The Charles Dickens Letters Project

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How to cite:

Individual letter:

Dickens, Charles. To [addressee], [date of letter]. Charles Dickens Letters Project, ed. Leon Litvack, Emily Bell, Lydia Craig and Jeremy Parrott (London: Dickens Fellowship). [URL of individual letter], [date of access].

Database:

Charles Dickens Letters Project, ed. Leon Litvack, Emily Bell, Lydia Craig and Jeremy Parrott (London: Dickens Fellowship), DickensLetters.com.

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Period:

1851-1860

Theme(s):

social engagements

family

To WILLIAM HOWARD RUSSELL1, 30 APRIL 1857

Text from facsimile in Forum Auctions online catalogue, July 2016.

Tavistock House

Tavistock Square

Thirtieth April, 1857.

My Dear Sir

If you should be disengaged for Saturday Week the 9th of May, it would give Mrs Dickens and myself very great pleasure, if you would dine with us that day (a very small party) at half past six punctually. I should be happy to have so good an opportunity of heartily drinking success to the campaign before you.2

Very faithfully yours

CHARLES DICKENS

William H Russell Esquire.

1. Sir William Howard Russell (1820-1907; Dictionary of National Biography), journalist and celebrated war correspondent for The Times. His reports on the war in the Crimea had a great impact.
2. CD was helping Russell to prepare his lectures on the Crimean war; see Pilgrim Letters 8, pp. 337, 763-4.