Dickens and LGBTQ+ in Centenary Museum Exhibition

On display for the first time at the Charles Dickens Museum in London are two letters which shed light on Charles Dickens and his LGBTQ+ characters and his work as a social reformer.

They are part of the museum's exhibition which opened this week celebrating 100 years since it opened its doors for the first time. Dickens in Doughty Street: 100 Years of the Charles Dickens Museum is a celebration of the life of Dickens and of a Museum which holds the world’s most comprehensive collection of material related to the author. 

On show is a letter from Dickens responding to a suggestion of similarities between his character Miss Wade from his Little Dorrit and one of the author Amelia Opie’s characters. In Little Dorrit, Miss Wade forms a strong friendship with Harriet Beadle and their relationship could be considered romantic. Dickens writes: "I have observed Miss Wade in real life (as I dare say Mrs Opie observed her gentleman) and know the character to be true in every respect." 

Also making its public debut is an example of his women's refuge work. Dickens often wrote or spoke in support of charities like the Hospital for Sick Children. Around 1846, Dickens and his friend Angela Burdett-Coutts set up a refuge for homeless women and others in need, including sex workers, known as Urania Cottage. In a letter to its matron, Mrs Morson, Dickens requests some clothes for a Miss Donovan, aged 16, who will shortly be joining the home.

A third letter on display is a draft from Dickens to the family servant Ann Brown which contains the first paragraphs of the infamous ‘Violated Letter’ in which Dickens revealed to the public his side of events leading to the breakdown of his marriage to Catherine whom he accused of being an uncaring mother.
 
Other highlights include original drawings for his novels by John Leech and George Cruikshank, early love poems written by a teenage Dickens, and a wall of portraits from the museum’s collection of images of Dickens.

Cindy Sughrue, outgoing Director of the Charles Dickens Museum, said: “Reflecting the initial collection, through to the most recent acquisitions, the exhibition features personal effects, portraits, photographs and all sorts of historic items that illuminate the life and works of Charles Dickens and the Museum’s role in preserving his legacy."

The exhibition runs through June 29.