The Pickwick Papers – the comic masterpiece that catapulted the 24-year-old Dickens to immediate fame. Readers were captivated by the adventures of the poet Snodgrass, the lover Tupman, the sportsman Winkle and  above all, the quintessentially English Quixote, Mr Pickwick – founder and perpetual president of the Pickwick Club – and his cockney Sancho Panza, Sam Weller. The Pickwickians travel to the far-flung corners of London in search of adventure –  from the hallowed turf of Dingley Dell Cricket Club to the unholy fracas of the Eatanswill election, via the Fleet debtor’s prison. Fortunately for this band of gentlemen, amusement and hilarity are never in short supply. Along their way, they encounter plenty of characters – from villains who land them in deep trouble to the lady who sues Pickwick to force him into marriage – and all provide the Pickwickians with plenty of entertaining tales.