23. Dickens criticized American democracy as well
Besides his hearty criticism of the American habit of chewing tobacco so prevalent in Washington, Dickens blasted the government ensconced in the city. To the Englishman, Washington exhibited “Despicable trickery at elections; under-handed tamperings with public officers; and cowardly attacks upon opponents, with scurrilous newspapers for shields, and hired pens for daggers”. The New York Courier and Enquirer responded, “Mr. Dickens is a young man who knows nothing of this world, of society, or of government” in an editorial which referred to the writer’s earlier work as a reporter in disparaging terms.
The newspaper later wrote another article, in which it mentioned that Dickens had spent, “more than half his life” living in the slums of London. Dickens had spent most of his youth in abject poverty, the fact that he had lifted himself out of it through his talent as a writer was conveniently ignored. Despite the negative press and the howls of outrage, his subsequent novels sold well in the United States. Dickens’ next novel, Martin Chuzzlewit, contained sections which satirized the United States, and appeared in serialization in late 1842. It too sold well on both sides of the Atlantic.