentlemen
- The Funny Young Gentlemen
- The Loving Couple
- The Couple who Dote upon their Children
- The Egotistical Couple

And much more. In total there are 24 sketches of Young Ladies, 12 of Young Gentlemen and 11 of couples.

There’s also a really long introduction that I stopped reading, although I did learn that “the journalistic format of short fiction, essays, sketches, serials, and miscellaneous writings was very much the dominant mode of publication in the 1830s.

Personally, I really enjoyed these sketches, even those that weren’t by Dickens. Maybe it’s because I’ve read some older fiction, but I recognised a lot of the tropes and enjoyed the satirisation of them. They’re also pretty short, so it’s easy to read a sketch or two when I have some free time.

The main difference between Dickens and Caswall’s sketches is that Caswall speaks a lot more in generalities while Dickens tends to focus on one example of the stereotype. I like both styles so I don’t really have a preference (and they’re not that different anyway).

If you want to try reading Charles Dickens but don’t want to read one of his novels (because they can be quite long), you should consider Sketches of Young Gentlemen and Couples. It’s a pretty slim volume and good for a chuckle, which makes it easy to read.

This review was first posted at Inside the mind of a Bibliophile

[Li Sian · Rating 4 out of 5]

ha, I'd forgotten what a dick Dickens could be - somehow my impression of him having raced through his works all those years ago is of someone all sad & shamed & searching. Here Dickens turns his satirical eye to utmost effect, sketching broad outlines of Victorian archetypes and lampooning the heterosexual pretensions of young men and women. I think my favourite volume was the first on young women, where I immediately recognised half a dozen people I knew from his killing little paragraphs, as such:

To conclude, the naturalist may lay down three principal eras in the romantic young lady's life: the first from 15 to 19, while she is growing romantic; the second from 19 to 21, while she keeps romantic; and the third from 21 to 29, during which time she gradually subsides into common sense.

Highly recommended if you are already a fan of Dickens / could in theory enjoy Dickens but find his style in general too verbose or too sentimental (he is neither here).

[Mimia The Reader · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars

Some of the sketches are funny, some are definetly of their own time and don't apply anymore, some just described one person the author knew.
It is a humoristic read to read one or two sketches per day but it didn't delight me this time around as much as the last time. Althought, one opinion remained the same: Edward Caswell's sketches were much better than Charles Dickens's.

[Barry Avis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sketches of Young Ladies, Young Gentlemen and Young Couples is an early publication of Charles Dickens where he describes the various types of ladies, men and couples he has met such as “The Busy Young Lady”, “The Political Young Man” and “The Nice Little Couple”. He describes how each act, whether he likes them or not and whether, in the case of the young women in particular, the opposite sex should be looking to meet them (and presumably marry them). In the case of the couples the focus is on whether a gentleman such as himself should like their acquaintance or should keep clear to save them being dragged into their world or simply bored.
The writing has the typical Dickens flurry that makes the book easy to read, albeit remembering that it is “of its age” and a book that would not be written today as it is full of the misogyny of the Victorian day when men treated women as brainless wife material.
I am reading Dickens in the order they were written to see his development as a writer and this book shows a distinct development from books such as Sketches by Boz. I look forward to getting to some of his most famous novels such as Oliver Twist.

[Sophie Mann · Rating 4 out of 5]

That was a nice little read. However, I have to say that Dickens’s part is the one I enjoyed the least... ‘Sketches of Young Ladies’ was written by Edward Caswall (or Quiz) and is so much wittier and funnier than what Dickens did with Sketches of Young Gentlemen and Young Couples. He told stories - that were sometimes funny, though - but he didn’t do a proper ‘classification’ that made me laugh out loud as the first did. Although I enjoyed the sketches written by Caswall, I thought the portraits made by Dickens were beautifully crafted, and I may or may not even have shed a tear or two at the end of ‘The old couple’... it was just a really beautiful portrait! But overall, you can just sense that Dickens was a moralist above all and it’s just annoying when you just want to have a little bit of fun mocking couples obsessed with their children or men who are in love with politics. Anyway, it was still very interesting to draw a parallel with today and realise that almost every person or couple used as an example in this book could still exist in our society.

[Martin Pilkington · Rating 4 out of 5]

First published in 1843, around the time Dickens was publishing Martin Chuzzlewhit, this is a much lighter book than that one.

