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Dickensland: The Curious History of Dickens’s London
£15.60£19.00 (-18%)
The intriguing history of Dickens’s London, showing how tourists have reimagined and reinvented the Dickensian metropolis for more than 150 years
Tourists have sought out the landmarks, streets, and alleys of Charles Dickens’s London ever since the death of the world-renowned author. Late Victorians and Edwardians were obsessed with tracking down the locations―dubbed “Dickensland”―that famously featured in his novels. But his fans were faced with a city that was undergoing rapid redevelopment, where literary shrines were far from sacred. Over the following century, sites connected with Dickens were demolished, relocated, and reimagined.
Lee Jackson traces the fascinating history of Dickensian tourism, exploring both real Victorian London and a fictional city shaped by fandom, tourism, and heritage entrepreneurs. Beginning with the late nineteenth century, Jackson investigates key sites of literary pilgrimage and their relationship with Dickens and his work, revealing hidden, reinvented, and even faked locations. From vanishing coaching inns to submerged riverside stairs, hidden burial grounds to apocryphal shops, Dickensland charts the curious history of an imaginary world.
Tourists have sought out the landmarks, streets, and alleys of Charles Dickens’s London ever since the death of the world-renowned author. Late Victorians and Edwardians were obsessed with tracking down the locations―dubbed “Dickensland”―that famously featured in his novels. But his fans were faced with a city that was undergoing rapid redevelopment, where literary shrines were far from sacred. Over the following century, sites connected with Dickens were demolished, relocated, and reimagined.
Lee Jackson traces the fascinating history of Dickensian tourism, exploring both real Victorian London and a fictional city shaped by fandom, tourism, and heritage entrepreneurs. Beginning with the late nineteenth century, Jackson investigates key sites of literary pilgrimage and their relationship with Dickens and his work, revealing hidden, reinvented, and even faked locations. From vanishing coaching inns to submerged riverside stairs, hidden burial grounds to apocryphal shops, Dickensland charts the curious history of an imaginary world.
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Additional information
| Publisher | Yale University Press (22 Aug. 2023) |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Hardcover | 288 pages |
| ISBN-10 | 0300266200 |
| ISBN-13 | 978-0300266207 |
| Dimensions | 15.01 x 3.2 x 23.6 cm |
by JuliaH
A fascinating insight to Dickens’ London. and its reinvention since the novelist’s death. Jackson follows in Dickens’ footsteps to look more closely at the locations – some have disappeared, others have moved and some are works of fiction themselves. There are many spoilers scattered throughout the work so don’t read this before reading the novels. An imaginary Victorian world comes to life and add some interesting tales of their own. It is evident that Jackson is an expert in his field and knows London and its associations with Dickens firsthand.