Collection: Charles Dickens

Charles Dickens was one of the defining voices of the nineteenth century. A writer whose novels shaped the way Victorian Britain saw itself, his characters remain among the most recognisable in English literature. ...

Born in 1812, Dickens drew deeply on his own experiences of hardship, work, and urban life to create stories that combine social criticism with humour, sentiment, and extraordinary narrative energy. His writing spoke to a mass readership during his lifetime and continues to resonate with readers today.

Dickens is best known for novels such as Oliver Twist, David Copperfield, Bleak House, Great Expectations, Nicholas Nickleby, Little Dorrit, and A Christmas Carol.

First issued in serial form, many of these works developed alongside their readership, allowing Dickens to respond to public reaction as his stories unfolded. His fiction is marked by vivid characterisation, sharp observation of social injustice, and an ability to blend satire and moral urgency with popular storytelling.

This collection at Sancho’s Rare Books brings together books written by and about Charles Dickens, with a particular emphasis on first editions, early and part-issue printings, and significant or collectable editions.

It includes original publications in publishers’ cloth, illustrated volumes, and later fine-press and small-press editions that reflect Dickens’s long publishing afterlife. Sought-after publishers and presses often represented include Chapman & Hall, Bradbury & Evans, The Folio Society, and other presses known for high-quality illustrated classics.

Illustration has always been central to the reception of Dickens’s work, and the collection frequently features artwork by artists such as George Cruikshank and Hablot Knight Browne (Phiz), whose images became inseparable from the stories themselves.

Alongside the novels and tales, the collection is complemented by biographies, letters, criticism, and contemporary studies exploring Dickens’s life, public readings, journalism, and lasting influence.