Fifteen Eighty Four

Head to the Wisbech and Fenland Museum in Wisbech, England, and you can see the original autograph manuscript for Great Expectations, often considered one of Charles Dickens’ finest works. A gift from Dickens to his friend Chauncey Hare Townsend, the manuscript is an amazing window into Dickens’ brain, with clues to his creative process and the construction of this literary classic.

In this video, David Wright, curator of the Wisbech, takes us through the pages of the manuscript, exploring Dickens’ corrections, ink splotches and the start of an alternative ending. To see more, check out The Manuscript of Great Expectations, a full-color reproduction of every page of the manuscript.