Dickens in America in the 1850s. Miriam thinks Dickens would have been pleased to see the rebuilt monument. Ron Dale tells Miriam that Upper Canadians make it very clear that they distinguish themselves from Americans. Miriam travels to Toronto where she meets Dickens collector Dan Calinescu of "Boz and Friends Rare Books". His collection of over 5,000 items includes two original letters written by Dickens, a drawing of Nicholas Nickleby drawn by Catherine Dickens that looks a lot like her husband, first editions and playbills, including one from "The Frozen Deep" at Tavistock House. Miriam admits she is envious. In Montreal, Miriam tours
Dickens in America these would be the meetings he had with American literary figures of the day. He met Longfellow in Cambridge, Washington Irving in New York and Edgar Allan Poe in Philadelphia. Part Six - Washington DC and Richmond Dickens traveled south by steamboat to Washington. Miriam travels along the Potomac in a pleasure boat. The two things that Dickens detested the most about America were slavery and tobacco spitting, which he saw more and more of, as he traveled further south. Dickens praised his first view of Washington and the capitol. (The capitol today is a much expanded building with a