London home of Charles Dickens open after renovation
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A closer look at the study in Charles Dickens' home, part of the Charles Dickens Museum in London, on Wednesday, Dec 5, 2012. For years, the four-story brick row house where the author lived with his young family was a dusty and slightly neglected museum, a mecca for Dickens scholars but overlooked by most visitors to London. Now, after a 3.1 million pound (S$6 million) makeover, it has been restored to bring the writer's world to life. Its director says it aims to look "as if Dickens had just stepped out". -- PHOTO: AP
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The study in Charles Dickens' home, part of the Charles Dickens Museum in London, photographed on Wednesday, Dec 5, 2012. For years, the four-story brick row house where the author lived with his young family was a dusty and slightly neglected museum, a mecca for Dickens scholars but overlooked by most visitors to London. Now, after a 3.1 million pound (S$6 million) makeover, it has been restored to bring the writer's world to life. Its director says it aims to look "as if Dickens had just stepped out". -- PHOTO: AP
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The nursery room, containing a metal grille from Marshalsea Debtors' Prison where Dickens' father was imprisoned (right) and other exhibits from Dickens' childhood, is seen in Charles Dickens' home, part of the Charles Dickens Museum in London, on Dec 5, 2012. For years, the four-story brick row house where the author lived with his young family was a dusty and slightly neglected museum, a mecca for Dickens scholars but overlooked by most visitors to London. Now, after a 3.1 million pound (S$6 million) makeover, it has been restored to bring the writer's world to life. Its director says it aims to look "as if Dickens had just stepped out". -- PHOTO: AP
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A visitor views the bedroom of Charles Dickens at the Charles Dickens Museum in central London on Dec 10, 2012. The former London home of Charles Dickens reopened on Monday, after an eight-month, 3.1 million pound (S$6 million) refurbishment celebrating the author's bicentenary. -- PHOTO: REUTERS
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Visitors view the dining room of the Charles Dickens Museum in central London on Dec 10, 2012. The former London home of Charles Dickens reopened on Monday, after an eight-month, 3.1 million pound (S$6 million) refurbishment celebrating the author's bicentenary. -- PHOTO: REUTERS
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The laid table is seen in the dining room of the Charles Dickens Museum in central London on Dec 10, 2012. The former London home of Charles Dickens reopened on Monday, after an eight-month, 3.1 million pound (S$6 million) refurbishment celebrating the author's bicentenary. -- PHOTO: REUTERS
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A visitor views the Mary Hogarth room of the Charles Dickens Museum in central London on Dec 10, 2012. The former London home of Charles Dickens reopened on Monday, after an eight-month, 3.1 million pound (S$6 million) refurbishment celebrating the author's bicentenary. -- PHOTO: REUTERS
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A visitor climbs stairs at the Charles Dickens Museum in central London on Dec 10, 2012. The former London home of Charles Dickens reopened on Monday, after an eight-month, 3.1 million-pound (S$6 million) refurbishment celebrating the author's bicentenary. -- PHOTO: REUTERS
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A lock of Dickens' hair sits next to letter in the Charles Dickens Museum in central London on Dec 10, 2012. The former London home of Charles Dickens reopened on Monday, after an eight-month refurbishment celebrating the author's bicentenary. -- PHOTO: REUTERS
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The kitchen is seen in the Charles Dickens Museum in central London on Dec 10, 2012. The former London home of Charles Dickens reopened on Monday, after an eight-month, 3.1 million pound (S$6 million) refurbishment celebrating the author's bicentenary. -- PHOTO: REUTERS
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The blue plaque is seen outside the Charles Dickens Museum in central London on Dec 10, 2012. The former London home of Charles Dickens reopened on Monday, after an eight-month refurbishment celebrating the author's bicentenary. -- PHOTO: REUTERS
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A general view shows the Charles Dickens Museum in central London on Dec 10, 2012. The former London home of Charles Dickens reopened on Dec 11, after an eight-month, 3.1 million pound (S$6 million) refurbishment celebrating the author's bicentenary. -- PHOTO: REUTERS
