I think it's time for a post about a museum, because I do visit them a lot. This time I decided to see what the old man Dickens and his home of two years during the early 1800's had to offer at the Charles Dickens Museum in Holborn. I wasn't very exited visit this museum and, as it turned out, with all right. The house itself (a Georgian terraced house) was beautiful. But then, I do have a soft spot for Georgian houses. So for that reason, to just be able to see the inside of what a household of the 1830's could look like the museum is very interesting, but not to learn about Dickens and his work. When I arrived I was asked if I wanted an audio guide which I declined since I was short of time and felt like I would probably learn enough from the information given on the signs. In hindsight, this was a bad decision since the museum actually was poorly equipped with written information. There were some signs about specific objects and stories regarding the life of Charles Dickens but nothing that made me understand the whole history behind the man and the house. Maybe I didn't quite understand the purpose of the museum and was asking for too much. I do feel like I would have loved to learn more though. I think it's a very common thing these days, that museums offer the visitors to pay extra for audio guide, and if you don't your visit won't be as complete as with the audio guide. What a shame, I feel, just because your not willing to pay more than the entrance you miss out on so many things. At the top of the house, just as I was about the exit the museum, there was a time line of Dickens' life. This is the kind of thing that would be very helpful just around the corner of the entrance as an introduction I think. I guess it all depends on what kind of experience you want. My hope was to learn more about Dickens and his work, but the museum centred more around material objects from his life. It was cool to see his writing desk, though, just imagine him sitting there writing some of the greatest novels ever. It would definitely had help if I would have had a somewhat knowledge about Dickens before your visit.The museum was stunning, but not as informative as I would have hoped. I think I'll just have to buy a book or something instead.
