A Flattering Caricature

Dickens preferred caricatures of himself to serious portraits. This example commemorates his visit to Edinburgh, where he was lauded at a banquet. Dickens was smug about his youthful appearance at the dinner: ‘my brown flowing locks’ surrounded by grey heads. The caricature depicts him as he wanted to be seen: a literary ‘lion’ (complete with mane) bowing before his public. The pencil additions of Walter Scott and Shakespeare flatteringly suggest Dickens is their successor.

Unknown artist, print of Dickens being received by the Edinburgh literati,
with later pencil additions, 1841.
DH848 © Charles Dickens Museum.
Purchased with support from the National Heritage Memorial Trust, the Art Fund, Friends of the National Libraries and the Dickens Fellowship.