Charles Dickens

QUOTE

We hope that you will come away inspired from this very special evening, having learned something new about this fascinating literary figure. For instance, did you know that Charles Dickens, as well as being a master wordsmith, had a second career as a public speaker and entertainer?

Here we invite you to spend an evening in the cosy, book-lined library of Dickens's only surviving London home, 48 Doughty Street, where the spirit of Dickens is alive and well. In 1837 at the young age of 25, Charles Dickens, his wife Catherine (Hogarth) and baby son Charley made this Georgian house their London home. The house (now a small museum) reflects much of Dickens's early life as a young and ambitious author: it was here that he wrote the last six editions of the Pickwick Papers, Oliver Twist, Nicholas Nickleby and Barnaby Rudge.

The house is also filled with memories of his early family life; the birth of his two daughters, Mary (Mamie) and Catherine (Katey) and also the premature death of his beloved sister-in-law Mary. There are murmurs that she was his first true love. Echoes of that love are in the carefully preserved bedroom where she died at the tender age of seventeen. After a welcoming drink (or two) and a sumptuous buffet supper, either at the house itself or at The Old Cheshire Cheese, the Fleet Street eatery which Dickens and his writer friends often frequented, our story begins. Storyline guests, now comfortably seated, are transported back to the nineteenth century of grim Victorian London with its social injustices, child exploitation and extreme poverty.

After dinner, joining you in the library is Charles Dickens.

A smart, dapper figure, with white beard, dressed in the latest 19th century fashion of tail coated suit, waistcoat and cravat politely introduces himself then conducts us through his (the novelist's) life and works. In true Dickensian style, ‘The Sparkler of Albion', as the author was known, takes us from his birth near Portsmouth, to his troubled childhood (where he was forced to work in a blacking factory and cope with his father's imprisonment for debt), to his international success in his own lifetime. You'd be hard-pressed to believe that this convincing performance, given by a well known professional actor, and delivered from Dickens's own writing desk, isn't the great man himself, narrating extracts from some of his greatest works and acting out dialogues in an entertaining style. He is in turn the Artful Dodger from Oliver Twist, Sydney Carton in A Tale of Two Cities, and Mr Micawber from the semi-autobiographical David Copperfield which he fondly described as "his favourite child". Charles and Catherine had ten children, of whom nine survived. The fictional Micawber could have been the writer's own father, John Dickens. Similarly, Mrs Nickleby has much in common with Dickens's mother.

The literary works of Charles Dickens have the biggest circulation of any English writer and are now published worldwide. Author Lucinda Hawksley, a descendent of Dickens will also from time to time enthral you with tales of her great, great, great Grandfather's extraordinary life. In addition, her cousin Gerald Dickens, the British actor well known on both sides of the Atlantic for his portrayal of his famous ancestor, will give special perfomances for Storyline guests. At Doughty Street, our visitor will also have the opportunity to peer into the study where with quill pen and inkwell he created such immortal characters as Fagin and Bill Sykes, and see the desk and chair upon which he wrote his later masterpieces such as a Tale of Two Cities and Great Expectations. The scullery/washhouse and wine cellar in the basement remain intact and in stark contrast to the opulence of the drawing room, dining room and master bedroom.. The house is also rich in Dickens memorabilia and exhibits major collections of his personal possessions - books, manuscripts, letters, pictures and photographs.

North Kent was the area which always drew Dickens back until his death on Rochester's Gads Hill where he made his final home. Rochester became the setting for many of his novels; in Great Expectations for instance, Rochester is Pip's home town. Broadstairs on the Kent coast, his favourite seaside town, was the inspiration for many of his later works. Today, Broadstairs repays the compliment with a Dickens Festival every summer. The Dickens House Museum in Broadstairs originally belonged to Miss Mary Pearson Strong, the model for Miss Betsey Trotwood's "neat little cottage with cheerful bay windows" in David Copperfield. It is visible across the bay from the original Bleak House – which was also a museum until 2005 – where David Copperfield was written. In Dickens's time, this was known as Fort House, Dickens's favourite holiday retreat from the mid 1840's until 1852. Here he began The Old Curiosity Shop and worked on Barnaby Rudge and Martin Chuzzlewit. Even at the time of his death is was known as Fort House, but Dickens himself preferred to think of it as Bleak House, the title of his novel.

Testimonials

"It was very nice to meet you last Friday at the Dickens Museum. I enjoyed the evening immensely. Thank you so much for organising it – I look forward to others."

Diana Scott

"We really enjoyed ourselves so much. We could not find fault with anything, warm reception, very good food, brilliant acting, very well looked after. Who could ask for more?"

Sally Collins

"We wanted to let you know how much we enjoyed the evening at Dickens House. We found the company most agreeable, and chatted to some very interesting people The performance was the highlight of the evening and we are full of praise for the actor’s skill and presentation. He brought Dickens quite vividly to life. Touring the house was fascinating and we plan to go back soon as there is so much to see and read."

Ruth and Mike

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