Charles Dickens to haunt the British Library

London - February 7 next year is the 200th anniversary of the birth of Charles Dickens. The British Library is hosting a free exhibition 'A Hankering after Ghosts: Charles Dickens and the Supernatural', from November 29 until March 4.

Charles John Huffam Dickens (1812–70) was to the Victorian novel what Shakespeare was to the Elizabethan play. Most native English speakers will be familiar with at least the names of some of his works such as Oliver Twist , and the famous line “Please sir, I want some more.” Some of his works included references to the supernatural, most famously the haunting of the miser Ebenezer Scrooge. Details of the exhibition currently can be found here. There are also two related events in the Conference Centre, on December 2 and December 9; tickets for these are £7.50. Details can currently be found here and here. As was to be expected, there will be other Dickens events elsewhere; including at the British Film Institute, as well as TV programmes, including almost certainly film and TV adaptations of his works. Look out for these nearer the date, especially keep your eye on the BBC's news website.

Public domain

A sketch of Dickens from 1842 during his American tour. The woman in the bottom left of the portrait is his sister, Fanny.

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