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Bardell V. Pickwick: The Trial for Breach of Promise of Marriage
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101 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1883
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About the author
Charles Dickens
12.9k books31.4k 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 - 3 of 3 reviews
November 9, 2011
This is a real curio of a work. I read it in a poorly formatted Kindle e-book version, which made it a little frustrating to follow. I've never actually come across a piece of 'criticism' like this. Percy Fitzgerald had been a companion of Dickens, having met him in Ireland whilst working in the legal profession and having eventually become a contributor for Dickens magazine Household Words. In 1914 he would publish his Memories of Charles Dickens, but prior to that volume he put together this literary oddity about one of Dickens most beloved works The Pickwick Papers.
What makes this work so unusual is that it attempts to mimic the format of a legal report, covering the fictional trial of Pickwick, who has been accused of breaking a promise to marry his landlady. In amongst copious amounts of quotation from the source text, Fitzgerald elucidates some of the factual material that Dickens may have been bringing to the work from his days as a court reporter and law clerk. Having a degree of experience in legal matters, Fitzgerald is also able to point out where Dickens knowledge of the British legal system is accurate and where it may stray a little from the true state of things.
Intriguingly at the end of the piece Fitzgerald begins to reverse the critical process of the work and rather than find the sources of Dickens fiction, looks toward how the fictional trial informed public knowledge of legal matters. A particularly telling detail in the latter part of the text is the fact that the OED is said to illustrate the legal term 'cognovit' with reference to the Bardell v. Pickwick trial.
If you're a Dickens completist then this is going to be required reading. However even for the casual reader of the great man's work, it is well worth a brief sojourn through Fitzgerald's curious close reading. For me it was most enjoyable to read the obvious affection with which Fitzgerald couldn't help but write about the man he still called Boz.
What makes this work so unusual is that it attempts to mimic the format of a legal report, covering the fictional trial of Pickwick, who has been accused of breaking a promise to marry his landlady. In amongst copious amounts of quotation from the source text, Fitzgerald elucidates some of the factual material that Dickens may have been bringing to the work from his days as a court reporter and law clerk. Having a degree of experience in legal matters, Fitzgerald is also able to point out where Dickens knowledge of the British legal system is accurate and where it may stray a little from the true state of things.
Intriguingly at the end of the piece Fitzgerald begins to reverse the critical process of the work and rather than find the sources of Dickens fiction, looks toward how the fictional trial informed public knowledge of legal matters. A particularly telling detail in the latter part of the text is the fact that the OED is said to illustrate the legal term 'cognovit' with reference to the Bardell v. Pickwick trial.
If you're a Dickens completist then this is going to be required reading. However even for the casual reader of the great man's work, it is well worth a brief sojourn through Fitzgerald's curious close reading. For me it was most enjoyable to read the obvious affection with which Fitzgerald couldn't help but write about the man he still called Boz.
August 4, 2021
The old style of writing can be very confusing!!
March 20, 2012
Strange story. I am not sure whether it is fact or fiction, although Dickens sites some case notes and others have written books with the same title. A women takes a man to court for breach of promise as he allegedly failed to marry her. She apparently signed an agreement with some lawyers and it turned out she not only had to forfeit the judgment but ended up in debtors prison for failing to pay costs. It is possibly an expose on the corruption of the 19th century judicial system but I'll need a lawyer myself to see what it is they are talking about.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews