The Pickwick Papers

First published in 1836-37, this novel follows Samuel Pickwick and the members of his club as they travel from London into the English countryside, collecting misadventures at inns, elections, and sporting meetings. Pickwick's landlady Mrs Bardell brings a breach-of-promise suit that lands him in the Fleet; Sam Weller, his servant, supplies commentary and rescue. Inserted tales and comic set pieces interrupt the road. The book is a picaresque comic novel of clubs and coaches, not a detective story and not a later social-problem novel.

Quarter bound in dark green cloth with a design in black and gold, orange paper boards patterned in brown. Orange endleaves. Green slipcase.