What is the name of Mr. Pickwick's servant in The Pickwick Papers?

The story behind the answer

Mr. Pickwick's servant in The Pickwick Papers is Sam Weller.

Pickwick meets Sam at the White Hart Inn in London's Borough, where Sam works as a bootblack. Impressed by his quick intelligence, practical judgment, and Cockney humour, Pickwick hires him as his personal servant and travelling companion. Sam soon becomes one of the novel's central characters rather than a minor household attendant.

Sam's loyalty balances Pickwick's innocence and occasional gullibility. He helps his employer navigate awkward situations, including the breach-of-promise lawsuit brought by Mrs. Bardell. When Pickwick is imprisoned in the Fleet for debt, Sam deliberately gets himself confined too so he can continue serving him. Sam is also the son of Tony Weller, a talkative coachman, and eventually marries Mary, his sweetheart.

A common mix-up is Tony Weller, who is Sam's father, not Pickwick's servant. Job Trotter serves the scheming Alfred Jingle, while Alfred Jingle himself is a travelling actor and charlatan.

Source: Wikipedia · fact-checked Aug. 2026

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