Categorizing American Notes: Dickens as New Journalist

Abstract

Investigates the generally negative reactions to American Notes and provides a glimpse into Dickens’ reputation in the early 1840s. Also examines the various constraints on that reputation and reader expectations, and more abstractly the ways in which critical commentary reveals much about the cultural milieu from which it emerges. Claims part of the critical dissatisfaction with the work comes from methods Dickens employs – ones that ironically prefigure those celebrated by twentieth-century new journalists.