The Letters of Charles Dickens, 1833-1870

What it is

This is a two-volume edition of The Letters of Charles Dickens, 1833-1870, collecting correspondence written by Dickens over nearly four decades. The letters were selected and edited by Georgina Hogarth, his sister-in-law, together with his eldest daughter, and this edition was published in Boston in 1923 as part of a larger collected works.

Why it matters

Personal letters let readers hear a historical figure's own voice outside of their published fiction. These letters, including correspondence with the novelist Wilkie Collins, show Dickens's everyday concerns, relationships and opinions, and reveal how his family and friends chose to preserve and present his private writing after his death.

Look closer

• Why might editors choose only some letters to publish, and leave others out?
• What does it mean that his own family selected and edited these letters?
• How might reading private letters change what you think you know about a public writer?