Dickens and Race

Abstract

Abstract:This article provides an overview of Dickens's representations of race and racial difference in his fiction, letters and journalism, and it outlines the changing and sometimes contentious critical response to those representations and the claims made about them. It examines highlights and shifts in arguments on the subject of Dickens and race, particularly in light of the "Anti-racism Statement of the Charles Dickens Society" (2021) and current efforts to "undiscipline" Victorian Studies.