''Sketches by "Boz," Illustrative of Every-day Life and Every-day People'' (commonly known as ''Sketches by Boz'') is a collection of short pieces

Charles Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English writer and social critic. He created some of the world's best-known fictional characters and is regarded by many as the greatest novelist of the Victorian er ...

originally published in various newspapers and other periodicals between 1833 and 1836. They were re-issued in book form, under their current title, in February and August 1836, with illustrations by

George Cruikshank George Cruikshank (27 September 1792 – 1 February 1878) was a British caricaturist and book illustrator, praised as the "modern Hogarth" during his life. His book illustrations for his friend Charles Dickens, and many other authors, reache ...

. The first complete one volume edition appeared in 1839. The 56 sketches concern London scenes and people, and the whole work is divided into four sections: "Our Parish", "Scenes", "Characters" and "Tales". The material in the first three sections consists of non-narrative pen-portraits, but the last section comprises fictional stories.

The History of "Boz"

The sketch "Mr Minns and his Cousin" (originally titled "A Dinner at Poplar Walk"), was the first work of fiction Dickens ever published. It appeared in ''The Monthly Magazine'' in December 1833. Although Dickens continued to place pieces in that magazine, none of them bore a signature until August 1834, when "The Boarding House" appeared under the strange pen-name "Boz". A verse in ''

Bentley's Miscellany ''Bentley's Miscellany'' was an English literary magazine started by Richard Bentley. It was published between 1836 and 1868. Contributors Already a successful publisher of novels, Bentley began the journal in 1836 and invited Charles Dickens t ...

'' for March 1837 recalled the public's perplexity about this pseudonym: :"Who the dickens 'Boz' could be :Puzzled many a learned elf, :Till time unveiled the mystery, :And 'Boz' appeared as Dickens's self." Dickens took the pseudonym from a nickname he had given his younger brother

Augustus Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian, was the first Roman emperor; he reigned from 27 BC until his death in AD 14. He is known for being the founder of the Roman Pr ...

, whom he called "Moses" after a character in

Oliver Goldsmith Oliver Goldsmith (10 November 1728 – 4 April 1774) was an Anglo-Irish novelist, playwright, dramatist and poet, who is best known for his novel '' The Vicar of Wakefield'' (1766), his pastoral poem '' The Deserted Village'' (1770), and his ...

's ''

The Vicar of Wakefield ''The Vicar of Wakefield'', subtitled ''A Tale, Supposed to be written by Himself'', is a novel by Anglo-Irish writer Oliver Goldsmith (1728–1774). It was written from 1761 to 1762 and published in 1766. It was one of the most popular and wid ...

''. This, "being facetiously pronounced through the nose," became "Boses", which in turn was shortened to "Boz". The name remained coupled with "inimitable" until "Boz" eventually disappeared and Dickens became known as, simply, "The Inimitable". The name was originally pronounced but is now usually .

Illustrations

The popularity of Dickens's writings was enhanced by the regular inclusion of detailed illustrations to highlight key scenes and characters. Each sketch typically featured two black-and-white illustrations, as well as an illustration for the wrapper. The images were created with wood engravings or metal etchings. Dickens worked closely with several illustrators during his career, including

Hablot Knight Browne Hablot Knight Browne (10 July 1815 – 8 July 1882) was an English artist and illustrator. Well-known by his pen name, Phiz, he illustrated books by Charles Dickens, Charles Lever, and Harrison Ainsworth. Early life Of Huguenot ancestry, Hablot ...

(aka "Phiz"), and John Leech. The accuracy of the illustrations was of the utmost importance to Dickens, as the drawings portrayed the characters just as he envisioned them, and gave readers valuable insights about the characters' personalities and motives, as well as the plot. George Cruikshank - Sketches by Boz, frontspiece

George Cruikshank - Sketches by Boz, frontspiece

Publication

The earliest version of ''Sketches by Boz'' was published by John Macrone in two series: the first as a two-volume set in February 1836, just a month before the publication of the first number of ''

The Pickwick Papers ''The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club'' (also known as ''The Pickwick Papers'') was Charles Dickens's first novel. Because of his success with '' Sketches by Boz'' published in 1836, Dickens was asked by the publisher Chapman & Hall to ...

'' (1836–37), and then a "Second Series" in August 1836. After Dickens's fame skyrocketed he purchased the rights to the material from Macrone.

