Wealthy and old, Martin Chuzzlewit Sr. is surrounded by greedy relatives hoping to obtain a portion of his estate upon his death. His two descendants, Martin Jr. and Jonas, have been born and bred in the same heritage of selfishness, the Chuzzlewit tradition.
Set partly in America, of which Dickens offers a searing satire, this novel follows and contrasts the opposing fates of Martin and Jonas. While one achieves worldly success and, eventually, moral redemption, the other sinks deeper into the darkness—and pays the ultimate price.
This powerful black comedy is a tale of hypocrisy, greed, and blackmail, and it introduces the most famous of Dickens' grotesques: Mrs. Gamp.
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"As always, when we read Dickens we don't have to guess who the villain is ... and we know who the bad and good guys are. This is part of the fun with Dickens. Great tongue-in-cheek humor. Gives the reader Dickens' view on Americans and his disdain as a young writer for them in regard to arrogance, slavery, and hypocrisy. This is one of my favorite Dickens' novels. I agree with another reviewer that this is Charles Dickens' turn at being Mark Twain. I have one complaint and that is the ending dragged on ... and on ... and I wonder if this is because Dickens was trying to keep his payments coming in for the installments of the chapters."
— Lorraine (4 out of 5 stars)
“Davidson quickly tunes into Dickens’ ferocious irony, but his paramount strength is his uncanny ability to find and maintain the perfect voice for each of the vintage characters: drippy, insinuous, vicious, sly, bold American backwoods, or London Cheapside. Each is a distinct creation! Dickens lovers will treasure [this] masterpiece. Winner of the AudioFile Earphones Award.”
— AudioFile“Davidson’s fully voiced reading is marvelous and adds a great deal to the as-if-spoken prose style in which it is written.”
— Kliatt“British reader Frederick Davidson makes the perfect hilarious distinctions among [characters] by shades of intonation and phraseology.”
— Library Journal“In the development of the brilliantly drawn Jonas Chuzzlewit…that would have done credit to Dostoevsky, Dickens adds a whole dimension to the book.”
— Angus Wilson, English playwright and New York Times bestselling author“Dickens’ funniest novel.”
— William Boyd, author of Any Human Heart“Black, anarchic laughter, his lurid fantasies, his zest for hypocrisy, violence, and murder, [and] his surreal world of animated objects, are at the core of Dickens’creative being.”
— John Carey, editor of Eyewitness to History" Mr. Dickens has a peek at America and is none too pleased. "
— Steve, 2/19/2014" Although good, this wasn't my favorite Dickens novel. He spent too much time in stereotyping Americans, which got old rather quickly, and of course the character of Pecksniff makes one want to rip one's hair out. However, I find it fascinating that this character's name has become part of our vocabulary ("Pecksniffian"). "
— Abigail, 2/17/2014" Charles Dickens must be an ascended master. I suspect he was exorcising the demons of life as a human when he wrote his timeless novels. Martin Chuzzlewit drew me in (although he took awhile). The dialogue between Tom Pinch & his sister Ruth on the subject of Tom's unrequited love of Mary is unforgettable & worth the reading of the whole book. "
— Kathie, 2/10/2014" A re-read. My favorite Dickens novel. Deeply satisfying villains. A trip to America. Biting, mean, funny, and sweet. "
— Autumn, 2/9/2014" Classic Dickens! Need I say more? "
— Emily, 1/30/2014" SPOILER alert: Up until Chapter 58 (or something like that), I loved Martin Chuzzlewit. The descriptions were richly evocative of time and place, and Dickens' characters were a wide assortment of his best angels, devils, fools, clowns, and the wise. But then, disaster. I think the book got too long, because Dickens gave up at the end and did a "wrap-up." He has old Martin just tell everyone why everything happened, then quickly gets the couples married off to live happily ever after. What a disappointment! Still, I had so many happy hours reading most of this. "
— Casey, 1/27/2014" Wonderful story. It did take some determination to get through the middle half due to the long "I've got a bridge in Brooklyn to sell you" section, but it does the important job of conveying the sense of how wearying life can be when the world seems set against you. And then the importance and possible reward of perseverance. "
— Larese, 1/25/2014" I love how Dickens gives us a protagonist who is clearly weak, or insipid, boring even, and then surrounds him with a sparkling cast of vile deceivers and eccentric charmers. To me, Tom Pinch is the sure-fire central character here, with Mark Tapley vying for attention - certainly one of Dicken's more delightful creations. Martin's character grows, but he is never the hero - and I get a kick out of that off-center way of telling a story. Wasn't so fond of the American parts, although I understand Dicken's anger that his novels were being unashamedly bootlegged there, and that he would've seen it as a country where people take advantage of the unsuspecting. Dickens and America do not go together for me. This is not my favorite of his novels, but that's like saying dark chocolate isn't my favorite chocolate. Dickens is always wonderful. "
— Esther, 1/21/2014" My favourite Charles Dickens book - hilarious! "
— Catherine, 1/14/2014" Dickens always amazes me. I start his novels and I think "Jeez, I'm not going to be able to get thru this one."; then, inexorably, I re-learn the language and, no matter the length or the twisting plot, I cannot help but go where he directs. The protagonist seems to serve as merely connective tissue to link the antagonists (of which there are many) together. "
— Robert, 1/14/2014" It's taken a couple of months to re-read Martin Chuzzlewit, but not due to the quality of this wonderful victorian classic. Although not regarded as Dickens at his best, I love the satire and fabulous characterisation; Especially the vile Seth Pecksniff, and in contrast, the marvellous Tom Pinch. "
— Chris, 1/14/2014Charles Dickens (1812–1870) was born in Landport, Portsmouth, England, the second of eight children in a family continually plagued by debt. A legacy brought release from the nightmare of debtors’ prison and child labor and afforded him a few years of formal schooling. He worked as an attorney’s clerk and newspaper reporter until his early writings brought him the amazing success that was to be his for the remainder of his life. He was the most popular English novelist of the Victorian era, and he remains popular, responsible for some of English literature’s most iconic characters.
Frederick Davidson (1932–2005), also known as David Case, was one of the most prolific readers in the audiobook industry, recording more than eight hundred audiobooks in his lifetime, including over two hundred for Blackstone Audio. Born in London, he trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and performed for many years in radio plays for the British Broadcasting Company before coming to America in 1976. He received AudioFile’s Golden Voice Award and numerous Earphones Awards and was nominated for a Grammy for his readings.