Charles Dickens: 200 years since his birth

This week saw the 200th anniversary of the birth of the famous British author, Charles Dickens. Famous for writing the novels: Great Expectations, David Copperfield, Oliver Twist, A Tale of Two Cities, Nicholas Nickleby, and A Christmas Carol. Iconic characters such as Oliver Twist and Ebenezer Scrooge have been recreated many times on the stage, television and film.

Charles Dickens was famous for writing about the Victorian period and the hardship that poor people faced at the time, particularly in London. He wrote about real people and their problems: poverty, poor living conditions and the workhouse.

The Museum of London has recreated the atmosphere of Dickens’ London through their exhibition Dickens and London. The exhibition explores Dickens’ childhood experiences of London, his characters’ experience of London and some of the social questions of the time: wealth and poverty, childhood mortality and philanthropy.

If you are a fan of Charles Dickens why not spend one of the days of your English homestay in London visiting the exhibition, (the Museum of London advise booking tickets online). Afterwards head out onto the real streets of London and imagine what it was like in Victorian times. You could use the Museum of London’s iPhone and iPad app, Dickens’ Dark London as a guide.

Dickens and London is on at the Museum of London until 10 June 2012.