Sketch of Dickens performing

This rare sketch shows Dickens acting with friends in his play, Mr. Nightingale’s Diary. Drawn by Dickens’s neighbour Nathaniel Powell during a performance at Tavistock House, it catches the frenetic energy and dynamism of Dickens’s acting. It also gives us a glimpse into the costumes and staging for these plays not recorded elsewhere.

Sketch of Dickens performing in 'Mr. Nightingale’s Diary', 1857
DH1243 © Charles Dickens Museum
Purchased with support from The Art Fund and Arts Council England/V&A Purchase Grant Fund.

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.