Dickens 2012 is a network formed to celebrate the bicentenary of the birth of one of the greatest writers in the history of the written word, Charles Dickens.
Widely regarded as the finest novelist of the Victorian era, the power of Dickens’s prose, the richness of his characters and his powerful sense of social morality are just as captivating, and just as relevant, in the 21st century. His most famous stories, among them Oliver Twist, Great Expectations, David Copperfield and A Christmas Carol, have spawned films, plays, television dramas, musicals and even rock groups. After Shakespeare, no other writer matches Dickens in terms of global cultural influence. The 200th anniversary of his birth in 2012 offers a unique opportunity to commemorate the life, work and values of a national treasure, not just in Britain but around the world.
With its headquarters in the Charles Dickens Museum in London, Dickens 2012 will become the centre of the international Dickens community in the run up to the bicentenary. Its aim is to highlight Dickens’s importance in the modern age by planning a global calendar of festivals, exhibitions and education initiatives, honouring both his creative genius and his spirit of social justice.
The bicentenary will coincide with the 2012 Olympics, when London will once again prove itself one of the greatest capitals in the world. Dickens 2012 is delighted to share that spotlight with a year-long diary of events in the city which set the stage for the majority of the author’s masterpieces. Beyond London, there will also be similar events across the UK, as well as in our affiliated institutions stretching from America to Japan, Europe and Australia. In joining together, we hope to make Dickens 2012 the worldwide pageant of language and learning his legacy so richly deserves.