The Pickwick Papers

"The Pickwick Papers", also known as "The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club", was the first novel by Charles Dickens.  The novel was published by Chapman & Hall in monthly instalments from March of 1836 until November 1837.

"The Pickwick Papers" is a series of linear adventures, unlike the convoluted plots of Dickens's later novels. In other words, we follow our heroes from one stop to the next and meet interesting characters, rather than unravelling a mystery. The novel is a late example of the picarequese, a style of story in which we follow a rough, but still likeable, hero through his adventures. The hero of "The Pickwick Papers" is Sam Weller, though Sam isn't always the focus of the narrative. 
Samuel Pickwick is the founder of the Pickwick Club. The members of this quasi-scientific and philosophical club embark on adventurous expeditions around Britain, which result in various comic mishaps and discoveries. The Pickwick Club of London, whose purpose and value is not entirely clear, decides to establish a clearer mission for itself and transforms into a society of intrepid travellers (though without leaving the relative comforts of England, of course), with the aim of encountering various curiosities and reporting on them to the other club members. Unfortunately, they are not the most competent group...

Charles Dickens was an extraordinarily popular writer of the Victorian Period. Arguably the most influential novelist of the nineteenth century (Jane Austen notwithstanding), Dickens is best known for his memorable characters and intricate plots.