Dickens and the Victorian City

To underestimate the importance of London in Dickens' work, readers, critics, and enthusiasts inevitably ignore the indirect influence of those other English villages, towns and cities in which Dickens lived, worked, and played, including Portsmouth, the city in which he was born. Focussing on aspects such as crime, poverty, education, women, and public entertainment, this book highlights those points at which Portsmouth becomes visible in Dickens' works,and looks at Victorian Portsmouth as a microcosmic version of London, sharing with the metropolis, many of the philanthropic and political concerns that animated Dickens during his lifetime.