Martin Chuzzlewit

Martin Chuzzlewit is a comic masterpiece by Charles Dickens first published in 1844. Although less well known than others of his works, Dickens thought it to be his best work. Old Martin Chuzzlewit, tormented by the greed and selfishness of his family, effectively drives his grandson, young Martin, to undertake a voyage to America, a voyage, which will have great consequences not only for Martin, but also for his grandfather and his grandfather's servant, Mary Graham with whom young Martin is in love. The commercial swindle of the Anglo-Bengalee company and the fraudulent Eden Land Corporation bring reminiscence of commercial fraud in our own time. The novel is full of wholesomely depicted characters such as the criminal Jonas Chuzzlewit, the old nurse Mrs Gamp, and the arch-hypocrite Seth Pecksniff who are the equal of any in his other great novels. Generations of readers have also enjoyed Dickens' wonderful description of the London boarding house - 'Todgers'.