This year, as I was preparing for another year at Dickens Festival, I wondered what Charles Dickens thought about the American Civil War and his views on the American struggle for abolition and social reforms.
A trip to the library to retrieve three huge biographies and a couple hours later, I’d found some interesting answers. Since my initial questions revolved around the American Civil War and slavery, I’ll focus there, and this is far from a comprehensive study on this famous 19th Century author or his works. His journeys to the United States and his opinions about the Civil War lend some interesting perspectives though, illustrative of how some Europeans viewed the American conflict.
Charles Dickens (1812-1870) made two trips to the United States, the first in 1842 and the last in 1867-68. He had developed strong impressions of American society and democracy prior to his first visit and his experiences on that trip influenced his opinions of the United States for the remainder of his life.
As Dickens embarked for the voyage to North America in 1842, he left behind England’s workhouses, factories, grimy alleys, dark houses, orphans, prisoners, and general unhappiness that feature prominently in his literary efforts. Enthusiastically, he declared he wanted to see “the Republic of my imagination.”[i] Already, he was planning to keep a notebook of his American experiences and write several novels when he returned home; some of his touring goals included visiting prisons, bars, factories, houses of ill-repute, and police departments to see how crime and wickedness in a republic differed from his homeland. Initially, he also seemed slightly interested in American slavery, with a curiosity born of his interest in dark settings and tales and the juxtaposition of freedom and bondage in the still-relatively new nation.
American society and authors welcomed the British literary celebrity, wearying him with grand entertainments, public readings, parties, and receptions. Anxious to fete one of their favorite foreign authors, Americans overwhelmed Dickens with their opinions, handshaking, and crushing parties which were often themed after events or characters in his stories. Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Washington City tried to out-do each other in their entertainments and literary reference. Along the way, Dickens jotted notes and made his touring visits to various factories and dark alleys, boasting in letters that he found plenty of ideas for stories.