Focuses on the 19th century London of Charles Dickens through twenty-five fascinating walks.

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Product Description

Charles Dickens and London are inextricably linked. The world-famous English writer lived in London for much of his life and is buried in Westminster Abbey. And it was London and its inhabitants that provided Dickens with the inspiration for so many of his works. Walking Dickensian London allows you to visit the locations mentioned in his works and to see the development of Victorian London. Additional routes offer an escape to Cobham or Rochester for a longer country stroll and to discover more about the places where Dickens spent his happy early childhood and retired in his final years.

Each walk takes you through an area used as the setting for one or more of Dickens's novels, from the peaceful, cobble-stoned, and lamp-lit Inns of Court featured in Great Expectations to the slums of Holborn portrayed in Oliver Twist. Along the way, you will see the homes of the Victorian great and good, as well as those of the lowlier characters, who made an impression on Dickens in both his personal and professional life. There is also an opportunity to sample authentic fare at the public houses that Dickens frequented.

Together with 19th-century engravings and pertinent excerpts from Dickens's works, Richard Jones takes you back in time to the once crowded Docklands, where the river thronged with clippers trading goods from around the world, and the elite of Holland Park with their garden parties and literary dinners.

Illustrated with atmospheric color photographs, which capture the pockets of Dickensian London still evident today, Walking Dickensian London is the perfect companion to discovering the London that Dickens knew so well.

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Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1010562 in Books
• Published on: 2005-01-31
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 208 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9781566565899
• Condition: USED - VERY GOOD
• Notes:
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

About the Author
Richard Jones is an experienced London tour guide, a member of the Magic Circle, and a prolific author. On moving to London, he began exploring its historic streets and hidden places, seeking out the sites that he had read about in Dickens's novels. In 1982 he started shaping his explorations into walking tours of London; since then he has conducted regular Dickens walks for a wide range of clients including schools and colleges. He has appeared on the History Channel discussing the origins and influences for A Christmas Carol and has been interviewed several times for US, German, Norwegian, and Swiss television analyzing the cultural significance of Dickens. Richard Jones is author of a number of books, including the best-selling Haunted Britain and Ireland. He lives in East London.

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Customer Reviews

Wear your comfortable shoes and don't forget this book!
I'm a London junkie and also a Dickens fan of long standing, and this is a perfect armchair-traveling book for someone like me. The author has been leading walking tours for years, and has written a number of other books about the city's history and haunts, and he's very knowledgeable about the subject. Dickens, of course, though born in Portsmouth, lived in London for most of his life and is interred in Westminster Abbey. Most of his writing, journalistic and fictional, is set in the city or nearby, and these twenty-five tours, each of them covering a couple of hours of not-difficult walking, will take you through both Dickens's own life and those of his memorable characters. The site of Marshalsea Prison (where Little Dorrit was born) is here, and Somerset House (where John Dickens worked in the Navy Pay Office), Borough Market (in whose doorway a drunken Bob Sawyer slept, thinking he was home without his key), the Cooking Depot (on whose simple meal of meat and potatoes Dickens gave rave reviews), the old Bow Street Police Court (where the Artful Dodger was forced to appear), and the grotesque door-knockers on Craven Street that gave Dickens the idea for Marley's ghostly face at Scrooge's own front door. Nor does Jones ignore other literary associations, whether the birthplace of Sherlock Holmes, the Browning residence on Wimpole Street, the location of Shakespeare's Globe Theatre, or the Punch Tavern, where the magazine was conceived. The maps are detailed and most of the tours begin and end at Underground stops, so this volume will also be useful to the traveler on the spot.

Great Books for History Buffs going to London!
I am an American who loves the UK and its history. Next time I go and visit London (regardless of bombings), I plan to take this book with me. For those of you who have read of famous and infamous areas in Regency and Victorian London and wondered exactly how to find them now, this is the book for you. I have read my share of Dickens years ago so I also find all the many Dickensian facts and anecdotes interesting but it is my interest in London of old that makes me endorse this book so heartily. The MANY walking maps are very clear and easy to follow. He also gives the distance and time plus mentions what famous old eateries are on the walk and what days they are closed. The walks generally start at one train station and end at another.