The Charles Dickens Bicentenary in 2012, sets off a year-long storm of cultural events, theatrical productions, films, festivals and exhibitions around the world. At least three films mark the occasion. As a prequel, the BBC's 2011 Christmas production of Great Expectations with Gillian Anderson as Miss Havisham, launched the season. In January, the BBC once again jumped in, writing its own new ending for a production of Dickens' unfinished The Mystery of Edwin Drood. And later in 2012, Helena Bonham Carter (dressed in spiderwebs we hear) was set to play Miss Havisham in yet another new film.
But in the year marking the 200th anniversary of Dickens' birth, on February 7 1812, remarkably few physical landmarks of Britain's favorite author remain in his home country or home county of Kent.
Shakespeare's hometown, Stratford-on-Avon, became a scene of literary pilgrimage less than 100 years after the playwright's death. Shakespeare's birthplace, his wife's cottage, his mother's birthplace, the garden of his marital home and his daughter's home are all preserved by a trust that predates the National Trust by almost 50 years. In fact Dickens himself helped raise the funds to purchase the Shakespeare houses.
But Where's Charlie?
Literary fashions come and go and perhaps because, for many years, the literary establishment dismissed Dickens as a hack storyteller, no great effort was made to preserve the houses and properties associated with him. Most are now in private hands, put to other uses or simply built over into oblivion.
Happily, there are a few exceptions, as well as a handful of locales where literary sleuths may be able to track down the elusive author:
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Charles Dickens' Birthplace Museum, Portsmouth Despite his many associations with Kent, Charles Dickens was actually born in Portsmouth, Hampshire and spent the first three years of his life there. His parents rented a modest, two-up two-down terraced house at 1 Mile End Terrace, Landport, Portsea (now 393 Old Commercial Road, Portsmouth). Today, the house is maintained as a museum. Visitors can see the house furnished in a modest variation of the Regency style, which would have been the style Dickens' father, a Naval pay clerk, could afford. There are three furnished rooms, a parlor, a dining room and the bedroom where Dickens was born. A small collection of memorabilia includes the author's snuff box, inkwell and paper knife as well as the couch on which he died (brought from his home in Kent.)
The house is open mid-April to through September, from 10a.m to 5:30p.m. Visit the website for admission charges and other information
Find a recommended place to stay n Portsmouth
FOR THE BICENTENARY IN 2012 -- The house will be open an extended season, from January 28 to November 4, 2012
- Nearby, Dickens' original "Nicholas Nickleby" manuscript pages will be on display at the Portsmouth City Museum throughout the bicentenary year. The manuscript, loaned by the British Library, is marked with Dickens corrections, ink blots and crossouts.
- Dickens' Birthday on February 7 will be celebrated by a street party with performers, musicians, foods, crafts and readings. Free admission to the house will be by timed ticket thoughout the day.
- Admission will be free on February 5 and 7
- Visitors will be able to handle a selection of artefacts on February 11 and 12, 2012 as well as a range of other dates through the year.
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Charles Dickens Museum London Dickens lived at 48 Doughty Street for only two years, 1837 to 1839, but they were an eventful two years years. While there, he wrote Oliver Twist and Nicholas Nickleby, two daughters were born, and his teenaged sister-in-law died. Today, it is the only one of Dickens' London homes left. The house and its collections, owned by a charitable trust, contain manuscripts, rare editions, personal items, paintings and other pictures, as well as a research library available by appointment. With more than 100,000 items, the Dickens Museum claims the world's most important Dickens collection. It's set in the environment of a Victorian family home. The museum is open every day from 10a.m. to 5p.m. Visit the website for admission charges and other information.
FOR THE BICENTENARY IN 2012 -- The museum will be closed. For most of 2012 - April 10 to November 4, the museum will close to undergo a £3.1 million restoration project. The scheduling, in a year that will see millions of visitors coming to London for the 2012 Olympics and the Queens Diamond Jubilee, seems inapt, if not downright inept. Happy Birthday, Chuck.
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The Dickens House Museum, Broadstairs Dickens and his family spent many summers in various houses around Broadstairs, a summer resort on the Kent coast. The Royal Albion Hotel stands where several of the Dicken's family's summer rentals once stood. Dickens was reported to have stayed and written at the hotel. The striking house, turretted house nearby - that dominates most of the town - was Dickens seaside residence. Said to be the inspiration for Bleak House - by which name it is known today- it's not open to the public but operates as a private hotel for exclusive-use events. The small collection at the Dickens House Museum was once housed on a lower floor at Bleak House. The Dickens House Museum occupies a small Victorian house around the corner from the Royal Albion Hotel. Visit the website for admission charges and other information.
Read what other travelers think about the Royal Albion Hotel.
FOR THE BICENTENARY IN 2012 -- Not a thing for the bicentenary, but the town of Broadstairs has a regular Dickens Festival every June.
- Gad's Hill Place The house in Higham, Gravesend, Kent, was Dickens' country home, where he wrote Great Expectations and a Tale of Two Cities. and where he died, in 1870, while at work on The Mystery of Edwin Drood. Today it is a school (the dining room is where Dickens died) and not generally open to the public - though you can take a peek at it from Rochester Road. The BBC has reported in the past that the school is building new facilities on the site and intends to open the Dickens' House to the public as a Dickens Center in the future - but, thus far no announcement about when that might open has been made. In the meantime, guided group tours can be arranged through Towncentric, Gravesend Visitor Centre, on +44 (0)1474 337600, info@towncentric.co.uk.
More Ways to Explore the Dickens Trail
These local websites point out places, landscapes and buildings that were important to Dickens in his lifetime and in his writing. They're useful in planning a walk or a drive, though most places mentioned are not open to the public.
