A Great and Dirty City: Dickens and the London Fog exhibition dedicated to the life and work of Charles Dickens has opened in London. The event takes place in the house where in the 1830s. the writer lived with his family; now there is a museum. The theme of fog repeatedly popped up in the books of Dickens, and the origin of this phenomenon was far from natural. In the novel "Bleak House" the author explains where the veil enveloping the city comes from: "Smoke spreads, barely rising from the pipes, it is like fine black drizzle ...".
When Dickens settled in a house at st. 48 Doughty Street, the neighborhood was submerged in thick smog. At that time, coal was used to heat hundreds of houses, and numerous columns of smoke came out of the chimneys. This negatively affected the health of Dickens and his family. There is a lot of evidence that the writer suffered from asthma, and a researcher at the University of Buckingham, Dr. Nicholas Cambridge, wrote an entire book on Dickens' physical condition.
The writer mentioned smog and health problems more than once in letters, one of which can be seen at the exhibition. Dickens often suffered from insomnia and shortness of breath, complained of wheezing in his chest. Another exhibit related to the everyday life of the Dickens family is a white scarf that the writer's wife used to cover her nose and mouth. As for the literary heritage, the museum presents the first editions of "David Copperfield" and "Martin Chuzzlewit". In addition, the program includes stories about how for 200 years London has tried (often unsuccessfully) to combat air pollution.
