Charles Dickens’ characters come alive in Dutch town enamoured with author

The Dutch city of Deventer transformed on Saturday into a pocket of 19th-century England, with 950 people in costumes bringing characters from Charles Dickens’ books to life.

Oliver Twist, Ebeneezer Scrooge and Miss Havisham were among the characters at hand, mingling with chimney sweepers, livestock and Christmas carol singers in Deventer’s historic centre.

Onlookers bowed when Queen Victoria passed through.

Merchants peddled antiques and gingerbread, while people portraying pickpockets tried to avoid being thrown into a mock Marshalsea prison.

The town’s link to Dickens is Emmy Strik, who started the weekend-long festival in protest at rules against keeping her antique shop open on Sunday.

She and other shopowners dressed up in the 19th-century costumes and walked out on the streets. The protest evolved into an annual festival and Ms Strik, now 84, has collected more than 1,000 Dickensian costumes for the event.

Organisers enforce the dress code strictly – no clothes or accessories from after the 1800s.

It is the 32nd edition of the festival, which attracts some 100,000 visitors each year from around the Netherlands and abroad, according to the organisers.

That means big crowds, who line up to enter the narrow streets.

Amateur street actor Stef Jongbloed revelled in the festive energy.

In addition to specific characters, he said, “you also have so many people that just dress up just for fun and just walk around here the entire day, also doing it together is what makes it so amazing”.