Stephen Jarvis

A novel based on the life of the artist Robert Seymour—the caricaturist behindThe Pickwick Papers, and the extraordinary events surrounding the birth of Charles Dickens' first novel—departs from the accepted origin ofPickwick put forward by Dickens and his publisher, Edward Chapman; and it does so for good reason—the accepted origin is a lie.

A Novel

Death and Mr. Pickwick

Shortlisted for the HWA Goldsboro Debut Crown It is 31 March 1836. A new monthly periodical is launched entitled The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club. Conceived and created by the artist Robert Seymour, it contains four of his illustrations. The words to accompany them are written by a young journalist, under the pen-name Boz. The journalist's real name is Charles Dickens. The Pickwick Papers soon becomes a phenomenal, unprecedented sensation, read and discussed by the entire British Isles. Before long, its success is worldwide. Stephen Jarvis's novel tells of the dawning of the age of global celebrity. It is a story of colossal triumph and of the depths of tragedy, based on real events - and an expose of how an ambitious young writer stole another man's ideas.

Death and Mr. Pickwick A Novel

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