Charles Dickens’ Night Walks collects several essays from the master writer, including the titular account of his inability to sleep. To deal with his insomnia, Dickens walked all about London throughout the night, meeting people of different classes and describing their lives with the same skill he employed to combat classism elsewhere. Dickens influenced Neil Gaiman’s 1988 essay, “Six to Six,” which similarly follows an author wandering the streets of London at night, though Gaiman fills his work with a disappointment that the bustling nightlife is no longer to be found. The other essays include “Gone Astray,” “Chatham Dockyard,” “Wapping Workhouse,” “A Small Star in the East,” “On an Amateur Beat,” “Betting-Shops,” and “Trading in Death.” The essays capture the London of Dickens’ youth and life, bringing to vivid life the people he encountered and the sights he experienced. This Penguin Great Ideas edition is a must-read for those interested in Dickens or the London he knew. ( )

5 stars to the first short story and about 2 to all the others which had nothing to do with Nightwalks at all... ( )

Dickens recounts his walks, mainly around London but also one in Chatham docks. Though the title has it that these are night walks, most of the eight accounts are actually of daytime walks. His walks always began with a definite route planned, which he methodically stuck to, however they seemingly had no other aim than to soak up the ambiance of various locales, to familiarise himself with the social conditions of their inhabitants, and to build a picture of the way of life in different quarters and neighbourhoods. These vary from his visit to a workhouse, a trek around London as a child separated from his guardian, a story of a pop-up betting shop, and some complaints he has on funeral customs.
One of his main interests throughout these essays was to document the poverty and adverse conditions facing a large section of society. He shows a keen interest in humanity in its different forms, and the daily lives and concerns of the poor, and is a compassionate observer throughout. Though-provoking, and valuable as a record of social history. ( )

A collection of essays. I particularly like the one about a time he got lost in the city as a child. ( )

This slim book of essays by Dickens is a true joy to read. While not all of these are actually accounts of his wanderings after sunset due to a case of insomnia, all of them have to do with something dark - making it a cohesive collection. Of course, as this is Dickens, the language is a touch difficult at times, but never to the point where readers won't understand the gist. ( )