The Guildhall Museum in Rochester exists, in part, to present the work of one of the greatest writers in the English language, Charles Dickens, to the public. It will come as no surprise to discover that in 2026, this consists of denouncing him. Dickens had an “idea of racial superiority”, according to internal guidance produced by the museum. “Today we reject his views… Dickens’s views on race can have no place in our society,” it adds, pointing to “a vociferous intolerance which he expressed in grossly offensive terms”.
It is absurd to condemn Charles Dickens as racist
