Pictures from Italy: Charles Dickens

`When Dickens has described something you see it for the rest of your life` George Orwell

In 1844, Charles Dickens took a break from novel writing to travel through Italy for almost a year, and Pictures from Italy is an illuminating account of his experiences there. He presents the country like a magic-lantern show, as vivid images ceaselessly appear before his - and his readers` - eyes. Italy`s most famous sights are all to be found here - St Peter`s in Rome, Naples with Vesuvius smouldering in the background, the fairytale buildings and canals of Venice - but Dickens`s chronicle is not simply that of a tourist. Combining compelling travelogue with piercing social commentary, he portrays a nation of great contrasts: between grandiose buildings and squalid poverty, ancient monuments and everyday life, past and present.