Our Mutual Friend is the last novel Dickens completed, and arguably his very best — the most cunning, page-turning plot he ever designed. It's also a doorstop, coming in at more than 800 pages. 

It's the book he was working on when he had a near-death experience on a train, which we will absolutely discuss, along with all the other things going on in his life at the time.

We will read Our Mutual Friend in the same installments as it was originally published in 1864 and 1865, except we'll read four chapters a week instead of four a month. 

Look forward to a sprawling but propulsive tale of twists, intrigue, blackmail, buried treasure, and characters at their Dickensian best, from a taxidermist named Mr. Venus to a dolls' dressmaker named Jenny Wray, from a one-legged balladeer named Silas Wegg to a schoolmaster named Bradley Headstone. Our Mutual Friend also has more female characters than your average Dickens novel, including Bella Wilfer, a young striver interested in "money, money, money, and what money can make of life"; Lizzie Hexam, the loyal daughter of an accused murderer; Mrs. Boffin, wife of a rich buffoon; and others.

Plus all the lawyers and detectives trying to solve the murder mystery at the center of the story, which begins with a body being discovered in the River Thames. 

Who is leading this club?

Christopher Frizzelle led a Moby-Dick book club for FrizzLit back in 2020, an experience he wrote about for the Washington Post. He is the founder of FrizzLit and the editor and publisher of FrizzLit Editions. He was the editor-in-chief of The Stranger from 2007-2016. In 2009, he invented the Silent Reading Party, inspiring a worldwide trend. His favorite Dickens novel is still David Copperfield, but Our Mutual Friend is a close second.

What to read before the first meeting

Nothing. You do not need to read anything before our first meeting. Come ready to hear about the historical context of the novel and a near-death experience Dickens had on a train while writing Our Mutual Friend. 

All meetings are recorded

They will be sent to your email address within 48 hours of each meeting.

Recommended edition

During this club, we will refer to the page numbers in the Modern Library edition. If you buy it here on Bookshop, a portion of the proceeds go to FrizzLit (thank you!), but it's currently on backorder on Bookshop. The Modern Library edition is also available here on Amazon, or you could support an independent bookstore or find a copy at your local library. The edition you read isn't all that important. Any edition of Our Mutual Friend will work.  

Art

Charles Dickens portrait splendidly illustrated by Kathryn Rathke

Join in installments

Instead of committing to all 20 weeks up front, you can sign up in installements and pay as you go: