This post is contributed by Miriam Helmers and Elizabeth Grimshaw. The Dickens Society generously provided both authors with bursaries to offset Symposium costs. Elizabeth Grimshaw is currently working at the University of Cambridge library while completing her PhD on Charles Dickens and the Magic Lantern at the University of Buckingham. Miriam Helmers has recently completed her PhD on simile in the works of Charles Dickens at University College London and is currently working as a teacher of English and Latin at Hawthorn School, Toronto, Canada. Photographs by Katie Bell and Lydia Craig.

The last Dickens Symposium, “Dickens Through Glass”, took place in Rochester, New York, in July 2023. The summer may now seem to be long gone in these A Christmas Carol days, but impressions from the days of conferencing last much longer. You might already be thinking about the abstract of your paper for the next Dickensian gathering in 2024 in Birmingham, UK, so here we share some of the invaluable benefits we think you can get from attending the annual conferences. (The call for papers for “Dickens, Context and Co-occurrence” is open until 15 January; our Symposiums are not just for academics, but for all Dickensians! We do hope you’ll join us.)

True to the purpose of the Dickens Society to promote research and interest “in the life, times, and literature of Charles John Huffam Dickens” (for that future pub quiz question), the 28^th Dickens Society Symposium was vibrant with pure enjoyment of all things Dickensian. From outgoing President Sean Grass’s warm introduction in the first Reception to incoming President Chris Louttit’s entertaining presiding of the Dickens Dinner on the last evening, we found ourselves welcomed by a friendly group of eminent scholars willing to share and learn from each other. 

Our Symposia also have outings and adventures for attendees, and on our last day in Rochester, we visited the largest living history museum in New York: the Genesee Country Village & Museum. This 600-acre landscape contains 68 historic structures, all rescued from across the region and reconstructed on-site. Each structure carries its own unique history with it to this new shared landscape. John J. Wehle, Chairman of the Genesee Brewing Company, founded the museum in 1966 to preserve the all too quickly vanishing built heritage of the nineteenth century. Today, his descendants still celebrate his legacy with artwork and costume exhibits in the gallery which bears his name. The past here is not static but rather an active, curated creation where the viewer plays an integral role by interacting with the space, following the map at their own pace.

The last evening of all Symposia is reserved for the Dickens Dinner; Rochester’s was held at the Banquet Center of the GCV&M. The David O. Paroissien Prize, in honour of the late great David Paroissien, was awarded to Eva Dema for her article ‘“Wind, Wind, Wind, Always Winding Am I’: Dickens’s Metafictional Clockwork.” Anya Eastman received the Robert B. Partlow prize for her paper, presented at the conference, “Mediated Perceptions, Refractions and Reflections: Reading the Dickens Museum as Pepper’s Ghost.” Diana Archibald, the Dickens Society treasurer for many years and one of the founding members, was awarded the eponymous Diana Archibald Prize for Service to the Society. Natalie McKnight and Lillian Nayder introduced this last award with some moving words of appreciation for Diana, showing how she has been a mainstay of the Society. Diana’s acceptance speech was full of the spirit of the Society as she showed her gratitude for this recognition of her hard work and spoke of fond memories of her fellow members: “I love you guys,” she said. Diana’s dedication to Dickens scholarship and to the Dickens Society has made it possible for others to continue sharing insights and laughter; she has been (and continues to be) a warm fixture who encourages new scholars to feel welcome and supported in the Society. 

In reflecting on “Dickens Through Glass,” we are thankful to the conference organizers for curating the speakers and panels so thoughtfully and thus allowing conference-goers to curate their own unique conference experiences by selecting from such a wide variety of intriguing papers. As we continue to view Dickens through glass, whether on screen, online, or in person, we can curate and create our own ongoing connections to his life and work. We hope to see you in Birmingham this summer!