48 Doughty Street, London
Dickens lived in many places throughout his life, however this is the only house left standing of his in London. You enter into a slightly dark hallway and to your left is the gift shop and entry to the museum (go straight ahead for the cafe). The museum is over four floors and various shadowy figures on the walls guide you up the stairs:
Ghostly.
My favourite piece of furniture was his writing desk. If I ever win the lottery, I will have a writing desk made specially for me, after I've bought a house big enough for a writing room.
The rear of Dickens once graced that chair.
Walking around the house felt oddly intrusive, due to the personal nature of the museum. The beds were neatly made, one with a nightgown once belonging to Dicken's wife laid on the cover. His wedding ring was on display, as well as various items once belonging to his children. Although some items were encased in glass cabinets, many were 'out in the open' with polite signs reminding guests not to touch/sit or neatly cornered off with small ropes as with the desk above. I found it a big contrast to the British Museum, in respect that although the BM houses some deeply personal and culturally significant items, this museum is centered around one man and his family, in the very house where some of his life was spent. It gave a feeling of closeness you don't often find in larger museums and a feeling of better connecting with the stories behind the items.
Please sir, can I have some more?
My favourite element of the museum by far was the exhibition regarding Catherine Dickens, Charles's wife. Having only scratched the surface in terms of Dickens literature I have read, I knew almost nothing of his personal life, let alone that of his family. Sound recordings were running through the museum and the upper floor dedicated to a timeline and artifacts special to Catherine.
The entrance to the top floor 'Discovering Catherine' exhibition
It was incredible to learn more about Catherine, her relationship, children, sisters and eventual split from Charles. Basically, she seemed to be fascinating enough to have her own museum. It seems after the separation, Catherine was a little forgotten and slightly ill-spoken of (sometimes by Charles himself) and this exhibition goes someway to disproving the negativity through hard evidence (letters etc), personal effects and bringing a sense of 'human' back to Catherine, as opposed to just 'wife'.
After all of my wandering I avoided the temptation of the gift shop but instead accidentally stopped for cake in the cafe instead. I would highly recommend the cake.
Small, but NOM
Seeing as I still have a valid student card, it cost me £6 to enter the museum as a concession. You can visit the gift shop and cafe for free, if you just want cake! Other prices are:
Adult £9.00
Child 6-16 £4.00
Children under 6 go free
Closet tubes are Holborn, Chancery Lane or Russel Square. I walked it from Kings Cross in about 20 minutes. Find out more information about travelling to the museum on their website.
Over and out.
P.S: My favourite painting in the museum was a watercolour called 'Dickens Dream' by Robert William Buss. He died before he could complete the painting, so the sketches are still visible on a large section of the canvas. I think this makes it more dreamlike. You can buy a print of the paining here.
P.P.S: See my post from May 'Dickens Drama' if you want to read a long whining post about how I didn't understand Great Expectations.
P.P.S: See my post from May 'Dickens Drama' if you want to read a long whining post about how I didn't understand Great Expectations.
