The next fortnightly book will be Bleak House by Charles Dickens; it's often considered (by Chesterton, for instance) Dickens's best-crafted novel, and I haven't read it at all. It was first published in serial format in 1852 & 1853.
Much of the background for the novel concerns problems with cases before the Lord Chancellor's Court. Contrary to common statements, the book didn't touch off a reform of Chancery; even as Dickens was writing it, there was an ongoing legal reform, which began to get going in earnest the same year Bleak House was published. But Dickens's account was based on firsthand knowledge; he began as a junior clerk in the legal office of Ellis and Blackmore at age 27, and eventually became a court reporter for the Lord Chancellor's Court. He seems not to have been impressed even then, but it's possible this blossomed into active hostility in the aftermath of publishing A Christmas Carol in 1843. The popular work immediately began to be pirated, and Dickens went to Chancery to collect damages. He seems to have won his cases, but the legal expenses were so extensive, the damages did not cover them, leaving Dickens worse off for having gone to court and needing to borrow money for a while to keep from going bankruptcy. This is a nice video by National Archives UK that discusses Dickens's cases at Chancery.
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By Hablot Knight Browne ("Phiz") - Bleak House, first edition, published 1852-3, Public Domain, Link
