Question for Londoners or Dickens experts

[Bellybootcut]

Just watching A Christmas Carol for the umpteenth time and it got me wondering. Which part of London do you think it was imagined to be set in? And also, are there any parts of London that still have that quaint, possibly gritty Dickensian feel? I have visited a few times but just the usual tourist places. Thanks

Check out the Dickensian London facebook page.

Charles Dickens wrote Our Mutual Friend at what used to be my local pub, The Grapes, on Narrow St in Limehouse. (Now co-owned by Sir Ian McKellan.) That whole area of East London from Canary Wharf up the river past Limehouse, Wapping, Shadwell up to Tower Bridge always feels Dickensian to me. Lots of history. If you are over that way, the Museum of London, Docklands is excellent.

A Christmas Carol, I believe, he used the City of London as the setting. So the area around Bank St, Cornhill up to St Paul’s etc

For olde worlde historic London, you basically want to stay east of the centre.

This is quite comprehensive:

https://www.charlesdickenspage.com/locations-by-novel.html

I'd have thought Whitechapel or similar.

Marshallsea poor house from little Dorrit was in Southwark near borough high street

Look up.
Lots of buildings have modern fronts at pavement level, but you can see how old they are if you look up.

Rochester!

www.visitmedway.org/see-and-do/dickensian-medway/

Thanks so much. Will have a look at these places. Such a fascinating era.

Dickens map!

https://londonist.com/2016/09/the-london-of-charles-dickens-mapped

The Old Curiosity Shop is sweet and worth a diversion if you're in town.

Thanks. I've been having a good look on Google maps at the places mentioned.

Go on a Sunday or Bank Holiday, more atmospheric when City not at work. Walk through Inns of Court as well as other suggestions. Soak it up and enjoy it.

You can still see where the Marshalsea debtors prison was (Dickens father was there, I believe) as the walls are part of the walls of St George's Churchyard Gardens. The local library (John Harvard) is on the actual site of the prison.

The other park locally is called Little Dorrit park - it's on the west side of Borough High St (if you go to it walk on a little further and visit Redcross Gardens which has nothing to do with Dickens, but was laid out by Ocatvia Hill and is really lovely. Kudos to Bankside Openspaces Trust for maintaining it so well).

Up near Borough Market you can also visit Nancy's steps which lead down from London Bridge. They have a complicated history and are probably nothing to do with Oliver Twist despite the plaque on them that claims otherwise!

Quite a lot of the areas in Great Yarmouth which were mentioned in David Copperfield are still intact if you fancy a seaside trip.

Not London, but you can visit the house he was born in thats in Portsmouth. my Father took me when I was about 10 and bought me a copy of Oliver Twist.

A different author but for a feel of London you may like to read a copy or there are probably extracts available on line of Henry Mayhew London Labour and the London Poor.

I would also read his short works that were published in magazines, Sketches by Boz when Dickens was a young author. I just had a quick look and of course now available online.

https://www.middletemple.org.uk/archive-history/archive-month/december-2018-dickens-inn

He worked from the Inns of Court for a while, near Embankment tube. It’s definitely quaint but certainly not gritty!

Oliver twist was set on what is now the neckinger estate, or very nearby there.

Dickensian London Facebook page has just shown up on my Facebook feed! It is fascinating though. I'm definitely going to explore when I visit in spring. All the area towards the east of the city looks just what I'm after. I live in a town in the north which also has lots of history, loads of Georgian buildings and historical yards. I just love wondering round. If only we could time travel (just for the day!)

Definitely visit Bloomsbury when you're in London.
https://dickensmuseum.com/

I’ve always imagined the city and East London.

The Rest is History have done a whole podcast where they visit the various locations.

The real London was The City ( of London) Around St. Paul's ( Cathedral )

I live in London...and I'm obsessed with victorian era which the book is set in. Charles Dickens house is east to visit and has been turned into a small museum. Its all based on this area and Londons East End. If you go to areas like Mile End they have alot of historic sites like The Ragged School Museum from that era and the Jack the ripper museum. Loads of history around the Thames between Tower of London and Westminster. But Dickens does mention alot of streets which are possible to visit but don't look like how they used to. There's traces everywhere tho from lamp posts to house designs etc.

I know this is totally off subject but have you been to the tower of london? I used to avoid it as it was touristy but my kid missed his school trip so I personally took him and was blown away by the history side of it. Nothing like I imagined and I ended up buying a ticket to visit visit year whenever I wanted.
You could always visit places within 5 min walking distance. There's the street and monument of where the great fire of London started, the clink museum is really interesting...oldest prison I believe. To get to Charles Dickens House we got off at Russell Square and walked.

Fans of Old London, there's a free, daily, blog by The Gentle Author who lives in Spitalfields. It's a source of endless fascination with great photographs and I can't praise it enough.