‘Didactic’ means ‘intended to instruct’ – but what does Dickens want to teach his pupil Arthur, here? Let’s find out!
Deadline: 3 March 2023
Past challenges
Christmas Special: Fill in the Gaps Challenge
‘Here is a new game’, as Scrooge puts it in A Christmas Carol. For our Christmas Special, we’re inviting decoders old and new to have a go at ‘filling in the gaps’ and solving the symbols that have so far eluded us. Can you crack these ‘impossible’ symbols?
Deadline: Midnight, 31 January 2023.
‘Sunday night’ part I
This month our shorthand page has a longhand date, rather than a longhand title. What does this suggest about the type of document we might be dealing with? Download an entry form and have a go!
Deadline: 30 November 2022
‘Travelling’ part III
Where will these ‘travels’ take us? Help us to find out by taking part in our #SolveItDickens challenge for October, which focuses on the third part of ‘Travelling’.
Deadline: 31 October 2022
‘Travelling’ part II
Our September #SolveItDickens challenge turns to the second part of ‘Travelling’. How does the text continue? We’ll need to transcribe the shorthand to find out!
Deadline: 3 October 2022
‘Travelling’ part I
Our August #SolveItDickens challenge focuses on ‘Travelling’ part I. What is this shorthand dictation exercise about? Is it a travelogue or something else? We’ll need to transcribe the text to find out!
Deadline: 2 September 2022
‘Anecdote’ part II
Our July #SolveItDickens challenge focuses on ‘Anecdote’ part II. How does this story end? We’ll need to transcribe the text to find out!
Deadline: 31 June 2022
‘Anecdote’ part I
Our June #SolveItDickens challenge focuses on ‘Anecdote’ part I. What is this mysterious anecdote about? We’ll need to transcribe the text to find out!
Deadline: 30 June 2022
‘The Two Brothers’ part II
Our May #SolveItDickens challenge focuses on ‘The Two Brothers’ part II. Can we work out how this mysterious ghost story ends?
Deadline: 31 May 2022
‘Nelson’ part II
The mystery deepens with April’s challenge focusing on ‘Nelson’ part II. Look out for words written in longhand that provide additional context clues. Happy solving!
Deadline: 29 April