Baltimore Branch

Website: baltimoredickens.weebly.com
Regular meeting venue:
Contact: Ruth Scally, [email protected]
Secretary: Andrea Struble [email protected]

The Baltimore chapter became a branch of the Dickens Fellowship in 2014 after having been active for a number of years. Our enthusiastic group of Dickens devotees reads one novel by Dickens each year, with five or six monthly meetings beginning in September.

The Baltimore branch may be unique in that we have an official Sommelier who sends photos, descriptions and tasting notes for the wines he has selected for each meeting. The wines are provided by our Sommelier and served in stemware, adding another dimension of interest to our Dickens discussions.

The group sometimes schedules outings to a theater or other local venue—and in June we have a party, where we celebrate all things Dickens and vote on the next novel selection.

Dickens visited Baltimore in 1842 and was favorably impressed with our public buildings and monuments, many of which still exist. He returned to the city during his second U.S. visit in 1867–68, when he performed a public dramatic reading.

The Baltimore branch welcomes visitors to our meetings! We have resumed meeting in person, though a Zoom option continues to be offered as well. Meetings are on Friday evenings from 7 to 9 p.m. See the schedule in our events listing. Email and let us know if you plan to join us. The Hale Auditorium is located off the E. Melrose Street parking lot behind the church. Enter the auditorium under the green awning.