You may have caught the BBC’s Great Expectations adaptation over Christmas, and already seen the fantastic Dickens and London exhibition at the Museum of London, but for fans of London’s most famous novelist, the phrase “please sir, can I have some more?” has never been more appropriate.
7 February 2012 marks 200 years since Dickens’ birth and institutions and organisations all over the world are staging a variety of cultural events to celebrate.
The programme, called Dickens 2012, is being co-ordinated by the Charles Dickens Museum and Film London and patrons include Sir Derek Jacobi, Peter Ackroyd and Claire Tomalin.
In London – the city that Dickens more than anyone else helped to document and mythologise – venues include the British Library, BFI Southbank and of course the Charles Dickens Museum. The main highlights are:
- Dickens and London at the Museum of London
See original Dickens’ manuscripts and discover what London was like in Victorian times. Until 10 Jun - Dickens on Screen at the BFI Southbank
The largest ever retrospective of film and TV works based on or inspired by Charles Dickens. Until 28 Feb
- A Hankering after Ghosts: Charles Dickens and the Supernatural at The British Library
Discover Dickens’ fascination with the supernatural and how it features in his writing. Until 4 March - Charles Dickens: Life and Legacy at the National Portrait Gallery
A unique collection of prints, drawings, and photographs illustrating Dickens’ life and circle. Until 22 April
Other Dickens 2012 events are at the V&A Museum of Childhood, the V&A itself and there’s even a Dickens book club at Foyles bookshop. (My 2012 resolution is to finally finish Little Dorrit).
For more information on Dickens 2012 visit www.dickens2012.org. And use the comments below to let us know if you’ve enjoyed any of the bicentenary events, or even your favourite Dickensian London spot.