'A Metaphysical Sort of Thing': the Shared Reading of Dickens

In our last issue (Spring 2017) we carried a review by Jenny Hartley of a production of A Christmas Carol by the inmates of Wormwood Scrubs Prison. In both that review and the issue's editorial there was some discussion of the therapeutic power of Dickens's writing, its capacity to make profound changes in the life and the sense of self of his reader or listener. Professor Philip Davis is one of the founder members of the Centre for Research into Reading, Literature and Society at the University of Liverpool. His article outlines the variety of studies undertaken by the Centre and concentrates particularly on the use of Dickens's writing as an agent of change.