Night Walks: Charles Dickens (Penguin Great Ideas)

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This collection of essays shows Dickens as one of the greatest visionaries of the city in all its variety and cruelty. At times I felt some of his writing was a little voyeuristic, but then he admitted to being, “unmanned” by the poverty and hunger of the children he came across, and you were once again drawn in. Now Penguin brings you the works of the great thinkers, pioneers, radicals and visionaries whose ideas shook civilization and helped make us who we are. The 103 third parties who use cookies on this service do so for their purposes of displaying and measuring personalized ads, generating audience insights, and developing and improving products. His nighttime rambles take him to Newgate Prison, Covent Garden, Westminster Abbey and other locales.

The author of these articles, is a man, who anyone upon reading his work, would agree is one everyone wishes was in actuality acquainted with. Are not all of us outside this hospital, who dream, more or less in the condition of those inside it, every night of our lives? For me, it is a reflection of the past in the present, when I read "insufficient food and unwholesome living are the main causes of disease among these small patients. Dickens was always interested in social reform and his walks tend to take him to the seedier parts of the capital.

You would also find fast food takeaways that were open till late and foxes rummaging through people’s bin. I really enjoyed the writing style, which was so accessible, making these walks read like great adventures. Displaying all the finesse and sharp observation of character he is known for in his fiction works, this truly shows Victorian London through his eyes and how the populace suffered in the burgeoning city. Charles Dickens describes in Night Walks his time as an insomniac, when he decided to cure himself by walking through London in the small hours, and discovered homelessness, drunkenness and vice on the streets. After all, I usually find so many hidden gems in this sort of book, but Night Walks didn't work for me.

This was a replacement copy for one I already had, following the exhibition at the Museum of London on Dickens' London. I know this blog won’t do justice to the insight gained from walking through London’s history but it has developed my ability to empathise with the historical context Dickens wrote in during the Victorian times. I highly recommend this if you are new to Dickens and want to have a taste of his style, whilst nonfiction it retains a strong narrative plot throughout.Each word, in my most humble but assertive opinion, was a stroke, which upon putting them all together reveals this brilliant and elegant masterpiece.