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14 Pickwick Bicycle Club Magazine. Volume 9 No.2 July 2012
As a child himself, Dickens laboured in a miserable boot-blacking factory. This early experience
coupled with the appalling conditions of the Victorian workhouse influenced works like Oliver Twist.
Years later, Dickens became heavily involved in charity work in a bid to improve social conditions,
particularly for women and children. He helped establish a women’s home (Urania Cottage),
developed support for the ragged school movement and often visited workhouses and institutions.
Although known as a critic of the workhouse and the Poor Law Amendment Act of 1834, Dickens
approved of progress where he found it. For instance, in 1863 he visited the Limehouse Children’s
Establishment: “I have never visited any similar establishment, with so much pleasure”, he wrote.
“I have never seen any so well administered, and I have never seen children more reasonably,
humanely and intelligently treated”.”
Item printed by kind permission of the author, Jeff Gerhardt Senior Archivist (Diocesan
Archives) London Metropolitan Archives.

The full article may be found in the book,details of which may be viewed by going to:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/London-1000-Years-Treasures-
Collections/dp/1857596994/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1337784109&sr=8-1

Here is a Newspaper Quote from Mr.Phunky.
To mark Charles Dickens’ Bicentenary year, the Culture Secretary, Jeremy Hunt, has presented
each of his Ministerial colleagues with copies of the Great Man’s novels, according to a report
sent by Mr Phunky.

The books tend to match the characters and roles of the ministers and would probably have
produced some mixed feelings, for Dickens often put his characters in positions of ridicule and,
as the report says, “the pompous, the wicked and the weak.” To give some idea of the thoughts
behind the gifts, here are some of the titles the Culture Secretary allocated to his colleagues:

(With acknowledgments to The Sunday Times): David Cameron, recipient of two volumes: ‘Great
Expectations’ and ‘Hard Times’. ‘A Christmas Carol’, depicting Ebenezer Scrooge, went to Vince
Cable. Nick Clegg, deputy PM received a copy of ‘Oliver Twist’ and the Chancellor , George
Osborne, ‘A Tale of Two Cities.’ Ken Clarke and Theresa May each received ‘Little Dorrit’ while
the Communities Secretary, Eric Pickles, received the little-known ‘A House to Let.’

Ian Duncan Smith, Work and Pensions Minister, rightly received ‘Oliver Twist’ and ‘Dombey and
Son’ went to the Transport Secrtary, Justine Greening. ‘Bleak House’ for Lord Strathclyde and
‘The Old Curiosity Shop’ went to each of his three colleagues in the Cabinet Office, Oliver Letwin,
Francis Ward and Baroness Warsi.

Our favourite work, ‘The Pickwick Papers’, went to my not so favourite local MP, Cheryl Gillan,
who has recently done an about-turn on the HS2 project. Seven other members received gifts
one amusingly for the Foreign Secretary, William Hague, who received ‘The Uncommercial
Traveller.’