A closer look at the study in Charles Dickens' home, part of the Charles Dickens Museum in London, on Wednesday, Dec 5, 2012. For years, the four-story brick row house where the author lived with his young family was a dusty and slightly neglected museum, a mecca for Dickens scholars but overlooked by most visitors to London. Now, after a 3.1 million pound (S$6 million) makeover, it has been restored to bring the writer's world to life. Its director says it aims to look "as if Dickens had just stepped out". -- PHOTO: AP
The study in Charles Dickens' home, part of the Charles Dickens Museum in London, photographed on Wednesday, Dec 5, 2012. For years, the four-story brick row house where the author lived with his young family was a dusty and slightly neglected museum, a mecca for Dickens scholars but overlooked by most visitors to London. Now, after a 3.1 million pound (S$6 million) makeover, it has been restored to bring the writer's world to life. Its director says it aims to look "as if Dickens had just stepped out". -- PHOTO: AP
The nursery room, containing a metal grille from Marshalsea Debtors' Prison where Dickens' father was imprisoned (right) and other exhibits from Dickens' childhood, is seen in Charles Dickens' home, part of the Charles Dickens Museum in London, on Dec 5, 2012. For years, the four-story brick row house where the author lived with his young family was a dusty and slightly neglected museum, a mecca for Dickens scholars but overlooked by most visitors to London. Now, after a 3.1 million pound (S$6 million) makeover, it has been restored to bring the writer's world to life. Its director says it aims to look "as if Dickens had just stepped out". -- PHOTO: AP
A visitor views the bedroom of Charles Dickens at the Charles Dickens Museum in central London on Dec 10, 2012. The former London home of Charles Dickens reopened on Monday, after an eight-month, 3.1 million pound (S$6 million) refurbishment celebrating the author's bicentenary. -- PHOTO: REUTERS
Visitors view the dining room of the Charles Dickens Museum in central London on Dec 10, 2012. The former London home of Charles Dickens reopened on Monday, after an eight-month, 3.1 million pound (S$6 million) refurbishment celebrating the author's bicentenary. -- PHOTO: REUTERS
The laid table is seen in the dining room of the Charles Dickens Museum in central London on Dec 10, 2012. The former London home of Charles Dickens reopened on Monday, after an eight-month, 3.1 million pound (S$6 million) refurbishment celebrating the author's bicentenary. -- PHOTO: REUTERS
A visitor views the Mary Hogarth room of the Charles Dickens Museum in central London on Dec 10, 2012. The former London home of Charles Dickens reopened on Monday, after an eight-month, 3.1 million pound (S$6 million) refurbishment celebrating the author's bicentenary. -- PHOTO: REUTERS
A visitor climbs stairs at the Charles Dickens Museum in central London on Dec 10, 2012. The former London home of Charles Dickens reopened on Monday, after an eight-month, 3.1 million-pound (S$6 million) refurbishment celebrating the author's bicentenary. -- PHOTO: REUTERS
A lock of Dickens' hair sits next to letter in the Charles Dickens Museum in central London on Dec 10, 2012. The former London home of Charles Dickens reopened on Monday, after an eight-month refurbishment celebrating the author's bicentenary. -- PHOTO: REUTERS
The kitchen is seen in the Charles Dickens Museum in central London on Dec 10, 2012. The former London home of Charles Dickens reopened on Monday, after an eight-month, 3.1 million pound (S$6 million) refurbishment celebrating the author's bicentenary. -- PHOTO: REUTERS
The blue plaque is seen outside the Charles Dickens Museum in central London on Dec 10, 2012. The former London home of Charles Dickens reopened on Monday, after an eight-month refurbishment celebrating the author's bicentenary. -- PHOTO: REUTERS
A general view shows the Charles Dickens Museum in central London on Dec 10, 2012. The former London home of Charles Dickens reopened on Dec 11, after an eight-month, 3.1 million pound (S$6 million) refurbishment celebrating the author's bicentenary. -- PHOTO: REUTERS
LONDON (REUTERS) - The former London home of Charles Dickens reopened on Dec 10, after an eight-month, 3.1 million-pound (S$6 million) refurbishment celebrating the author's bicentenary.
Dickens lived at 48 Doughty Street in central London with his family between 1837 and 1839. There, in his mid-20s, he wrote Oliver Twist and Nicholas Nickleby, novels that made him a rising literary star.
The four-storey brick row house was restored to its early Victorian splendour to feel less like a museum and more atmospheric, museum director Florian Schweizer told Reuters.
"We wanted to recreate it like a home, so visitors could feel like they're actually visiting Charles Dickens and that he might step back in at any time," Mr Schweizer said.
