A Floating City

A Floating City is a fascinating travel narrative by Charles Dickens that captures the excitement, novelty, and social diversity of transatlantic travel in the nineteenth century. Based on Dickens's own journey to America, the book offers a lively and observant account of life aboard a large ocean steamship—an entire world in motion upon the sea.

Through vivid description and sharp commentary, Dickens portrays the ship as a "floating city," populated by passengers from all walks of life. As ...