Dickens in Doughty Street: 100 Years of the Charles Dickens Museum

Location
Charles Dickens Museum
48 Doughty Street
London
WC1N 2LX
Description
This exhibition runs from Wednesday 5th February 2025 to Sunday 29th June 2025.
On 9 June 1925, 48 Doughty Street, former home of one of the country’s most famous authors, Charles Dickens, opened as a museum for the first time. 100 years on, we invite you to this special exhibition bringing together the highlights of our extraordinary collection, from some of the first objects to enter the Museum, to our most recent acquisitions.
Illuminating the life and works of Charles Dickens and the Museum’s role in preserving his legacy, you’ll be able to see Dickens’s original manuscripts, letters to friends and family and rare first editions of his most famous works. But you’ll also encounter Dickens the man as well as Dickens the writer, his personal style, interests and passions. From his hairbrush, walking stick and only surviving suit, to portraits and photographs made during his lifetime.
While the house itself is the absolute treasure of the Museum – besides the significance of the historic rooms, most of its fireplaces, doors, locks, window shutters, fittings and even the copper in the washhouse, are Dickens’s - the new exhibition will emphasise the fascinating richness and quality of the Museum collections.
Among the confirmed features of the exhibition:
An unrivalled collection of portraits of Dickens: a wall of images, both celebrated and obscure, from depictions of the handsome young writer and journalist, to the familiar heavily bearded world-famous author and performer.
On display for the first time: a chalk and pastel sketch of Dickens at the time when he was living at Doughty Street; acquired by the Museum in 2019, this is believed to be an original drawing for the ‘lost’ third portrait of Dickens by Samuel Laurence.
Some of the earliest pieces of writing by Dickens: an album of poems written by 18-year-old Dickens, which were kept by their recipient, Maria Beadnell.
The lost portrait: painted while he was writing A Christmas Carol and lost for over 174 years, rediscovery in a box of trinkets in South Africa in 2017. Vivid and beautiful, the portrait will be displayed alongside a letter from Dickens to artist Margaret Gillies, arranging his sitting for the painting.
The items of his life: the only suit of Dickens’s clothes to survive anywhere, as well as his hairbrush, binoculars, quill and ink stand and marriage license.
Original drawings for the great novels: the work of Dickens’s favourite illustrators, including Hablot Knight Browne (Phiz), John Leech, George Cruikshank and Fred Barnard, and featuring Leech’s preliminary drawings for the first publication of A Christmas Carol and Fagin in the Condemned Cell by Cruikshank.
A microcosm of the Museum: a unique, customised collection of volumes of John Forster’s seminal authorised biography of Dickens, stuffed with letters, drawings and a panoply of historic items, which belonged to the great Victorian actor-manager Sir Henry Irving (undisplayed since 1934).
A direct link to an infamous moment: a draft letter from Charles Dickens to the family servant, Ann Brown, which contains the first paragraphs of the ‘Violated Letter’, in which Dickens forcefully exposed the collapse of his marriage to Catherine.
A blubber-stained classic: the copy of David Copperfield taken to Antarctica by Capt. Scott’s 1910 expedition on the Terra Nova. Stranded in an ice cave, the crew read a chapter every night for sixty nights, and the book is blackened with their fingerprints, likely to have been due to the seal blubber fire that heated the cave.
Prices
Other price options
Contact and Booking Details
More information at this website.
Upcoming Dates
This exhibition runs from Wednesday 5th February 2025 to Sunday 29th June 2025.
Forthcoming dates:
Disclaimer
The information and prices in this listing are presumed to be correct at the time of publishing, but please always check with the venue before making a special trip.
All images are supplied by the exhibition organiser.
Charles Dickens Museum
48 Doughty Street
London
WC1N 2LX
This exhibition runs from Wednesday 5th February 2025 to Sunday 29th June 2025.
