, who became the illustrator of most of
D.'s novels. In the hands of D. the original plan was entirely altered,
and became the _Pickwick Papers_ which, appearing in monthly parts during
1837-39, took the country by storm. Simultaneously _Oliver Twist_ was
coming out in _Bentley's Miscellany_. Thenceforward D.'s literary career
was a continued success, and the almost yearly publication of his works
constituted the main events of his life. _Nicholas Nickleby_ appeared in
serial form 1838-39. Next year he projected _Master Humphrey's Clock_,
intended to be a series of miscellaneous stories and sketches. It was,
however, soon abandoned, _The Old Curiosity Shop_ and _Barnaby Rudge_
taking its place. The latter, dealing with the Gordon Riots, is, with the
partial exception of the _Tale of Two Cities_, the author's only
excursion into the historical novel. In 1841 D. went to America, and was
received with great enthusiasm, which, however, the publication of
_American Notes_ considerably damped, and the appearance of _Martin
Chuzzlewit_ in 1843, with its caustic criticisms of certain features of
American life, converted into extreme, though temporary, unpopularity.
The first of the Christmas books--the _Christmas Carol_--appeared in
1843, and in the following year D. went to Italy, where at Genoa he wrote
_The Chimes_, followed by _The Cricket on the Hearth_, _The Battle of
Life_, and _The Haunted Man_. In January, 1846, he was appointed first
ed. of _The Daily News_, but resigned in a few weeks. The same year he
went to Switzerland, and while there wrote _Dombey and Son_, which was
_pub._ in 1848, and was immediately followed by his masterpiece, _David
Copperfield_ (1849-50). Shortly before this he had become manager of a
theatrical company, which performed in the provinces, and he had in 1849
started his magazine, _Household Words_. _Bleak House_ appeared in
1852-53, _Hard Times_ in 1854, and _Little Dorrit_ 1856-57. In 1856 he
bought Gadshill Place, which, in 1860, became his permanent home. In 1858
he began his public readings from his works, which, while eminently
successful from a financial point of view, from the nervous strain which
they entailed, gradually broke down his constitution, and hastened his
death. In the same year he separated from his wife, and consequent upon
the controversy which arose thereupon he brought _Household Words_ to an
end, and started _All the Year Round_, in which appeared _A Tale of Two
Cities