Pickwick Abroad: or, The Tour in France

About this issue

By George W. M. Reynolds; illustrated with forty-one steel engravings by Alfred Crowquill and J. Phillips, and thirty-three wood-cuts by Bonner. London: Thomas Tegg, 1839. This is a sequel to Dickens's Pickwick Papers, following Mr. Pickwick and his companions on their travels through France. The narrative begins at Calais, where Sam Weller observes French customs and attends the theatre; the Pickwickians then journey via diligence to Paris, lodging at Meurice's Hotel. Episodes include Snodgrass composing poetry, various comic misadventures involving Winkle, Tupman, and Crashem, social gatherings, and theatrical scenes. Episodic tales appear throughout—including "The Gendarme's Tale" concerning Hector Dumont and the Prefect of Police, and "The Pont Neuf," a mysterious narrative featuring St. Leon. The work aims to depict French manners and architecture while presenting England-France relations favorably. Reynolds claimed it was composed in monthly installments and ran twenty parts, surpassing other Dickens imitations.