This event runs over several days/weeks. Dates include:
February 2025
- Wed 5th Feb 2025
(10:00am to 5:00pm) - Thu 6th Feb 2025
(10:00am to 5:00pm) - Fri 7th Feb 2025
(10:00am to 5:00pm) - Sat 8th Feb 2025
(10:00am to 5:00pm) - Sun 9th Feb 2025
(10:00am to 5:00pm) - Mon 10th Feb 2025
Closed - Tue 11th Feb 2025
Closed - Wed 12th Feb 2025
(10:00am to 5:00pm) - Thu 13th Feb 2025
(10:00am to 5:00pm) - Fri 14th Feb 2025
(10:00am to 5:00pm) - Sat 15th Feb 2025
(10:00am to 5:00pm) - Sun 16th Feb 2025
(10:00am to 5:00pm) - Mon 17th Feb 2025
Closed - Tue 18th Feb 2025
Closed - Wed 19th Feb 2025
(10:00am to 5:00pm) - Thu 20th Feb 2025
(10:00am to 5:00pm) - Fri 21st Feb 2025
(10:00am to 5:00pm) - Sat 22nd Feb 2025
(10:00am to 5:00pm) - Sun 23rd Feb 2025
(10:00am to 5:00pm) - Mon 24th Feb 2025
Closed - Tue 25th Feb 2025
Closed - Wed 26th Feb 2025
(10:00am to 5:00pm) - Thu 27th Feb 2025
(10:00am to 5:00pm) - Fri 28th Feb 2025
(10:00am to 5:00pm)
March 2025
- Sat 1st Mar 2025
(10:00am to 5:00pm) - Sun 2nd Mar 2025
(10:00am to 5:00pm) - Mon 3rd Mar 2025
Closed - Tue 4th Mar 2025
Closed - Wed 5th Mar 2025
(10:00am to 5:00pm) - Thu 6th Mar 2025
(10:00am to 5:00pm) - Fri 7th Mar 2025
(10:00am to 5:00pm) - Sat 8th Mar 2025
(10:00am to 5:00pm) - Sun 9th Mar 2025
(10:00am to 5:00pm) - Mon 10th Mar 2025
Closed - Tue 11th Mar 2025
Closed - Wed 12th Mar 2025
(10:00am to 5:00pm) - Thu 13th Mar 2025
(10:00am to 5:00pm) - Fri 14th Mar 2025
(10:00am to 5:00pm) - Sat 15th Mar 2025
(10:00am to 5:00pm) - Sun 16th Mar 2025
(10:00am to 5:00pm) - Mon 17th Mar 2025
Closed - Tue 18th Mar 2025
Closed - Wed 19th Mar 2025
(10:00am to 5:00pm) - Thu 20th Mar 2025
(10:00am to 5:00pm) - Fri 21st Mar 2025
(10:00am to 5:00pm) - Sat 22nd Mar 2025
(10:00am to 5:00pm) - Sun 23rd Mar 2025
(10:00am to 5:00pm) - Mon 24th Mar 2025
Closed - Tue 25th Mar 2025
Closed - Wed 26th Mar 2025
(10:00am to 5:00pm) - Thu 27th Mar 2025
(10:00am to 5:00pm) - Fri 28th Mar 2025
(10:00am to 5:00pm) - Sat 29th Mar 2025
(10:00am to 5:00pm) - Sun 30th Mar 2025
(10:00am to 5:00pm) - Mon 31st Mar 2025
Closed
April 2025
- Tue 1st Apr 2025
Closed - Wed 2nd Apr 2025
(10:00am to 5:00pm) - Thu 3rd Apr 2025
(10:00am to 5:00pm) - Fri 4th Apr 2025
(10:00am to 5:00pm) - Sat 5th Apr 2025
(10:00am to 5:00pm) - Sun 6th Apr 2025
(10:00am to 5:00pm) - Mon 7th Apr 2025
Closed - Tue 8th Apr 2025
Closed - Wed 9th Apr 2025
(10:00am to 5:00pm) - Thu 10th Apr 2025
(10:00am to 5:00pm) - Fri 11th Apr 2025
(10:00am to 5:00pm) - Sat 12th Apr 2025
(10:00am to 5:00pm) - Sun 13th Apr 2025
(10:00am to 5:00pm) - Mon 14th Apr 2025
Closed - Tue 15th Apr 2025
Closed - Wed 16th Apr 2025
(10:00am to 5:00pm) - Thu 17th Apr 2025
