Solving the ‘savage stenographic mystery’ of Dickens’s shorthand texts
What the Dickens? Our decoders have been asked to consult on Gurney shorthand related to a nineteenth-century Canadian murder case! Help us crack the code to be in with a chance of winning a 1-year membership for the Charles Dickens Museum!
Deadline: 2 May 2025
Check out the results of our latest challenge here!
Check out the results from our latest challenge here!
Join us to decipher some fiendish fragments from Notebooks E and F!
Deadline: 31 January 2025
Check out the results from our latest challenge here!
Join us for the final challenge based upon Arthur Stone’s Notebook D!
Deadline: 31 October 2024
Check out the results from our latest challenge! Can you identify the source of the unidentified text discovered by the Dickens Decoders?
Our work on Notebook D continues, with just a couple of challenges to go! Download an entry form and have a go!
Deadline: 6 September 2024
Our work on Notebook D continues, with the end now in sight – and a mysterious text from an unknown source has emerged! Can you crack it? Download an entry form and have a go.
Deadline: 2 August 2024
The Dickens Decoders matched most of the shorthand in our May challenge to passages from Sydney Smith’s work – but two unidentified lines remain! Find out more and download a line-by-line transcript here.