Good to know we’re honoring the great author in a respectful way… *sighs*
The first statue of Charles Dickens will be unveiled in the city of his birthplace in June - defying wishes in his will for one not to be created.
Two great great grandsons of Charles Dickens have reached Portsmouth after a walk from London in the footsteps of two of the author’s characters.
Did Dickens perform on stage at the Portsmouth Theatre?
The intriguing possibility that Charles Dickens acted on a Portsmouth stage as a young man, on the site now occupied by Portsmouth Grammar School, has been raised by school archivist John Sadden. Dickens visited Portsmouth ‘to obtain local colour’ for Nicholas Nickleby,his third novel, first published as a serial in 1838-39.
Or maybe respect Dickens’ wishes that he be remembered not in a public monument, but through his works alone?
Crunch time as £150,000 needed for Charles Dickens statue
The race is on to raise enough money to fund a statue of Portsmouth’s most famous son Charles Dickens at the heart of the city.
“I was born at Portsmouth, an English seaport town, principally remarkable for mud, jews and sailors,” wrote Charles Dickens in 1838.
In the footsteps of Charles Dickens
A sense of place was a key element in the novels. As the bicentenary of the Charles Dickens’s birth approaches, Nigel Richardson urges a visit to a new exhibition on Dickensian London, and offers a guide to other sites.
![The House at Landport [Portsmouth] where Charles Dickens was born (1871)](http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lunpjoFb2o1qa7696o1_400.jpg)
The House at Landport [Portsmouth] where Charles Dickens was born (1871)
The city where novelist Charles Dickens was born has decided to heal an 80-year rift with an author who criticised its famous son.
Portsmouth is a proud city, and loyal to its residents, so when author Carl Roberts spoke less than favourably about Charles Dickens in “This Side Idolatry”, the library promptly pulled it from bookshelves.
The design has been chosen for the United Kingdom’s first-ever statue of its greatest novelist, Charles Dickens, in spite of his request, made at his funeral, that there should be no monuments in his honour.
Personally I think it’s absolute bullshit that they’re doing this. The man stated in his will “on no account to make me the subject of any monument, memorial or testimonial whatsoever.” And the loop-hole they’re using in the wording to get around this seems pretty weak. Then I read this in the comments:
And I LOL’d. Brilliant.
For many people, being deemed worthy enough to be immortalised in a public statue is the ultimate honour. Just ask the family of Charles Dickens, who this week unveiled the winning design of a statue of the much-loved author, which they plan to erect in Portsmouth’s Guildhall Square next year, to coincide with the 200th anniversary of his birth in the city.
The design has been chosen for the United Kingdom’s first-ever statue of its greatest novelist, Charles Dickens, in spite of his request, made at his funeral, that there should be no monuments in his honour.
Four miniature versions were put forward for the 7ft (2.1m) monument of the writer, which will stand in the city’s Guildhall Square.
A panel decided on a statue by Oxford sculptor Martin Jennings which shows Dickens reading in a chair.
Youngsters are jumping at the chance to record their favourite things about Portsmouth in a time capsule celebrating Charles Dickens’ 200th birthday.
