Welcome to the Rare Book Department's Charles Dickens Collection website. In celebration of the 200th birthday of Charles Dickens in 2012, the Free Library is planning a Year of Dickens to showcase our outstanding collections. Charles Dickens was the most popular English writer of the Victorian age whose work continues to be studied, read, and enjoyed. In his career, which spanned a little over 35 years, he wrote 15 novels (if you count the unfinished The Mystery of Edwin Drood) and countless shorter pieces of fiction and journalism, bringing into the world nearly 1,000 characters, many of them the most memorable characters in all of fiction.
 On this site you will find a digital collection of selected letters, manuscripts, illustrations, and other treasures; a continuously updated guide to the special events that will take place throughout the year; and a blog about all things Dickens that will feature cool discoveries from the collections and reports on festive programs and happenings throughout the library, maintained by our staff librarians as well as frequent guest bloggers.
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Hours |
The Department is open from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday, with a tour each weekday at 11:00 a.m. |
Using the collection |
The collections can be viewed by prior arrangement - appointments can be made by calling 215-686-5416. Many of our collections can be searched online or through catalogs and finding aids that can be found in the department. For more information see our Guide to Collections. |
