A Dickens of a Time

After fifteen days of living in London, settling in, knowing where to get one's morning cuppa before class starts, and figuring out how to make the washing machine and dryer work (which involves propping the dryer door shut with an over-sized washing soap box), I've finally paid tribute to a local museum. As a Dickens fan, I was thrilled to discover that the Dickens Museum on Doughty Street was practically within spitting distance of my cosy little bedsit. So, last Sunday, trekking over puddled sidewalks, some cracked concrete and some cobbled, my friend Simon and I made our way through the London drizzle to the unassuming former Dickens' residence turned museum. While the Doughty Street residence is only one of Dickens' former homes, it marked the beginning of his success as a young and upcoming writer. Within these walls, Dickens wrote Nicholas Nickleby in its entirety and worked on Pickwick Papers, Oliver Twist, Sketches of Young Gentlemen, The Lamplighter, and Barnaby Rudge. Within these walls, Dickens hosted dinner parties for his friends. Within these walls, Dickens witnessed and grieved the sudden death of his sister-in-law Mary Hogarth. Here his rich characters and social conscience mingled with personal grief and triumph. Exploring the rooms of the Doughty Street home in hushed whispers, I wondered "whether I shall turn out to be the hero of my own life" (David Copperfield).