“Interesting & informative read”
Visitors to London, especially those from outside of the UK, who wish to see the remnants of early Victorian London are probably going to be somewhat disappointed, although this is not just a recent thing, As the author argues, the truth is that the London of Dickens's time was already being lost before the end of the Victorian era & his writing was beginning to be thought of as 'old hat' by then too.
London is most definitely a living palimpsest where the evidence of previous centuries can occasionally be glimpsed through the modern city, but the rookeries & crowded tenements have been erased. In truth there is not much of 'Dickensland' left apart from the survival of an odd coaching inn or two immortalised in Pickwick Papers & the Charles Dickens Museum at Doughty Street where he lived between 1837-1839.
In fact the most popular sites such as the purported original Old Curiosity Shop or Nancy's Steps are linked with Dickens more by tradition than hard evidence as this book points out. The last chapters deal with Dickens's work adapted for film & TV, especially the musical 'Oliver', & were really interesting too. I do wish I had known of the brief existence of actual tourist attraction 'Dickensland' as I would have liked to have visited before it closed but I'd never heard of it before this book. Overall it was a really interesting & informative read & has made me want to dust off my old Dickens books for a re-read at some point.
My thanks to NetGalley & publishers, Yale University Press, for the opportunity to read an ARC. I am voluntarily giving an honest review.
Paperback edition
This reviewer received a free of charge product for review.