Instalment contents

The majority of the 56 sketches that appeared together in 1839 were originally published individually in popular newspapers and periodicals, including ''The

Morning Chronicle ''The Morning Chronicle'' was a newspaper founded in 1769 in London. It was notable for having been the first steady employer of essayist William Hazlitt as a political reporter and the first steady employer of Charles Dickens as a journalist. I ...

'', ''The

Evening Chronicle The ''Evening Chronicle'', now referred to as ''The Comical'', is a daily newspaper produced in Newcastle upon Tyne covering North regional news, but primarily focused on Newcastle upon Tyne and surrounding area. The ''Comical'' is published by ...

'', ''The

Monthly Magazine ''The Monthly Magazine'' (1796–1843) of London began publication in February 1796. Contributors Richard Phillips was the publisher and a contributor on political issues. The editor for the first ten years was a literary jack-of-all-trades, Dr ...

'', ''The Carlton Chronicle'' and ''

Bell's Life in London ''Bell's Life in London, and Sporting Chronicle'' was an English weekly sporting paper published as a pink broadsheet between 1822 and 1886. History ''Bell's Life'' was founded by Robert Bell, a London printer-publisher. Bell sold it to William I ...

'', between 1833 and 1836: *"Mr. Minns and his Cousin" (SB 46), originally, "A Dinner at Poplar Walk" in ''The Monthly Magazine'', 1 December 1833. *"Mrs. Joseph Porter, Over the Way" (SB 53), originally in ''The Monthly Magazine'', January 1834. *"Horatio Sparkins" (SB 49), originally in ''The Monthly Magazine'', February 1834. *"The Bloomsbury Christening" (SB 55), originally in ''The Monthly Magazine'', April 1834. *"The Boarding-House" (SB 45), originally in ''The Monthly Magazine'', May & August 1834. *"Sentiment" (SB 47), originally in ''Bell's Weekly Magazine'', 7 June 1834. *"The Steam Excursion" (SB 51), originally in ''The Monthly Magazine'', October 1834. *"A Passage in the Life of Mr. Watkins Tottle" (SB 54), originally "Chapter the First" and "Chapter the Second" in two numbers of ''The Monthly Magazine'', January and February 1835. *"The Four Sisters" (SB 3), Our Parish 3, originally, "Sketches of London No. 14" in ''The Evening Chronicle'', 18 June 1835. *"The Election for Beadle" (SB 4), Our Parish 4, originally, "Sketches of London No. 16" in ''The Evening Chronicle'', 14 July 1835. *"The Broker's Man" (SB 5), Our Parish 5, originally, "Sketches of London No. 18" in ''The Evening Chronicle'', 28 July 1835. *"The Ladies' Societies" (SB 6), Our Parish 6, originally, "Sketches of London No. 20" in ''The Evening Chronicle'', 28 July 1835. *"Miss Evans and the Eagle" (SB 36), (Scenes and Characters No. 2) originally in ''Bell's Life in London'', 4 October 1835. *"The Dancing Academy" (SB 41), originally, "Scenes and Characters, No. 3" in ''Bell's Life in London'', 11 October 1835. *"Making a Night of It" (SB 43), originally, "Scenes and Characters No. 4" in ''Bell's Life in London'', 18 October 1835. *"The Misplaced Attachment of Mr. John Dounce" (SB 39), originally, "Scenes and Characters No. 5. Love and Oysters," in ''Bell's Life in London'', 25 October 1835. *"Some Account of an Omnibus Cad" originally, "Scenes and Characters No. 6," later retitled and expanded into "The Last Cab-driver and the First Omnibus Cab"; in ''Bell's Life in London'', 1 November 1835. *"The Mistaken Milliner. A Tale of Ambition" (SB 40) originally "Scenes and Characters No. 7. The Vocal Dressmaker," in ''Bell's Life in London'', 22 November 1835. *"The New Year" (SB 35), originally in ''Bell's Life in London'', 3 January 1836. *"The Great Winglebury Duel" (SB 52), originally in the First Series of ''Sketches by Boz'', 8 February 1836. *"The Black Veil" (SB 50) originally in the First Series of ''Sketches by Boz'', 8 February 1836. *"Our Next-Door Neighbour" (Our Parish 7), originally, "Our Next-Door Neighbours" in ''The Morning Chronicle'', 18 March 1836. *"The Tuggses at Ramsgate" (Tales 4), originally in ''The Library of Fiction'' No. 1, 31 March 1836 (accompanied by two Robert Seymour woodcuts). *"The Hospital Patient" (SB 38), Characters 6, originally in ''The Carlton Chronicle'', 6 August 1836. *"The Drunkard's Death" (SB 56), originally in the Second Series of ''Sketches by Boz'', 17 December 1836.Philip V. Allingham, Faculty of Education, Lakehead University, Thunder Bay, Ontario

