The Many Adventures of Martin Chuzzlewit

But chiefly of Mrs. Gamp.

Though Martin Chuzzlewit is one of my own personal favorites of Charles Dickens’ novels, it doesn’t seem to get nearly as much appreciation as books like David Copperfield, Great Expectations, or Oliver Twist. But if you judge by the amount of Chuzzlewit references and quotations scattered throughout other books in the late 19th and earlier 20th century, it certainly seems to have been just as fondly regarded by readers! Partly because of the underrated aspect, I’ve always noticed and been particularly amused by the references when I come across them, and gradually made a kind of little collection of them over the years.

This is another way that acquaintance with classic literature enriches life—knowing the context of these quotes when you run across them adds the extra kick of getting the joke, of knowing the point the author is making. When I first read Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women trilogy, which is loaded with Dickensian references of all sorts, most of them went over my head; but gradually, as I read more and more Dickens, I began continually recognizing names and quotations and Alcott’s inside jokes became clear!

“A pouring rainy night like this, coming after a hard day’s grind, would squelch anybody but a Mark Tapley.”

~ L.M. Montgomery, Anne of the Island (1915)

(May 21st, 1862) …And this is thanks to war and blockade! Not a decent shoe in the whole community! N’importe! “Better days are coming, we’ll all”—have shoes—after a while—perhaps! Why did not Mark Tapley leave me a song calculated to keep the spirits up, under depressing circumstances? I need one very much, and have nothing more suggestive than the old Methodist hymn, “Better days are coming, we’ll all go right,” which I shout so constantly, as our prospects darken, that it begins to sound stale.

~ Sarah Morgan Dawson, A Confederate Girl’s Diary

You said to me once you’d like to come here to live. Read Martin Chuzzlewit again before you do. “Eden!” That’s what the famous Ornaby Addition looks like! It isn’t swampy, but that’s all the difference I could see.

~ National Avenue by Booth Tarkington

In the family rocking-chair Roy was reading a torn copy of “Martin Chuzzlewit.” How it had reached this haven was a question, since it was the only book in the house except a Big Creek bible, as the catalogue of a mail-order house is called in that country. Beaudry resented the frank, insolent observations of Dickens on the manners of Americans. In the first place, the types were not true to life. In the second place—

~ William McLeod Raine, The Sheriff’s Son (1917)

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I suppose we will never know what Roy’s second objection was, since at this point his reading was interrupted by one of the villains of The Sheriff’s Son, of whom the author observes, “Not in his most unbridled moments had Dickens painted a bully so appalling as this one.”

Reading on, it becomes clear that by far the most popular Chuzzlewit character to reference is Mrs. Gamp. To call someone “Mrs. Gamp” used to be understood as sarcastic shorthand for indicating that they were a nurse. In fact, aside from direct quotes or mentions of the character, running a search of the word “Gampish” on Google Books reveals that in times past it was practically an informal adjective (usually applied to an umbrella).

Here’s a sampling of the Gampish references I’ve come across in my own reading:

“Toodle-oodle-oo!” said Mr. Coleman. “Here’s Sairey Gamp.”

~ Agatha Christie, Murder in Mesopotamia (1936)

On his rare visits to the farm it seemed to him there was always some drab dejected female in the kitchen or living room or on the porch—a woman with broken teeth and comic shoes and tragic eyes—drinking great draughts of coffee and telling her woes to Selina—Sairey Gampish ladies smelling unpleasantly of peppermint and perspiration and poverty.

~ Edna Ferber, So Big (1924)

“She didn’t know I was there, of course. I just stood a bit and looked at her. Then, when I heard Mrs. Gamp stumping up the stairs again, I slipped away.” 

~ Agatha Christie, Sad Cypress (1940)

I uncorked the bottle of King Minos, sec, and, with a silent blessing on Frances, who had insisted on my taking it, took a swig that would have done credit to Mrs. Gamp and her teapot.

~ Mary Stewart, The Moonspinners (1962) 

“…Do you think by-and-by we could managed to build another house, or move your cabin further down the Valley? I want to live nearer Clover and Elsie. You’ll have to be away a good deal…it would make all the difference in the world if I had the sisters close at hand to ‘put my lips to when so dispoged.’ “

~ Susan Coolidge, In the High Valley (1890)

“I now propose a toast, as my ‘friend and pardner, Sairy Gamp’ says. Fun forever, and no grubbing!” cried Jo, rising, glass in hand, as the lemonade went round.

~ Louisa May Alcott, Little Women (1868)

That, of course, was one of those Dickensian references in Alcott that mystified me throughout my childhood reading, only to become clear when I finally made the acquaintance of Mrs. Gamp herself—whom, once met, never forgotten.

And then, of course, there is her fabled friend Mrs. Harris, who I’m pretty certain beats out Bunbury for the most frequently-referenced non-existent character in literature:

“This Oliver appears to be a very elusive person,” said he.

“Isn’t he?” agreed Wimsey dryly. “Almost as elusive as the famous Mrs. Harris.”

~ The Unpleasantness at the Bellona Club by Dorothy Sayers

“How kind of you to ask! My sister is well, I thank you.”
“She is here with you?”
“She remained in town,” said the minx with dignity.
“I don’t believe you’ve got a sister.” I laughed. “If you have, her name is Harris!”

~ Agatha Christie, Murder On the Links (1923)

Victoria longed to say, “He’s brother to Mrs. Harris,” but refrained.

~ Agatha Christie, They Came to Bagdad (1951)

“Poor old man! What was his name?”

“Harris,” said Lucy glibly.

“Let’s hope that Mrs. Harris there warn’t no sich person,” said her mother.

~ A Room With a View by E.M. Forster

Fun fact: there’s a Martin Chuzzlewit reference in one of my own books, my screwball comedy A Sidekick’s Tale. It’s actually a quote from one of the chapter titles, which in Dickens are almost as loaded with humor as the rest of the book, and it fits right into a chapter of my own on the windings of a quirky family feud. I’d love to know if anybody has ever spotted it!

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