London in the Time of Dickens

by Lillian Nayder

By the start of the Victorian era, London was home to nearly 2 million people, a number that expanded to more than 6 million by 1901, the year of Queen Victoria's death. This immense growth made the city an astonishing study in the varieties of human experience—the perfect place for a novelist to find his voice. Charles Dickens did just that in the 1830s.

Born in 1812, Dickens spent most of his life in a rapidly expanding London. As perhaps the most lauded of Victorian writers and a perennial classroom favorite, Dickens gives us a window into the past. His fiction and journalism capture the complexities of Victorian life, while continuing to resonate with meaning today.

London in the 19th century was a city of contrasts. It was a bustling, diverse, and vibrant urban center that was a hub of culture and innovation. It was also a place of great suffering and starvation, of child labor, and soot-filled skies. Dickens himself experienced life on both sides of the “great gulf” that separated rich from poor—His own life was a blueprint that informed rags-to-riches elements in his stories, from Oliver Twist to Great Expectations and Our Mutual Friend. The everyday experiences of working-class Londoners provided an inexhaustible source of literary material for a prolific writer looking to capture life on the page—and improve life beyond the bounds of fiction.

In London in the Time of Dickens, you’ll get the unique opportunity to experience the British capital through the eyes of a literary master whose work is inextricably tied to the city and its rich history. Throughout 12 lectures taught by Professor Lillian Nayder of Bates College, you’ll tour the city of London in a time of rapid transformation through the life and work of Charles Dickens, uncovering the history of the metropolis, while also witnessing the everyday experiences of Londoners from all walks of life as Dickens represents them.

Genres: History

7 pages, Audible Audio

First published January 1, 2023

About the author

Lillian Nayder is Professor and Chair of English at Bates College. She teaches courses on nineteenth-century British fiction, including “Jane Austen: Then and Now,” “The Brontës,” and “Dickens Revised.” Her seminar topics include “The Arctic Sublime” and “Victorian Crime Fiction.” Her research interests center on Charles and Catherine Dickens, Wilkie Collins, and sensation fiction. Her most recent book, "The Other Dickens: A Life of Catherine Hogarth", was published in 2011.

Education:

Ph.D., University of Virginia, May 1988
M.A., University of Virginia, May 1982
B.A., Johns Hopkins University, May 1978

Reviews

[Darrell McCauley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lillian Nayder did a splendid job of summarizing Dickensian elements. I learned more about Charles Dickens’ background which explains so many commonalities among his work. It makes perfect sense now that without London we would have no Dickens.

It was also nice to reminisce about times spent with his stories and all of his interesting characters. It’s like hearing about old friends that you haven’t seen in years. I am compelled to re-read all my favorites.

[Iliyan Angelov · Rating 3 out of 5]

To make the most of "London in the Time of Dickens" you'll need to have read most of Dickens's books. In that sense it's a good auxiliary to understand what motivated him to write and the world he lived in.

As a standalone it doesn't have enough meat on the bone.

[Bill Dauster · Rating 5 out of 5]

An insightful tour through Dickens' influences