The Life and Adventures of Martin Chuzzlewit Charles Dickens - Originally published in 1844, Charles Dickens thought 'The Life and Adventures of Martin Chuzzlewit' to be his best work, even though it was one of his least popular novels. A tale of greed and selfishness, it tells the story of Martin Chuzzlewit, who goes to work for the architect, Seth Pecksniff; an odious man who uses the money of his students without really teaching them anything. There's also Tom Pinch, an innocent and kind hearted man who was fallen foul of Pecksniff's greed. The backdrop to all this is the relationship young Martin wishes to have with Mary Graham - a relationship which his grandfather is seemingly against.