Ms. Hen reviews Four Literary Houses in Great Britain

Virginia Woolf's writing room

 

Jane Austen Centre 

40 Gay Street, Bath UK

Charles Dickens Museum

40 Doughty Street, London, UK

Sherlock Holmes Museum

221B Baker Street, London UK

Monk's House

Rodmell, Lewes East Sussex UK

Ms. Hen at the Jane Austen Centre

When Ms. Hen went to London, she also went on a bus tour to Stonehenge, and Bath. She had a choice to go to the Roman Bath Museum, or the Jane Austen Centre, and of course she chose Jane Austen. She was the only person of 72 people on the bus that visited the Jane Austen Centre, and the tour guide told her that not many people go there. She was excited, and she listened to the presentation by the guide in Regency costume. She knew most of the information, but she thought it was beneficial to review. Jane Austen lived in Bath up the street from the centre, and she was inspired her time spent in Bath.

Ms. Hen thought the Jane Austen Centre was a little bit anticlimactic. They didn't have any real items that belonged to Austen, it was more of a museum about Jane Austen. The things were well presented, there were clothes of the era people could try on, and different objects that were popular at the time. There is information about the films, and a quill pen people could try. Ms. Hen didn't want to get ink on her feathers.

Ms. Hen in Charles Dickens's Bedroom

The next day, Ms. Hen visited the Charles Dickens Museum in London. Dickens lived in this house for a short time, but things from his other houses were brought there for display. She was astounded by all the items that belonged to Dickens, including furniture, a suit, and a lock of his hair, among others. Guides sat in select rooms to answer questions about the items in the room, and to talk about Dickens. In a room called the "Death Room," Ms. Hen inquired if anyone had thought to clone Charles Dickens from the lock of his hair taken from his corpse, like in Jurassic Park. The lady said that nobody had ever asked that. Ms. Hen doesn't know everything about cloning, and she's not sure if it would work with dead hair. Ms. Hen was thrilled with the Charles Dickens Museum.

Ms. Hen takes a tea break in Charles Dickens's garden

Even though Sherlock Holmes is not a real person, some fans started a museum with items that he would have belonged to him, at his actual address 221B Baker Street in London.

Ms. Hen thought this museum was excellent, designed exactly like Sherlock Holmes' rooms. When she went there, it was a little crowded, and she would have like it better if people were not standing right in front on her. Sherlock Holmes' popularity never seems to fade because there are many different ways to tell his stories. Ms. Hen would like to be as smart as Sherlock Holmes, that is one of her goals in life.

Ms. Hen with a wax figure of Sherlock Holmes

On her last full day in London, Ms. Hen traveled on the train to Lewes, in East Sussex, to go to Virginia Woolf's house, Monk's House. She was under the assumption that she could walk from the station, but she went to the Visitor's Centre in town, and the people there told her it was too far to walk because it was raining. She took a taxi.

The gardens at Monk's House are extensive and lovely. Ms. Hen would have enjoyed it better if it had not been raining. She wandered around, and took lots of pictures. Virginia and Leonard Woolf's ashes are buried in the garden.

In each room of the house, a guide talked about Virginia and the items, and the artwork. Ms. Hen though it was all fascinating. The house is National Trust, which means someone lives there and takes care of it. The house contains lots of artwork by Virginia's sister, Vanessa Bell, and other artists they knew.

Virginia's bedroom has a separate entrance from the house. Her writing shed, her room of her own, is in the back of the garden, and her desk is covered by glass. Ms. Hen thought this was moving. She thinks that Monk's House was the highlight of her trip.