The Dickens Fellowship was founded in 1902, and is an international association of people from all walks of life who share an interest in the life and works of

Victorian era In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the period of Queen Victoria's reign, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. The era followed the Georgian period and preceded the Edwardia ...

novelist A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living writing novels and other fiction, while others aspire to ...

Charles Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English writer and social critic. He created some of the world's best-known fictional characters and is regarded by many as the greatest novelist of the Victorian e ...

. The Dickens Fellowship's head office is based at the

Charles Dickens Museum The Charles Dickens Museum is an author's house museum at 48 Doughty Street in King's Cross, in the London Borough of Camden. It occupies a typical Georgian terraced house which was Charles Dickens's home from 25 March 1837 (a year after h ...

Doughty Street Doughty Street is a broad tree-lined street in the King's Cross district of the London Borough of Camden. The southern part is a continuation of the short John Street, which comes off Theobald's Road. The northern part crosses Guilford Street an ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, the home of Charles Dickens from 1837 to 1839. In 1923 Dickens's former home at 48 Doughy Street was threatened with demolition, but it was saved by three members of the Dickens Fellowship, who raised a

mortgage A mortgage loan or simply mortgage (), in civil law jurisdicions known also as a hypothec loan, is a loan used either by purchasers of real property to raise funds to buy real estate, or by existing property owners to raise funds for any pu ...

and bought the freehold in 1925. The membership of the Fellowship raised funds and put together a collection to exhibit in it. The Dickens House Trust was established to run the house as a museum and library.Website of The Dickens Fellowship
/ref> Membership is open to anybody, anywhere in the world, who shares the Fellowship's interests. The Fellowship has 47 branches, which are in the UK, the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

and nine other countries. Each branch is independent and arranges its own programme of events. There are also five affiliated societies. The Fellowship publishes a journal, ''The Dickensian'', which was founded in 1905 and was originally edited by one of the leading founders of the Fellowship, B.W. Matz (1865-1925). ''The Dickensian'' publishes articles of literary criticism from scholars around the world. It also carries reviews of books, plays, films and TV productions, together with reports of Fellowship activities and other Dickens-related news. The current editor is Professor Malcolm Andrews of the

University of Kent , motto_lang = , mottoeng = Literal translation: 'Whom to serve is to reign'(Book of Common Prayer translation: 'whose service is perfect freedom')Graham Martin, ''From Vision to Reality: the Making of the University of Kent at Canterbury'' ...

. In 2002 the Fellowship campaigned to save an area of Kent marshland on the

Hoo Peninsula The Hoo Peninsula is a peninsula in Kent, England, separating the estuaries of the rivers Thames and Medway. It is dominated by a line of chalk, clay and sand hills, surrounded by an extensive area of marshland composed of alluvial silt. The n ...

which provided the setting to the opening chapter of Dickens's novel ''

Great Expectations ''Great Expectations'' is the thirteenth novel by Charles Dickens and his penultimate completed novel. It depicts the education of an orphan nicknamed Pip (Great Expectations), Pip (the book is a ''bildungsroman''; a coming-of-age story). It ...

'' where the young Pip first encountered the escaped convict Magwitch."Airport plan threatens Dickens' legacy"

BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broadca ...

, 21 July 2002

References

External links

Website of The Dickens FellowshipPortsmouth branch of The Dickens FellowshipPhiladelphia branch of The Dickens FellowshipDickens Fellowship virtual tour
at the

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dickens Fellowship Charles Dickens Literary societies Organizations established in 1902 1902 establishments in England