From AudioFile
Old Martin Chuzzlewit has a great fortune, but to whom can he leave it? He and his likable grandson, young Martin, have fallen out. Beyond that, a tangle of sly, grasping relatives coil about him. Throughout, the reader is rooting for the gentle Tom Pinch and his lovely sister, Mary. But before all can be decided, Dickens puts both Tom and young Martin through murder, mayhem and a brief purgatory in the United States. Reader Davidson quickly tunes into Dickens's 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 every tape in this two-volume masterpiece. P.E.F.An AUDIOFILE Earphones Award winner. (c)AudioFile, Portland, Maine


Review
Martin Chuzzlewit is a dramatic serial on Masterpiece Theatre, a PBS television series presented by WGBH-TV, Boston, made possible by a grant from Mobil Corporation.


Book Description
This edition of one of Dicken's earlier novels is based on the accurate Clarendon edition of the text and includes the prefaces to the 1850 and 1867 editions and Dicken's Number Plans.


Download Description
Set partly in the United States, this novel includes a searing satire on mid-nineteenth-century America. Martin Chuzzlewit is the story of two Chuzzlewits, Martin and Jonas, who have inherited the characteristic Chuzzlewit selfishness. It contrasts their diverse fates: moral redemption and worldly success for one and increasingly desperate crime for the other.


The Merriam-Webster Encyclopedia of Literature
(in full The Life and Adventures of Martin Chuzzlewit) Novel by Charles Dickens, published serially by "Boz" from 1843 to 1844 and in book form in 1844. The story's protagonist, Martin Chuzzlewit, is an apprentice architect who is fired by Seth Pecksniff and is also disinherited by his own eccentric, wealthy grandfather. Martin and a servant, Mark Tapley, travel to the United States, where they are swindled by land speculators and have other unpleasant but sometimes comic experiences. Thoroughly disillusioned with the New World, the pair returns to England, where a chastened Martin is reconciled with his grandfather, who gives his approval to Martin's forthcoming marriage to his true love, Mary Graham.


From the Publisher
Founded in 1906 by J.M. Dent, the Everyman Library has always tried to make the best books ever written available to the greatest number of people at the lowest possible price. Unique editorial features that help Everyman Paperback Classics stand out from the crowd include: a leading scholar or literary critic's introduction to the text, a biography of the author, a chronology of her or his life and times, a historical selection of criticism, and a concise plot summary. All books published since 1993 have also been completely restyled: all type has been reset, to offer a clarity and ease of reading unique among editions of the classics; a vibrant, full-color cover design now complements these great texts with beautiful contemporary works of art. But the best feature must be Everyman's uniquely low price. Each Everyman title offers these extensive materials at a price that competes with the most inexpensive editions on the market-but Everyman Paperbacks have durable binding, quality paper, and the highest editorial and scholarly standards.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Young Martin's comic odyssey to the New World; the naive Tom Pinch's rite of passage from innocence to enlightenment; the smooth scheming of the arch hypocrite Pecksniff; the grotesque self-love of Mrs. Gamp; the increasingly-desperate machinations of murderous Jonas Chuzzlewit; all are portrayed with a typically Dickensian flair for unerringly accurate social satire and buoyantly extravagant characterization.

FROM THE CRITICS

School Library Journal

Gr 7-12-Dickens' satire on the Victorian family and the philosophies of a society which sought to turn men into machines. Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information.

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