Great Expectations
Part of Charles Dickens' novel Great Expectations is set in and around Rochester and since we were in the area it seemed an ideal opportunity to see these places. Two of my older children are reading this classic and although they weren't on the trip, I wanted to have some pictures.
The first chapter is thought to have been set in the graveyard of St James' church, Cooling.
This, rather sad, set of graves is thought to have inspired the description of Pip's family graves.
It wasn't possible to read the information on the headstone but inside the church it stated that these are the graves of the children from two families buried in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. Desperately sad for the parents.
The area around the church was flat although not quite as marshy as I anticipated.
Further on, we found some really marshy land. It is easy to imagine the escaped convicts on a December day.
Of course, the pylons, fences and litter are new although I think it just adds to the desolation of the area.
Do you like to see the settings of books?
Oh I miss the graveyard when we went there. I bought a great Dicken's book at a museum in London when they had a huge Dicken's exhibit last year. I can't wait for my kids to start reading him. I loved his stories.
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Thank you!
DeleteThere are some tours of Dickens' London. I've never been on one but they certainly sound interesting. I read Bleak House for the first time, recently, and couldn't put it down.
Wow! That is so interesting! I'm pinning this so I'll remember next time I read the book. What a sad grave that is!
ReplyDeleteMay you have a blessed Easter weekend,