|   Introduction 
              For representations of inns, alehouses and public-houses 
                in the nineteenth century (between 1836 and 1865) Dickens provides 
                the widest range. His descriptions cover everything from the inn 
                sign to the inside furniture to the lives of those working there. 
                In Barnaby Rudge, a historical novel covering the time 
                up to and including the Gordon Riots (1780), an inn - The Maypole 
                - is the central focus, a symbol of olde England that incorporates 
                the best of tradition and the dangers of stagnant conservativism. 
                It is contrasted with a tavern where the rioters meet, The Boot. 
              There are numerous set pieces related to the drinking 
                places, and so rather than attempt to be comprehensive, I have 
                tried to incorporate some of the most entertaining. One of my 
                favourites is when as a lad of about twelve years of age, David 
                Copperfield orders a pint of 'very best ale', much to the amusement 
                of the landlord and his wife. The scene was a reprise from Dickens's 
                own childhood when working at the blacking factory. In listing 
                under each work the drinking-places included, however, I have 
                aimed to be all-inclusive, greatly aided by B. W. Matz's Dickensian 
                Inns and Taverns (London, Cecil Palmer, 1922). This covers 
                all the works, except Pickwick Papers, which he had offered 
                in an earlier book.  
              (This site is still under construction. 'Unnamed' 
                refers to those hostelries which are not given a name in the novel 
                but are based upon actual places. 'Extant' refers to those inns 
                which were real and were still existing at the time of Matz's 
                book, that is, 1920s. I suspect that many of these continue to 
                survive, but in other instances, as in Cattermole's drawing of 
                The Maypole, the information may be 'woefully wrong'. I have indicated 
                those which I know to still flourish as hostelries in case net-browsers 
                would like to browse ('bowse'?) for real. I would be grateful 
                for information regarding the current state of affairs of the 
                others). 
                
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