Martin Chuzzlewit

Martin Chuzzlewit by Charles Dickens, published in 1843-1844, satirizes selfishness and greed within the dysfunctional Chuzzlewit family, centered on wealthy patriarch Old Martin and his grandson Young Martin, an aspiring architect initially arrogant and self-centered. Disinherited and fired by the hypocritical architect Seth Pecksniff, Young Martin travels to America with companion Mark Tapley, enduring swindles in the diseased settlement of Eden, which prompts his moral growth and disillusionment with the New World. Back in England, amid schemes by villains like Jonas Chuzzlewit and Pecksniff, the novel unfolds with humor, dark intrigue including murder, and redemption, culminating in family reconciliation, justice for the greedy, and Young Martin’s union with Mary Graham.