One of the most famous legal cases in English literature, Bardell v. Pickwick is an episode from The Pickwick Papers (1836-1837) by Charles Dickens in which the hero becomes the defendant in a breach of promise of marriage suit. Mr. Justice Gaselee and Serjeants Snubbin and Buzfuz are among the characters introduced here. One of the most popular episodes in the novel, it was often dramatized or read aloud as a parlor entertainment.