Charles Dickens letters: Finding Aid mssHM 78780-78794
Gayle M. Richardson
The Huntington Library
December 2023
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, California 91108
Business Number: (626) 405-2191
reference@huntington.org
Contributing Institution:
The Huntington Library
Title: Charles Dickens letters
Creator:
Dickens, Charles,
1812-1870
Identifier/Call Number: mssHM 78780-78794
Physical Description:
1.25 Linear Feet
(1 box)
Date (inclusive): 1837-1868
Abstract: A collection of letters written by
Charles Dickens to various friends, family, and business associates.
Language of Material: Materials are in
English.
Open for use by qualified researchers and by appointment. Please contact Reader Services at
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The Huntington Library does not require that researchers request permission to quote from
or publish images of this material, nor does it charge fees for such activities. The
responsibility for identifying the copyright holder, if there is one, and obtaining
necessary permissions rests with the researcher.
[Identification of item]. Charles Dickens letters, The Huntington Library, San Marino,
California.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Purchased for the Huntington from Jarndyce Booksellers by the Library Collectors' Council,
January 2013.
Charles Dickens (1812-1870) was a British writer during the Victorian era, perhaps the most
celebrated writer of his time; he used his writing to entertain but to also expose the ills
of Victorian society. Dickens was born in Portsmouth, England, and was forced by family
circumstances to leave school at the age of 12 for three years. After some additional
schooling, he began his writing career as a journalist; over the following decades, he was
also a journal editor, publisher, critic, and a writer of novels, short stories, and
articles. Dickens also gave many lectures and reading performances throughout England and
America. He used his writing to campaign for social reform for children and education among
other issues. In 1836, he married Catherine Thomson Hogarth; together they had 10 children.
On June 8, 1870, Dickens had a second stroke at his home; he never regained consciousness
and, the next day, he died at Gads Hill Place.
A collection of letters by Charles Dickens; the letters are written to, among others,
William Harrison Ainsworth, George Bentley, Frederick William Dickens, William Empson, John
Pritt Harley, Susan Horner, Robert Bulwer Lytton (Earl of Lytton), and John Palgrave
Simpson.
Processed by Gayle M. Richardson in 2013; in December 2023, a finding aid was created.
Arranged chronologically.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Authors, English -- 19th century
Letters (correspondence)
Ainsworth, William Harrison, 1805-1882
Bentley, George,
1828-1895
Dickens, Frederick William, 1820-1868
Empson, W. (William),
1791-1852
Harley, John Pritt, 1786-1858
Horner, Susan,
-1900
Lytton, Edward Robert Bulwer Lytton, Earl of, 1831-1891
Simpson, J. Palgrave (John
Palgrave), 1807-1887
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