That isn't to say that Dickens doesn't get acerbic, if not downright rude about some of the couples, in particular that he's writing about. Yes this is very much a book of it's time, Queen Victoria has been Queen for just 6 years and married to Albert for 3. The attitude to women and to marriage is very much a Victorian one, though Dickens is having some fun with single men, single women and with particular types of marriage.

It's good to see the illustrations by Phiz and to compare the writing of Quiz (on Young Ladies) with the writing of Dickens (on Young Gentlemen and Young Couples).

If you don't like Dickens' novels you won't like this either, I suggest, but if you do like his novels this is worth a read.

[Jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first Section describes Young Ladies by Edward Caswall who later became a Minister. He details several "types" of Young Ladies and describes them, some he obviously likes and some he doesn't. The Section on Young Gentlemen was allegedly written by Charles Dickens and he basically Lampoons all the types he identifies. The final section was on Young Couples also allegedly by Charles Dickens on the occasion of Queen Victoria's wedding to Prince Albert. Based on the introduction to this section the wedding was a huge deal think Princess Di times ten. Apparently a lot of Young Ladies picked the Queen's wedding date as their own. However in describing young couples Dickens can't help but lampoon them all also. I enjoyed the book very much and at 225 or so pages it is a quick read

[Debra Daniels-Zeller · Rating 4 out of 5]

Of the three sections for this book, the Young Couples was by far my favorite, but the Young Ladies and Young Gentlemen are interesting, and I wonder if Dickens use these sketches of types of people for characters in his novels. Though the book is shorter, I spent longer time with this book. I loved the pictures drawn by Phiz. A must-read for sure, if you like Dickens.

[Tullia · Rating 4 out of 5]

This delightful collection of sketches is a must-read for anyone interested in Victorian Era history and watching the growth of the Inimitible Boz. Although not the best of Charles Dickens' works, this collection of sketches showcases Dickens' talent in his early years and foreshadows the genius novelist he would become.

[Emilee · Rating 3 out of 5]

Amusing and satirical sketches of (still) common types of people. The sketches of young men and young women were mostly quite funny, but I found the sketches of young couples less amusing.

[Brian · Rating 3 out of 5]

19th century cotton candy, but still mildly fun.

[Tom · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5⭐

[Paul] Schlicke links Caswall's facetious "classification of young ladies according to the Linnaean system" (xii) [Linnaeus's classification of nature involved the three divisions of animal, vegetable, and mineral] to contemporary debates about the conflict between scientific investigations into geology, botany, and fossil remains, and Christian accounts of creation. Caswall's extended satire in this vein, [Paul] Schlicke notes, suggests "his confidence that the human race can be seen to fit comfortably within the beneficence of God's creation" (xiv)

Introduction by Paul Schlicke 4.5⭐

Sketches of Young Ladies by "Ouiz" (Edward Caswell)
The Young Lady who Sings 3.5⭐
The Busy Young Lady 3.5⭐
The Romantic Young Lady 4⭐
The Evangelical Young Lady 3.5⭐
The Matter-of-Fact Young Lady 3.25⭐
The Plain Young Lady 3.25⭐
The Literary Young Lady 3.25⭐
The Manly Young Lady 3.5⭐
The Young Lady who is Engaged 3.25⭐
The Stupid Young Lady 3.5⭐
The Interesting Young Lady 3.25⭐
The Petting Young Lady 3.5⭐
The Natural Historian Young Lady 3.5⭐
The Indirect Young Lady 3.5⭐
The Hyperbolical Young Lady 3⭐
The Whimsical Young Lady 3⭐
The Abstemious Young Lady 3⭐
The Sincere Young Lady 3.25⭐
The Affirmative Young Lady 3.25⭐
The Clever Young Lady 3.25⭐
The Mysterious Young Lady 3.25⭐
The Extremely Natural Young Lady 3.25⭐
The Lazy Young Lady 3.5⭐
The Young Lady from School 3.25⭐
Conclusion 3.5⭐

Sketches of Young Gentlemen by Charles Dickens
The Bashful Young Gentleman 4⭐
The Out-and-Out Young Gentleman 3.25⭐
The Very Friendly Young Gentleman 3⭐
The Military Young Gentleman 3.25⭐
The Political Young Gentleman 3⭐
The Domestic Young Gentleman 3.5⭐
The Censorious Young Gentleman 4⭐
The Funny Young Gentleman 4⭐
The Theatrical Young Gentleman 3.25⭐
The Poetical Young Gentleman 4⭐
The "Throwing-off" Young Gentleman 4⭐
The Young Ladies' Young Gentleman 3.5⭐
Conclusion 3.25⭐

Sketches of Young Couples by Charles Dickens
An Urgent Remonstrance, &c 4⭐
The Young Couple 3.5⭐
The Formal Couple 3.5⭐
The Loving Couple 3.5⭐
The Contradictory Couple 4⭐
The Couple who Dote upon their Children 4⭐
The Cool Couple 3.25⭐
The Plausible Couple 3.25⭐
The Nice Little Couple 3.25⭐
The Egotistical Couple 3.5⭐
The Couple who Coddle Themselves 3.5⭐
The Old Couple 4⭐
Conclusion 3.25⭐

[Todd Stockslager · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review title: Sketch comedy
This slim volume is nearly as interesting for its history as for its literary value. Published under the pen name Quiz, Sketches of young ladies was written and published first by the now nearly unknown Edward Caswell. Dickens, flush with his first publishing successes, followed up with Sketches of Young Men and Sketches of Young Couples, published anonymously. All three Sketches were illustrated by Phiz, the pen name of Dickens's frequent graphical partner Hablot Browne. The true identities of the authors were not revealed until after both men were dead.

The style is light satiric comedy driven by recognizable characteristics comicly overdrawn to poke holes in inflated self-worth where needed and mild correctives to produce wry smiles. The writing styles are similar enough that they might have been written by the same person as was likely assumed by the few readers who took note: the Sketches didn't sell well and quickly fell out of print. They mostly have interest now because of Dickens's authorship.

This is not to dismiss them as poor writing. Far from it. They are well done and mildly fun to read and at times (even at the remove of 150-plus years and an even more vast cultural divide) provoke timely insight into still-extant personalities and social situations. If you've ever read any Dickens or other 19th century literature you will be able to draw instant mental images from the sketches. And most likely if you are reading this review and are considering reading or buying Sketches, you have. Read or buy, you won't be disappointed.

If you are just starting out with Dickens, start with something more mainstream: David Copperfield or Great Expectations. Said Sketches for later.

[Jason Furman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Two collections of rarely published early sketches by Dickens, one about Young Gentleman (including items like "The Bashful Young Gentleman", "The Military Young Gentleman" and "The Theatrical Young Gentleman") and one about (mostly) young couples (including items like "The Young Couple", "The Loving Couple" and "The Old Couple"). The sketches are short with occasional illustrations and combine humor, insight, generalizations, made up particulars, compassion and some judgmentalness.

Some of the judgments seem quite dated (e.g., Dickens says that his portraits of couples are limited to those where the men are in charge, because any other arrangement is unnatural) while others seem strikingly modern (e.g., the depiction of the young and old couples).

These sketches probably deserve to be a little more widely published than they are, but not much more widely published.

[Yasmeen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Typical, ridiculous, but somehow lovable Dickensian descriptions.

Coming from anyone else it would be rude and obnoxious (and even Charles gets a little carried away with some of these...)-- but it Dickens thinks almost everyone is absurd, and doesn't really exclude himself. And so it's really difficult to get mad.

Having said that, it definitely gets a bit tedious.. Mainly because, well, you can find all these (archetypes? Stereotypes?) in Dickens' novels themselves, where they are considerably more fun to engage with.

[Lada Moskalets · Rating 4 out of 5]

Дуже дотепні портрети різних типажів молодих людей, де не пошкодували ні жінок, ні чоловіків. Більшість текстів саркастичні, і у випадку з дівчатами я весь час вагалася чи цей сарказм щодо "літературних молодих леді" не є мізогінією. Попри 19 століття і місцевий колорит - молода леді яка співає, молодий джентльмен з полюваннями і яхтклубами, цей гумор досяжний і для нашого покоління.

[Ruthie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dated, yet amusing and biting. Somewhat repetitive after a while.

[Carol · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent images and the way they lived during that time. Also at the end regarding Queen Victoria and Prince Albert.