Reading Copy of The Story of Little Dombey

In 1858 Bradbury and Evans printed special editions of Dickens’s stories from his reading tour. Dickens continually edited his work, deleting sections by painting out text or gluing pages together, then writing in stage directions. Dickens’s daughter Mamie recalled how, when writing his novels Dickens would jump up, run to a mirror and act out his scenes complete with his character’s voices and facial expressions. Acting was an essential part of his writing process.

The Story of Little Dombey, reading edition, 1858
[lib] 997 © Charles Dickens Museum

Image taken by Lewis Bush, 2025. This image is provided under Creative Commons License 4.0 until 1 April 2031, made possible with The National Lottery Heritage Fund.