American Notes for General Circulation

This is a scholarly edition, annotated and illustrated, addressing the modern reader. Dickens fans and students will find the most balanced approach to annotate and contextualize the writers travel impressions, as well as a chronology following Dickenss itinerary chapter by chapter. American Notes for General Circulation was published shortly after Dickenss return from his six-month trip to North America. While his intention to publish a travel narrative was not publicly disclosed before or during his trip, it was widely assumed that he would write a travel book. After all, many European visitors, especially authors, had written such books in the past. In 1842 Dickens was arguably the most famous novelist in the world, so, naturally, English and American readers eagerly anticipated a book based on his visit. However, Dickenss unexpected critique of the young republic in this little travel narrative caused shockwaves among his devoted readership. The fact that he would risk offending his audience by publishing the book ought to pique modern readers interest. What did he say that so upset the public? What motivated his choice of content and approach? And what does this neglected text reveal to modern readers about life and literature in the Anglo-American world of the nineteenth century? (From the Introduction by Diana C. Archibald)

Table of Contents:
Introduction by Diana C. Archibald; Note on the text; American Notes for General Circulation; 1842 Dedication; Preface to the Cheap Edition of 1850; Preface (1868); Chapter I: Going Away; Chapter II: The Passage Out; Chapter III: Boston; Chapter IV: An American Railroad. Lowell and Its Factory System; Chapter V: Worcester. The Connecticut River. Hartford. New Haven. To New York; Chapter VI: New York; Chapter VII: Philadelphia, and Its Solitary Prison; Chapter VIII: Washington. The Legislature. And the President's House; Chapter IX: A Night Steamer on the Potomac River. Virgina Road, and a Black Driver. Richmond. Baltimore. The Harrisburg Mail, and a Glimpse of the City. A Canal Boat; Chapter X: Some Further Account of the Canal Boat. Its Domestic Economy, and Its Passengers. Journey to Pittsburg across the Alleghany Mountains. Pittsburg; Chapter XI: From Pittsburg to Cincinnati in a Western Steam-Boat. Cincinnati; Chapter XII: From Cincinnati to Louisville in Another Western Steam-Boat and from Louisville to St. Louis in Another. St. Louis; Chapter XIII: A Jaunt to the Looking-Glass Prairie and Back; Chapter XIV: Return to Cincinnati. A Stage-Coach Ride from That City to Columbus, and Thence to Sandusky. So, by Lake Erie, to the Falls of Niagara; Chapter XV: In Canada. Toronto. Kingston. Montreal. Quebec. St John's. In the United States Again. Lebanon. The Shaker Village. West Point; Chapter XVI: The Passage Home; Chapter XVII: Slavery; Chapater XVIII: Concluding Remarks; Postscript (1868); Appendix: [Introduction of 1842]; Works cited in the footnotes; List of Illustrations; Chronology of events (January-June 1842); Selected bibliography.

About the Author :
Charles Dickens 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 era. Diana C. Archibald (University of Massachusetts, Lowell) is specialist in Dickens, gender and imperialism in Victorian literature, emigration studies and travel writing. She is the co-editor of Dickens and Massachusetts.

Review :
The editions carefully chosen illustrations, introduction and extensive footnotes provide a valuable context for todays student. We learn about steam travel by boat, which was then new and hazardous, about the rash of American bank failures in 1837 to which the title (notes for general circulation) alludes, and about the difficulties of emigration in the mid-nineteenth century. These historical themes are supplemented by contemporary illustrations of people and places ranging from the Lowell Mill factory girls to Tremont House in Boston to Niagara FallsThe availability of Archibalds new edition provides a useful text to supplement the social and political context of courses in British and American literature. -- Karen Bourrier, Dickens Quarterly