21. The publication of American Notes for General Circulation in 1842
Dickens published his American Notes in October, 1842, in Great Britain where the book was received with acclaim. American Notes was quickly published in the United States, despite his repeated protests over the copyrights being violated. When Dickens was in the United States more than two dozen American authors had supported his views over copyright law and signed petitions to create international copyright laws. In New York installments of American Notes appeared on the same page on which an editorial appeared, excoriating the English writer for his views over access to already published materials. Soon they were excoriating him for his views on America.
Dickens was slammed in the south for his views on slavery, in the north for his observations on penal systems and local governments, and across the country for his pithy commentary on American social behavior and habits. His depiction of the American capital as the “headquarters of tobacco-tinctured saliva” was fumed at in newspapers and magazines. Dickens described American table manners at the community meals he had endured as having “strip[ped] social sacraments of everything but the mere satisfaction of natural cravings”. America was not pleased with the guest it had welcomed so warmly. No evidently was he with what he found there.