American Notes

Dickens, Charles, 1812-1870Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.7

Word count: 589K words
Chapters: 59

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.American Notes by Charles DickensAuthor: Dickens, Charles, 1812-1870,Language: English, Class: E151: History: America: United States, Release Date: Oct 1, 1996

Editor's review

American Notes is a record of travel observations Dickens wrote after his 1842 visit to America, a documentary text in the public domain. Its readability comes from the novelist's eye: descriptions of cities, institutions, transport and everyday customs are concrete and vivid, while carrying the author's explicit judgments and criticisms, so readers can sense how an outsider understood American society at the time. As a historical document, it is better read alongside materials on nineteenth-century American social history than treated as a neutral social survey. While reading, note the narrator's standpoint and the limitations of the era, and keep observational detail separate from value judgments; this way you gain both historical information and a sense of the stylistic features of travel writing.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers interested in nineteenth-century American social history who want first-hand travel observations
Readers of Dickens who want to know his nonfiction writing and his visit to America
English majors analyzing the style of travel literature or documentary texts
Researchers in comparative literature and cross-cultural studies concerned with images of America from an outsider's perspective

Not a good fit for

Readers who only want Dickens's novels and have no interest in documentary or historical texts
Readers expecting a neutral, objective social report; the book carries strong personal judgments
Beginners with weak English reading skills who need notes and introductions

Reading tips

Start with the table of contents and chapter titles, and pick passages by theme—cities, prisons, customs—rather than reading straight through.
Keep a sheet of paper with two columns for factual observations and the author's evaluations, to practice telling them apart.
Read alongside an overview of nineteenth-century American social history to help judge the era background of the observations.
After reading selected passages, write a short review explaining which judgments are shaped by the author's standpoint, forming your own reading conclusion.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

Is this book a novel or a work of nonfiction?

It is a documentary record of travel observations, not a novel. Dickens records cities, institutions, transport and everyday customs based on what he saw in America, interspersed with personal evaluations and criticisms. Read it as a historical travel text and note the narrator's standpoint, rather than as a fictional story or a neutral social survey.

Can I understand it without a background in American history?

Basically yes, but understanding will be limited. The book deals with the cities, institutions and social phenomena of the time, and without background it is easy to take the author's judgments as settled fact. It is advisable to first read a concise overview of nineteenth-century American history, or choose an annotated edition, and always distinguish factual observation from personal evaluation; reading will be more reliable.

Should I read it straight through from beginning to end?

Not necessarily. The book consists of relatively independent observational passages, and reading by theme is more effective—for example, start with the sections on cities and customs, then read the chapters on institutions. For overall research, read through the table of contents first to build a framework, then fill in according to interest; general readers can gain the main impression by reading selected chapters.

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About the author

Dickens, Charles, 1812-1870 Author

Charles Dickens (Dickens, Charles, 1812-1870) is one of the most influential novelists in the history of English literature. The library holds 115 of his works, including novels, novellas and short stories; representative titles include The Pickwick Papers, Oliver Twist, David Copperfield and A Christmas Carol. He was known for serialized fiction, with plot twists and vivid characters, and he used humor and satire to portray Victorian society, paying particular attention to poor children, the lower classes and education, and his works often convey warmth and moral concern. In the library his works are often classified under "inspirational growth," and many of his novels have been adapted for stage and screen and are widely circulated. Public information about the details of his life is limited, so no speculation is offered here.