Dickensland

A guest post by London Historians member and Dickens aficionado, Jane Young. 

Dickensland – The Curious History of Dickens’s London by Lee Jackson

Not another book about the life Dickens but rather an exploration of London through his nineteenth century narratives. Whether you like the novels of Charles Dickens or not, there can be few historians who have not used them, along with his journalistic writings, as a source of contemporary descriptions of London during this period.

Dickensland examines the rise of tourism and the marketing of the ‘Dickens London’ that became synonymous with the rose tinted view of ‘Old London’ which is still used to attract those tourists that prefer a good story over any factual account. Visiting establishments long gone along with many that have lasted and flourished as a result of the popularity of the world of characters that seem so familiar, even to those who have never even read any of the novels.

A journey through the thoroughfares of the metropolis encompassing the the places Dickens knew and the fabricated localities invented by others. In the author’s own words; “… any true history of ‘Dickens London’ – any history of Dickens tourism – must encompass the fake, the misplaced and the manufactured.”

Entertaining and very readable with comprehensive endnotes. As a bonus, should you wish to take your own walk through ‘Dickensland’, actual and that created by two centuries of popular culture and urban myth, then this book is all you need … and perhaps an A to Z. Each location is accurately pinpointed without any need to join a gaggle of tourists.

The Festive Season is the traditional time of year for the television channels to wheel out tried and trusted perennial ‘favourites’, inevitably including dramatised versions of the novels of Charles Dickens. The nostalgia for these is analysed so well in Chapter 8 that I found myself watching David Lean’s 1946 and 1948 productions of Great Expectations and Oliver Twist for the first time in many decades purely to look at the sets and scenery.

The Christmas period is also a traditional time for purchasing books for presents … and this is a good one … for any lover of London’s ever changing streets … real and imagined.
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Dickensland: The Curious History of Dickens’s London (288 pp) by Lee Jackson is published in hardback by Yale University Press with a cover price of £20 but is available for less.
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Lee Jackson, PhD, is the author of several Victorian-themed novels as well as his non-fiction history works addressing the geography and society of Victorian London. He runs the web site Dictionary of Victorian London, a superb resource. You can also follow him on X/Twitter as @VictorianLondon.
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Dickensland was London Historians members’ competition prize book for December 2023.

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