Details

Title

Pickwick Papers

Subtitle

The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club

Author

Dickens, Charles

Place of Publication

Chicago

Publisher

Rand

Copyright Date

1837 Show more1837-01-01T00:00:00.000Z
1837-01-01T00:00:00.000Z Show less

Collection

Scans provided by and used with permission of Archival & Special Collections, University of Guelph Library. From the L.M. Montgomery Collection.

Note

Montgomery loved the works of Charles Dickens, and she returned to his novels often. In 1905, she told her journal that she “also bought and re-read ‘Pickwick Papers’ [see the inscription inside the cover of this volume] and ‘David Copperfield.’ I first read the immortal ‘Papers’ when a child–there was an old racked, coverless copy lying around the house and I revelled in it. I remember that it was a book that always made me hungry–there was so much ‘good eating’ in it, and the folks were always celebrating with ham and eggs and ‘milk punch.’ I generally went on a cupboard rummage after I had been reading ‘Pickwick’ for a little while” (‘The Complete Journals of L.M. Montgomery, The PEI Years,’ Volume I, p. 129). She later gives Philippa Gorden the same thought in Chapter 20 of ‘Anne of the Island’ (1915). “What are you reading?” she asked Anne. “Pickwick” was Anne’s reply. “That’s a book that always makes me hungry,” said Phil. “There’s so much good eating in it. The characters seem always to be reveling on ham and eggs and milk punch. I generally go on a cupboard rummage after reading Pickwick. The mere thought reminds me that I’m starving. Is there any tidbit in the pantry, Queen Anne?” But despite her love of the book, and its tendency to make her want a snack, Montgomery tucked a bit of a different Dickens story throughout. As you browse this volume, you’ll find scans (front and back, note the columns of magazine text) of various clippings and illustrations, all from “A Christmas Carol” rather than “Pickwick.” Perhaps this volume was a good place to store such clippings if she didn’t have a bound volume of the Christmas story, or perhaps she meant to remove these scraps at some point to place them elsewhere. Regardless, these preserved clippings speak clearly to Montgomery’s attachment to his writing.

Genre

novel