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Martin Chuzzlewit
While writing Martin Chuzzlewit - his sixth novel - Dickens declared it 'immeasurably the best of my stories.' He was already famous as the author of The Pickwick Papers and Oliver Twist.
Set partly in America, which Dickens had visited in 1842, the novel includes a searing satire on the United States. Martin Chuzzlewit is the story of two Chuzzlewits, Martin and Jonas, who have inherited the characteristic Chuzzlewit selfishness. It contrasts their diverse fates of moral redemption and worldly success for one, with increasingly desperate crime for the other. This powerful black comedy involves hypocrisy, greed and blackmail, as well as the most famous of Dickens's grotesques, Mrs Gamp.
Set partly in America, which Dickens had visited in 1842, the novel includes a searing satire on the United States. Martin Chuzzlewit is the story of two Chuzzlewits, Martin and Jonas, who have inherited the characteristic Chuzzlewit selfishness. It contrasts their diverse fates of moral redemption and worldly success for one, with increasingly desperate crime for the other. This powerful black comedy involves hypocrisy, greed and blackmail, as well as the most famous of Dickens's grotesques, Mrs Gamp.
829 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1844
About the author
Charles Dickens
13.4k books32.3k followersCharles 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)
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)
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Displaying 1 - 1 of 1 review
April 5, 2021
Wie immer bei Dickens ist das Hauptthema eine Familienfede irgendwelcher Art. Ein reicher Erbonkel, von allen umgarnt, intrigante Familienmitglieder, die ihn um sein Geld erleichtern wollen. Cousins, die sich gegenseitig um ihr Geld bringen wollen, Witschaftsbetrug, Schneeballsystem und zwischendrinnen ein junger Mann, der lernen muss, das Egoismus schlecht ist. Und das ist der Teil, der nervt. Ja, Egozentrismus und Arroganz sind keine guten Eigenschaften, aber dieses brave, unterwürfige, servile das hier propagiert wird... das führt langfristig auch nicht zum Ziel. Besonders Cherry und Merry, die eigentlich fröhliche, junge, selbstbewusste Frauen sind, werden von Dickens für ihr Selbstbewustsein bestraft, obwohl sie noch die halbwegs normalsten Figuren sind. Old Chuzzlewit ist in seinem Verhalten einfach nur unlogisch, sein Enkel noch soweit normal. Mr. Pecksniff empfinde ich auch nicht als böse oder hinterlistig, ich denke, er glaubt wirklich, dass er es gut meint, er ist halt einfach nervig in seiner Art, aber solche Leute gibt es in jeder Firma, nennt sich Chef.
Dieses Buch erinnert ein wenig an Mark Twains "Gilded Age" und die US bashing Teile sind irgenwie auch heute noch aktuell: "If you have any knowledge of our literature, and can give me the name of any man, American born and bred, who has anatomised our follies as a people, and not as this or that party; and who has escaped the foulest and most brutal slander, the most inveterate hatred and intolerant pursuit; it will be a strange name in my ears, believe me." - Erinnert ein wenig an Assange. Wenn man über die USA nichts gutes zu sagen hat, bekommt man heute einfach keine Drehgenehmigung. Da hat sich wenig geändert.
Das Buch hat seine Längen, zwischendurch zieht es im Tempo aber an, um sich dann teils wieder zu ziehen. Ein wenig arg moralisierend erzieherisch mit den erhobenen Finger, aber mit einigen witzigen Figuren wie der alkoholabhängigen, halluzienierenden Altenpflegerin.
Es hat aber schon seinen Grund, warum dieses Buch jetzt nicht gerade zu den bekanntesten von Dickens Büchern gehört.
Dieses Buch erinnert ein wenig an Mark Twains "Gilded Age" und die US bashing Teile sind irgenwie auch heute noch aktuell: "If you have any knowledge of our literature, and can give me the name of any man, American born and bred, who has anatomised our follies as a people, and not as this or that party; and who has escaped the foulest and most brutal slander, the most inveterate hatred and intolerant pursuit; it will be a strange name in my ears, believe me." - Erinnert ein wenig an Assange. Wenn man über die USA nichts gutes zu sagen hat, bekommt man heute einfach keine Drehgenehmigung. Da hat sich wenig geändert.
Das Buch hat seine Längen, zwischendurch zieht es im Tempo aber an, um sich dann teils wieder zu ziehen. Ein wenig arg moralisierend erzieherisch mit den erhobenen Finger, aber mit einigen witzigen Figuren wie der alkoholabhängigen, halluzienierenden Altenpflegerin.
Es hat aber schon seinen Grund, warum dieses Buch jetzt nicht gerade zu den bekanntesten von Dickens Büchern gehört.
Displaying 1 - 1 of 1 review