Book Contents

The contents of ''Sketches by Boz'' are: Sketches by Boz - The Streets, Morning

*Our Parish **The Beadle. The Parish Engine. The Schoolmaster. **The Curate. The Old Lady. The Half-pay Captain **The Four Sisters **The Election for Beadle **The Broker's Man **The Ladies' Societies **Our Next-Door Neighbour *Scenes **The Streets – Morning **The Streets – Night **Shops and Their Tenants **

Scotland Yard Scotland Yard (officially New Scotland Yard) is the headquarters of the Metropolitan Police, the territorial police force responsible for policing Greater London's 32 boroughs, but not the City of London, the square mile that forms London's ...

** Seven Dials **Meditations in Monmouth-Street ** Hackney-Coach Stands **

Doctors' Commons Doctors' Commons, also called the College of Civilians, was a society of lawyers practising civil (as opposed to common) law in London, namely ecclesiastical and admiralty law. Like the Inns of Court of the common lawyers, the society had buildi ...

**London Recreations **The

River A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of ...

**Astley's **

Greenwich Greenwich ( , ,) is a town in south-east London, England, within the ceremonial county of Greater London. It is situated east-southeast of Charing Cross. Greenwich is notable for its maritime history and for giving its name to the Greenwich ...

Fair **Private Theatres **

Vauxhall Gardens Vauxhall Gardens is a public park in Kennington in the London Borough of Lambeth, England, on the south bank of the River Thames. Originally known as New Spring Gardens, it is believed to have opened before the Restoration of 1660, bein ...

by Day **Early Coaches **Omnibuses **The Last Cab-Driver, and the First Omnibus Cad **A

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...

ary Sketch **Public Dinners **The First of May **Brokers' and Marine-Store Shops **Gin-Shops **The

Pawnbroker A pawnbroker is an individual or business (pawnshop or pawn shop) that offers secured loans to people, with items of personal property used as collateral. The items having been ''pawned'' to the broker are themselves called ''pledges'' o ...

's Shop **Criminal Courts **A Visit to

Newgate Newgate was one of the historic seven gates of the London Wall around the City of London and one of the six which date back to Roman times. Newgate lay on the west side of the wall and the road issuing from it headed over the River Fleet to Mid ...

*Characters **Thoughts about People **A Christmas Dinner **The New Year **Miss Evans and the Eagle **The Parlour Orator **The Hospital Patient **The Misplaced Attachment of Mr John Dounce **The Mistaken

Milliner Hat-making or millinery is the design, manufacture and sale of hats and other headwear. A person engaged in this trade is called a milliner or hatter. Historically, milliners, typically women shopkeepers, produced or imported an inventory of ...

. A Tale of Ambition **The Dancing Academy **Shabby-Genteel People **Making a Night of It **The Prisoners' Van *Tales **The Boarding-House ***Chapter the first ***Chapter the second **Mr Minns and his Cousin **Sentiment **The Tuggses at

Ramsgate Ramsgate is a seaside town in the district of Thanet in east Kent, England. It was one of the great English seaside towns of the 19th century. In 2001 it had a population of about 40,000. In 2011, according to the Census, there was a populati ...

**Horatio Sparkins **The Black Veil **The Steam Excursion **The Great Winglebury

Duel A duel is an arranged engagement in combat between two people, with matched weapons, in accordance with agreed-upon rules. During the 17th and 18th centuries (and earlier), duels were mostly single combats fought with swords (the rapier and ...

**Mrs Joseph Porter **A Passage in the Life of Mr Watkins Tottle ***Chapter the first ***Chapter the second **The

Bloomsbury Bloomsbury is a district in the West End of London. It is considered a fashionable residential area, and is the location of numerous cultural, intellectual, and educational institutions. Bloomsbury is home of the British Museum, the largest ...

Christening **The Drunkard's Death

References

External links

Online editions
''Sketches by Boz''
at

Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music, ...

''Sketches by Boz'' at Project Gutenberg''Sketches by Boz''
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