The inimitable Charles Dickens is regarded by many as the finest
novelist of the Victorian era. His ability to weave magic with words
makes him as popular as ever. Born in 1812 in what many would describe
as humble circumstances, he went on to create some of the world's
best-known fictional characters in his impressive collection of novels.
It is a testament to his huge following that when he died just over 150
years ago in June 1870, his grave at Westminster Abbey was kept open for
three days so the many thousands of people who mourned his passing could
pay their last respects. It has been said that Dickens' geographical
knowledge of London was both extensive and encyclopaedic; he knew it
all, from Bow to Brentford. He drew his knowledge from experience: he
visited the magistrates' courts, observed the poverty and injustice of
the workhouses and prisons, and was a hearty campaigner for the wretched
and downtrodden. Here was the man who brought Scrooge to the Christmas
table, and he never left. The place that inspired Dickens during his
most prolific writing was, of course, good old London Town. Join us as
we mark the sesquicentennial anniversary of his death and explore
Charles Dickens' very own landscape.
