Friends of the Dickens Forum,

	Stephen Jarvis <[log in to unmask]> greets us all and says
he has been tracing a few lines related to *Pickwick Papers*:   (pjm)
---

It has been remarked by commentators before that Pickwick seems to
have undercurrents of boxing in its pages - and that, for instance,
the club jacket, with its 'PC' buttons, is an echo of clothing worn
by the Pugilistic Club of the early nineteenth century. I am trying
to find out whether there is any evidence of Dickens having been to
the centre of boxing enthusiasm near Furnival's, namely the Castle
Tavern in Holborn, where the former boxer Tom Belcher was landlord,
another key figure was a certain James (or Jemmy) Soares, and Pierce
Egan was a leading light.  This may not be a straightforward matter,
because I seem to remember reading somewhere that, in revisions of
pieces for publication in Sketches by Boz, Dickens deleted or amended
some references to pubs, perhaps in order to appear more respectable.
Still, can anyone recall Dickens mentioning anywhere the Castle
Tavern, Belcher, Soares or the boxing commentaries of Egan?

All the best,

Stephen Jarvis