Charles John Huffam Dickens was the most popular British novelist of the Victorian era, responsible for some of English literature's most iconic characters. The continuing popularity of his novels and short stories is such that they have never gone out of print.
Charles Dickens at the V&A
Books, manuscripts, correspondence, illustrations, pictures and other objects relating to Charles Dickens’s life and works can be found in many parts of the V&A.
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Illustrations for Dickens' Novels
Some of the outstanding illustrators and artists of the day were recruited to provide images for Dickens's novels, often producing illustrations at short notice for forthco…
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The Charles Dickens Manuscripts
Many books, manuscripts, prints and paintings relating to Dickens came to the V&A when John Forster left his library and art collection to the Museum.
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Charles Dickens: A Tale of Two Cities
A digitised version of the original manuscript of 'A Tale of Two Cities' by Charles Dickens
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Charles Dickens: The Mystery of Edwin Drood
A digitised version of the original manuscript of 'The Mystery of Edwin Drood' by Charles Dickens
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Charles Dickens - David Copperfield
A digitised version of the original manuscript of 'David Copperfield' by Charles Dickens
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What the Victorians Read at Christmas
The commercialisation of Christmas, which many today consider a bane of modern life, in fact has its origins in the 1840s. Henry Cole sent the first Christmas card (now in …
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National Art Library Forster Collection
John Forster (1812–76) was a noted biographer, critic, essayist and historian who collected a vast library. He bequeathed this collection to his wife and on her death it pa…
Read articleA gift in your will
You may not have thought of including a gift to a museum in your will, but the V&A is a charity and legacies form an important source of funding for our work. It is not just the great collectors and the wealthy who leave legacies to the V&A. Legacies of all sizes, large and small, make a real difference to what we can do and your support can help ensure that future generations enjoy the V&A as much as you have.
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Truth About Love

Have you ever wondered: Why the heart is the symbol of love? Who St Valentine really was? Why Cupid wears a blindfold? Why a bride throws her bouquet?…
Buy nowEvent - Curating Tudors, Stuarts and the Russian Tsars
Wed 24 April 2013 13:00

LUNCHTIME LECTURE: Join Curator Tessa Murdoch as she discusses the themes of the V&A’s new exhibition Treasures of the Royal Courts: Tudors, Stuarts and the Russian Tsars.
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