February 22 @ 2:00 pm – 3:00 pm
As part of the Poe Beyond Baltimore series, a guest lecture at the Charles Dickens Museum in London, England. Visiting from the United States, Enrica Jang, Director of the Edgar Allan Poe House & Museum, presents a talk exploring the brief but intriguing relationship between Charles Dickens and Edgar Allan Poe.
In 1842, Poe sought out Dickens during the novelist’s American tour, hoping for conversation, connection, and perhaps professional support. Though their direct contact was short-lived, it would echo through the rest of Poe’s career. Drawing on surviving correspondence, sharp literary exchanges, and shared frustrations over international copyright, the lecture traces a transatlantic dialogue shaped by admiration, ambition, and creative rivalry.
Jang also examines Poe’s famously perceptive critique of Dickens’s serialized fiction, the possible influence of Dickens’s pet raven, Grip, on Poe’s most iconic poem, and Dickens’s quiet decision to assist Poe’s surviving family years after his death. While Poe’s admiration for Dickens is well documented, Dickens’s view of Poe remains uncertain, leaving behind a literary connection with a wisp of mystery.
This lecture is included with paid admission to the Charles Dickens Museum.
After museum close, continue the conversation with Enrica and actor, Stephen Smith, at Poe & a Pint, a ticketed evening discussion and performance devoted to Edgar Allan Poe, held at a nearby pub within walking distance of the museum in Bloomsbury. Details for the evening event are available here.
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An evening devoted to the life and work of Edgar Allan Poe with actor Stephen Smith, and Enrica Jang, Director of the Edgar Allan Poe House.
Visiting from Baltimore, MD (USA), Enrica Jang, Director of the Edgar Allan Poe House & Museum, and London-based actor Stephen Smith lead an evening devoted to the life and work of Edgar Allan Poe.
Together, they explore Poe’s restless life, the many theories surrounding his strange and still-debated death, and the enduring pull of his writing. Stephen Smith’s acclaimed One Man Poe performances, which have captivated audiences worldwide including at the Edinburgh Fringe and The International Edgar Allan Poe Festival, anchor the evening with intimate dramatic readings from Poe’s poetry and prose.
Presented as part of a wider traveling series with Poe Baltimore, this London gathering offers a rare opportunity to spend time in conversation with the Director of Poe’s Baltimore home and to hear what is stirring next there, including plans for the museum’s historic expansion.
Tickets are limited. One drink is included. Each guest will also receive a small gift from the Edgar Allan Poe House & Museum in Baltimore.
NOTE: The evening event follows a 2:00 PM talk “The Rudge and the Raven: Charles Dickens and Edgar Allan Poe” at the Charles Dickens Museum. That earlier event is free with paid admission to the museum. Details here.
