Dickens and the Heritage Sector: Dickensland

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The proposed PhD will research: 1. How locations with strong Dickensian associations have been curated, consumed and exploited by a range of interests, ever since the author's death (family, fans, local authorities, the media, commercial tourism et al.). 2. The construction of 'Dickens' London' / 'Dickensland' as an imaginative space. 3. The value of both real and imagined 'Dickensland' to the modern tourist industry. The Dickens Museum (the author's former Doughty Street home in Bloomsbury) will provide the research base, facilitating exploration of its history, exhibitions, visitor information and archives. The latter includes the biggest uncatalogued collection of newspaper clippings relating to Dickens in the world, charting all things Dickensian in the news from Dickens's death in 1870 to the early twentieth century; the records of the Dickens Fellowship, a world-wide society of Dickens scholars and amateur enthusiasts which publishes the Dickensian magazine and whose mission is dedicated to preserving Dickens heritage. In addition, the Museum owns an expansive, uncatalogued collection of objects which is housed onsite and an unrivalled collection of books on Dickensian topography / walks (a thriving side of the Dickens publishing industry). The project will be archivally and empirically based, yet in dialogue with theoretical frames from all the disciplines already mentioned. Chapters might include: 1. The Tourist Capital: Outlines the factors during Dickens' lifetime which laid the groundwork for Dickensian urban tourism: the boom in urban topographical tourism in 19C London (particularly the proliferation of metropolitan guide-books); the Victorians' celebration/commercial exploitation of literary heritage and the cult of the author; the growth of a heritage sensibility focussed on preservation of the built environment; and Dickens' own extensive use of London locations/famous buildings/landmarks in his fiction. 2. Discovering Dickensland: Considers how fans/guidebooks/journalists defined the borders of 'Dickensland' soon after the author's death, creating a ready-made 'hallowed ground' of significant sites for tourists/literary pilgrims, which has been recycled ever since. The chapter will examine how particular locations have fallen in and out of fashion, whilst others have been added or invented; also, how Dickensian sites have often provided a focal point for debate about unchecked urban development (e.g. 'saving' the Cleveland Street workhouse). Full use will be made of the Museum's extensive collection of Dickensian guidebooks, records of the Dickensian Fellowship and press archive. 3. Defining the 'Dickensian' City: Examines how the media 'heritagised' Dickens after his death, emphasising key themes in his life and work which came to define the author in the public imagination (e.g. Christmas; conviviality; social reform). Focuses, in particular, on how 'Dickensian' became journalistic shorthand for slum conditions in Victorian London; and how press coverage has shaped not only public understanding of Dickens, his works and his milieu, but Victorian London itself. The Museum's press archive will be crucial to investigating the early stages of this process. This chapter will also consider how the Dickens Museum and the heritage industry have contributed to (and also challenged) this narrow conception of Dickens' London, with particular reference to displays and exhibitions. 4. Imagining Dickens' London: Looks at how 'Dickens' London' has been portrayed beyond print media, principally in films/TV/video games; also considers the defunct 'Dickens World' theme park at Chatham. The chapter will ask whether these portrayals reinforce the stereotype of urban suffering and slumdom.