(10:00am to 5:00pm) - Fri 18th Apr 2025
(10:00am to 5:00pm) - Sat 19th Apr 2025
(10:00am to 5:00pm) - Sun 20th Apr 2025
(10:00am to 5:00pm) - Mon 21st Apr 2025
Closed - Tue 22nd Apr 2025
Closed - Wed 23rd Apr 2025
(10:00am to 5:00pm) - Thu 24th Apr 2025
(10:00am to 5:00pm) - Fri 25th Apr 2025
(10:00am to 5:00pm) - Sat 26th Apr 2025
(10:00am to 5:00pm) - Sun 27th Apr 2025
(10:00am to 5:00pm) - Mon 28th Apr 2025
Closed - Tue 29th Apr 2025
Closed - Wed 30th Apr 2025
(10:00am to 5:00pm)
May 2025
- Thu 1st May 2025
(10:00am to 5:00pm) - Fri 2nd May 2025
(10:00am to 5:00pm) - Sat 3rd May 2025
(10:00am to 5:00pm) - Sun 4th May 2025
(10:00am to 5:00pm) - Mon 5th May 2025
Closed - Tue 6th May 2025
Closed - Wed 7th May 2025
(10:00am to 5:00pm) - Thu 8th May 2025
(10:00am to 5:00pm) - Fri 9th May 2025
(10:00am to 5:00pm) - Sat 10th May 2025
(10:00am to 5:00pm) - Sun 11th May 2025
(10:00am to 5:00pm) - Mon 12th May 2025
Closed - Tue 13th May 2025
Closed - Wed 14th May 2025
(10:00am to 5:00pm) - Thu 15th May 2025
(10:00am to 5:00pm) - Fri 16th May 2025
(10:00am to 5:00pm) - Sat 17th May 2025
(10:00am to 5:00pm) - Sun 18th May 2025
(10:00am to 5:00pm) - Mon 19th May 2025
Closed - Tue 20th May 2025
Closed - Wed 21st May 2025
(10:00am to 5:00pm) - Thu 22nd May 2025
(10:00am to 5:00pm) - Fri 23rd May 2025
(10:00am to 5:00pm) - Sat 24th May 2025
(10:00am to 5:00pm) - Sun 25th May 2025
(10:00am to 5:00pm) - Mon 26th May 2025
Closed - Tue 27th May 2025
Closed - Wed 28th May 2025
(10:00am to 5:00pm) - Thu 29th May 2025
(10:00am to 5:00pm) - Fri 30th May 2025
(10:00am to 5:00pm) - Sat 31st May 2025
(10:00am to 5:00pm)
June 2025
- Sun 1st Jun 2025
(10:00am to 5:00pm) - Mon 2nd Jun 2025
Closed - Tue 3rd Jun 2025
Closed - Wed 4th Jun 2025
(10:00am to 5:00pm) - Thu 5th Jun 2025
(10:00am to 5:00pm) - Fri 6th Jun 2025
(10:00am to 5:00pm) - Sat 7th Jun 2025
(10:00am to 5:00pm) - Sun 8th Jun 2025
(10:00am to 5:00pm) - Mon 9th Jun 2025
Closed - Tue 10th Jun 2025
Closed - Wed 11th Jun 2025
(10:00am to 5:00pm) - Thu 12th Jun 2025
(10:00am to 5:00pm) - Fri 13th Jun 2025
(10:00am to 5:00pm) - Sat 14th Jun 2025
(10:00am to 5:00pm) - Sun 15th Jun 2025
(10:00am to 5:00pm) - Mon 16th Jun 2025
Closed - Tue 17th Jun 2025
Closed - Wed 18th Jun 2025
(10:00am to 5:00pm) - Thu 19th Jun 2025
(10:00am to 5:00pm) - Fri 20th Jun 2025
(10:00am to 5:00pm) - Sat 21st Jun 2025
(10:00am to 5:00pm) - Sun 22nd Jun 2025
(10:00am to 5:00pm) - Mon 23rd Jun 2025
Closed - Tue 24th Jun 2025
Closed - Wed 25th Jun 2025
(10:00am to 5:00pm) - Thu 26th Jun 2025
(10:00am to 5:00pm) - Fri 27th Jun 2025
(10:00am to 5:00pm) - Sat 28th Jun 2025
(10:00am to 5:00pm) - Sun 29th Jun 2025
(10:00am to 5:00pm)