Dickens' London

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Mansfield Milburg Francisco. Dickens' London

In Praise of London

INTRODUCTION

THE LONDON DICKENS KNEW

DICKENS' LITERARY LIFE

THE HIGHWAY OF LETTERS

DICKENS' CONTEMPORARIES

THE LOCALE OF THE NOVELS

DISAPPEARING LONDON

THE COUNTY OF KENT

THE RIVER THAMES

MANNERS AND CUSTOMS

PAST AND PRESENT

THE UNDER WORLD

LONDON TOPOGRAPHY

A BRIEF CHRONOLOGY OF SOME OF THE MORE IMPORTANT EVENTS IN THE HISTORY OF THE CITY OF LONDON DURING THE LIFETIME OF CHARLES DICKENS

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This book is for the lover of Dickens and of London, alike. The former without the memory of the latter would indeed be wanting, and likewise the reverse would be the case.

London, its life and its stones, has ever been immortalized by authors and artists, but more than all else, the city has been a part of the very life and inspiration of those who have limned its virtues, its joys, and its sorrows, – from the days of blithe Dan Chaucer to those of the latest west-end society novelist.

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Here in the heart of the great world of London exists, as in no other city on the globe, a quiet and leafy suburb, peopled only by those whose vocation is not of the commonalty. Its very environment is inspiring to great thoughts and deeds, and small wonder it is that so many master minds have first received their stimulus amid the shady walks and rather gloomy buildings of the Temple.

True it is that they are gloomy, on the outside at least, – dull brick rows with gravelled or flagged courtyards, but possessing withal a geniality which many more glaring and modern surroundings utterly lack.

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