‘What the Dickens!’ at the Museum of London

Designed to coinside with the Dickens and London exhibition at the Museum of London, this course builds on the premise that for Dickens, London is often more protagonist than backdrop, this six-week literature course offers learners the opportunity to extend their experience of the exhibition at the Museum by taking a studious walk through the world that the writer creates. It will examine how the reader takes an active role in the developing narrative and in addressing the themes on which it focuses.

This exploration begins with a study of the fog, both literal and figurative, which surrounds the Court of Chancery in Bleak House; it will then move to the Marshalsea Debtors’ Prison in Little Dorrit and complete the study with the fascinating but often horrifying portrayal of the River Thames and the overpowering heaps of rubbish in Our Mutual Friend.

The course will aim for a balance between detailed analysis of key passages and an illuminating overview of the role played by the London created by Dickens in his novels. In doing that, it will tackle the complex and challenging boundary between fact and fiction – the London of Dickens’ imagination and that which can be evidenced historically.

In partnership with the Museum of London