Win a tour of the neighbourhood that inspired Oliver Twist

This competition is now closed


To celebrate the publication of Dickens and the Workhouse we're offering a unique prize. 15 lucky winners will meet at Waterstones, Gower Street to take a guided tour of Dickens's old home and the Workhouse area with author Ruth Richardson. Refreshments in the local hostelry will be provided along with a Dickens goody bag.

The recent discovery that as a young man Charles Dickens lived only a few doors from a major London workhouse made headlines worldwide, and the campaign to save the workhouse from demolition caught the public imagination.

Dr Ruth Richardson, author of Dickens and the Workhouse, was called upon by local people trying to save the workhouse from demolition, and discovered the Dickens connection at the eleventh hour. Charles Dickens lived twice in Norfolk Street: it was his first London home as a child, and the family returned there when he was a young man. None of his biographers seems to have realized that the local Workhouse might have worked a strong influence upon him.

Dickens and the Workhouse presents the story for the first time.

No purchase necessary. To enter the competition, explain in no more than 150 words what you would ask Dickens if you could meet him today.

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Closing date : 10/05/2012

Terms and Conditions

1. No purchase necessary. Please enter your name, email address and contact number in the spaces provided. Only one entry per person allowed. Proof of entering is not proof of receipt of entry.

2. To be eligible, entries must be received on or before the closing date of 31 March 2012 at 11:59 PM. All entries shall become the property of Waterstones.com, and their directors, officers, representatives, advertising and promotional agencies are not responsible for contacting or forwarding prizes to entrants who provide unclear or incomplete information or for entries lost, misdirected, delayed or destroyed.

3. Entrants and their travel companion must be UK or Ireland residents aged 18 years or over and in possession of a full UK passport.

4. There will be 15 prize winners. The prize includes a guided tour of Dickens's old home and the Workhouse area with author Ruth Richardson and will begin at Waterstones, Gower Street. Refreshments in the local hostelry will be provided along with a Dickens goody bag. The tour will take place on the 12th of May 2012 - location and times will be confirmed with the individual winners. The prize does not include transport.

5. The promoter reserves the right to amend the specification of the prize or offer an alternative prize of equal or greater value.

7. No cash alternative will be offered. The prize is non-transferable.

8.Winning entries will be selected by a panel of judges including Ruth Richardson on the morning of 02 April 2012. The prize winners will be notified by telephone/email, and will need to respond by midnight 23 April 2012as to whether they are able to accept the prize. If a selected entrant does not meet all of the contract conditions, another entrant will be selected from the remaining eligible entries.

9. This competition is not open to employees of Waterstones, (Oxford University Press)or their immediate families.

10. By entering the contest, entrants, consent to the use of their names, city of residence, photograph and/or image for publicity purposes in all media carried out by Waterstones, without payment or compensation.

11. The decisions of the contest judges are final. The prize must be accepted as awarded.

12. The right is reserved to terminate or withdraw this contest at any time.

13. a) All entries become the property of Waterstones, who assume no responsibility for lost, stolen, delayed, damaged or misdirected entries or for any failure of the website during the promotional period, for any problems or technical malfunction of any telephone network or lines, computer online systems, servers, access providers, computer equipment, software, failure of any email or entry to be received by Waterstones on account of technical problems or traffic congestion on the internet or any website, or any combination thereof including any injury or damage to an entrant's or any other person's computer related to or resulting from playing or downloading any material in the promotion. Waterstones reserve the right, in its sole discretion to cancel or suspend the email portion of this contest should a virus or bug or other cause beyond the reasonable control of Waterstones corrupt the security or proper administration of the contest. Any attempt to deliberately damage any website or undermine the legitimate operation of this promotion is a violation of criminal and civil laws, and should such an attempt be made, Waterstones reserve the right to seek remedies and damages to the fullest extent permitted by law, including criminal prosecution. Entries are subject to verification and will be declared invalid if they are illegible, mechanically MV reproduced, mutilated, forged, falsified, altered or tampered with in any way. Entrants agree to abide by the contest rules and the decisions of the independent judging panel, which are final.

13. b) Entries must be submitted by the named entrant (or their parent/guardian for children aged 15 or under) and will be invalid if found to come from a third party. Multiple entries from a single source (eg 'competition entry' website/company) will be disqualified. Only one entry will be accepted per email address used.

14. For name/county of prize winner, please send a stamped addressed envelope marked Dickens Workhouse Competition Winner to The Waterstones Card, Capital Court, Capital Interchange way, Brentford, Middlesex, TW8 0EX after 31 March 2012 No entries should be sent to this address.

15. Entry to the competition is conditional on acceptance of these terms and conditions. By clicking on the Submit button above you are deemed to have read and accepted these terms.

16. The email address and phone number you provide to enter the competition will be used by us to contact you if necessary, and will not be shared with other companies. Waterstones will only use your email address in compliance with the provisions of the Data Protection Act 1998 and in accordance with our privacy policy.

Promoters:Waterstones and Oxford University Press