Walk in Charles Dickens' London
Guided Tour of the City of Oliver Twist, Bleak House, Little Nell
Do a Self-Guided Tour of Charles Dickens' London; see the City that Inspired David Copperfield, Oliver Twist, Little Nell, Christmas Carol; drink in Dickens' Pubs.
For many people, London is a city that they see through the works of Charles Dickens. He created a fictional world that was very much based on fact. It's the London of Oliver Twist and Little Nell, of A Christmas Carol, The Old Curiosity Shop, David Copperfield and Bleak House. And it's a London that can still be visited on either a guided walking tour or on your own self-guided tour using the inexpensive booklet in the Louis' London Walks series: A Walk around Charles Dickens' London.
The Louis' London Walks series of booklets is an excellent and comprehensive set of self-guided walks around the many faces of London, from the Beatles to Shakespeare, from the Kray Twins to Sherlock Holmes, from Historic Riverside Pubs to Jack the Ripper. This guide to Dickens' London is in the same pocket format, and runs to 24 packed pages of maps and information.
There are in fact two maps in the book, as the walk has been split into two. Doing both together should take about 2-3 hours. It's recommended that you do the walk on a weekday, as some of the places associated with Dickens, like the Inns of Court, are closed at weekends. The walk begins at Embankment underground station, and ends at Russell Square tube station, close to the last stop on the walk, the Charles Dickens Museum. This is good planning, as it means you can spend as long as you like in the museum, knowing that you've finished the walk.
Between the start and the end, you'll visit about two dozen places associated with Dickens in some way, all on the north side of the River Thames. The book guides you into the fascinating facts of Dickens' world right away. From the Embankment it's a short walk to The Arches, the area where Dickens worked in a shoe blacking factory at the age of twelve, and began inventing stories to entertain his work mates, one of whom was called Bob Fagin. Fact and fiction intertwine, as Dickens used the experiences here when he came to write David Copperfield. Then in nearby Buckingham Street, Dickens had lived at No. 15, while David Copperfield lodged at the house next door.
The walk takes you to London's oldest restaurant, Rules, established in 1798 and a favorite of Dickens. There's even a Dickens room there today, so you might want to time your walk to take lunch there, or come back in the evening. The walk goes on to cover Gray's Inn, where Dickens worked as a legal clerk, the Roman Bath which Dickens used as a boy, Holborn Viaduct where Fagin and his gang lived, and the Old Curiosity Shop, that was built in 1567.
The author provides good stories for all these stops, quoting from Dickens' works and showing how the fact was turned into fiction. Readers do get to see the London Dickens lived in, and which inspired his great novels. For the Dickens fan visiting London, or anyone interested in the history of this great city, A Walk around Charles Dickens' London is terrific value for money.
Other titles in the Louis' London Walks series are:
- The Kray Twins Walk
- A Walk Around Haunted London
- A Historical Walk through William Shakespeare's London
- The Beatles in London Walk
- The Jack the Ripper Walk
- The Sherlock Holmes Walk
- Historical Riverside London Pubs Walk
- A Walk through Princess Diana's London (currently being reprinted)
A Walk around Charles Dickens' London is published by Louis' London Walks at £2.50 plus postage, and available from their website.
