Peek inside Charles Dickens’ house for Victorian Christmas inspiration.
These days, I’ve been feeling a little bit like a Scrooge. It’s not that I’m not stoked for Christmas, but December really got away from me, personally. I haven’t seen nearly enough holiday movies. Garlands were not strung. Supermarket eggnog has been souring in my fridge for weeks. I neglected to get a tree!
Thankfully, I stumbled upon this delightful video tour of Charles Dickens’ house (now a museum). At the time it was recorded, London was in full holiday swing. The whole house feels like it was lifted right out of A Christmas Carol, sans the chained ghosts in the corner.
A few highlights of the tour:
1. A hedgehog might have been kept in the kitchen to eat insects that were attacking the food.
2. The beloved author designed his own desk for public readings and even took it to America with him when he went on tour. (Can you imagine?)
3. Apparently Dickens was well-known for impersonating his fictional characters to get in their heads and would sit in front of his mirror to do that method acting. (What I would give for a video of him playing out the cast of any of his books!)
I highly recommend putting it on in the background during your much-deserved lunch break to get in the holiday spirit.
