Publisher's Synopsis
Excerpt from The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club, Vol. 1 of 2
NO edition of the immortal Pickwick published at this time of day demands a purely critical or literary introduction; the literature which has accumulated around this book of books is already without parallel for volume and comprehensiveness. But, since the present attempt at extra-illustration may claim to possess features of considerable novelty, it seems not out of place to preface the book with a few rough notes upon the principles which have animated the editor and the publishers in their choice. The object has been to produce an edition of Pickwick which shall form a complete topical commentary upon the life of the time. Nowhere in literature is English life and character in the early years of the nineteenth century so vividly portrayed as in these brilliant pages of Dickens' exuberant youth; and the wealth of anecdote and allusion which they' suggest is in danger of being forgotten as tradition dies down and old landmarks are swept away. To record these traditions, and preserve these fading landmarks, is the aim of the present edition of Pickwick. No pains have been spared to penetrate to every possible depository of old engravings and quaint lore for illustration and explanation of debateable points. The material, not unnaturally, is scattered somewhat unevenly over the volumes, for at times the local references cluster together with prodigality, while at others the course of the story is paramount and uninterrupted. But it is hoped that readers will agree that never before has a classic of fiction been offered to the general public in a guise so replete with allusion and suggestion. So far as was possible, every topical reference has been illustrated from the graphic arts.
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