American Notes for General Circulation is a travelogue by Charles Dickens detailing his trip to North America in January to June 1842. He traveled mainly on the east coast and Great Lakes area of both the United States and Canada, primarily by steamship, but also by rail and coach. While there he acted as a critical observer of these societies almost as if returning a status report on their progress. This can be compared to the style of his Pictures from Italy written four years later where he wrote far more like a tourist. His American journey was also an inspiration for his novel Martin Chuzzlewit Travel literature is literature which records the people, events, sights and feelings of an author who is touring a foreign place for the pleasure of travel. ... “Dickens” redirects here. ... North America North America is a continent[1] in the Earths northern hemisphere and (chiefly) western hemisphere. ... 1842 was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... The Great Lakes from space The Laurentian Great Lakes are a group of five large lakes in North America on or near the Canada-United States border. ... Pictures from Italy is a book by Charles Dickens, written in 1846. ... Martin Chuzzlewit is a novel by Charles Dickens, considered the last of his picaresque novels, which was written and serialized in 1843-1844. ...

During his extensive itinerary he made a particular point of visiting prisons and mental institutions and even took a quick glimpse at the prairie. He also wrote merciless parodies of the manners of the locals, including, but not limited to, their tobacco spitting and rural conversations. Although generally impressed by what he found he could not forgive the continued existence of slavery in the United States, and the final chapters of the book are devoted to a criticism of the practice. He was also unhappy about copyright issues. Dickens, by this time, had become an international celebrity, but owing to the lack of an international copyright law, bootleg copies of his works were freely available in North America and he could not abide losing money. A psychiatric hospital (also called a mental hospital or asylum) is a hospital specializing in the treatment of persons with mental illness. ... Prairie grasses Prairie refers to an area of land of low topographic relief that historically supported grasses and herbs, with few trees, and having generally a mesic (moderate or temperate) climate. ... Slave redirects here. ... Copyright symbol Copyright is a set of exclusive rights regulating the use of a particular expression of an idea or information. ... Copyright symbol Copyright is a set of exclusive rights regulating the use of a particular expression of an idea or information. ... Copyright infringement is the unauthorized use of copyrighted material in a manner that violates one of the copyright owners exclusive rights, such as the right to reproduce or perform the copyrighted work, or to make derivative works that build upon it. ... North America North America is a continent[1] in the Earths northern hemisphere and (chiefly) western hemisphere. ...

The book formed the basis for Dickens in America, a 2005 authored documentary series by Miriam Margolyes, made by Lion TV for BBC Four, in which Margolyes followed Dickens' journey through the United States, visiting many of the places mentioned by Dickens. Dickens in America is a 2005 television documentary following Charles Dickens travels across the United States in 1842, during which the young journalist penned American Notes. ... Year 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... An authored documentary is a television documentary series that presents the subjective view of its author on the topic of the documentary. ... Margolyes as Professor Sprout in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets Miriam Margolyes OBE (born May 18, 1941) is a British character actress. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ...

External links

Online editions

• Vanity Fair - Mrs. Trollope's America
• American Notes, available at Project Gutenberg.
• American Notes - Searchable HTML version.
• American Notes - Easy to read HTML version.