A batch of Charles Dickens’ previously unseen and unpublished letters will be displayed for the first time from today.

The 11 letters, which will be available to view at the Charles Dickens Museum in London, include invitation notes, travel details and stories from his time living in the village of Higham, between Strood and Gravesend.

In a letter dated February 10 1866, Dickens complains about the loss of his Sunday postal service in Higham and threatens to move away from his Kent neighbourhood.

He writes: “I beg to say that I most decidedly and strongly object to the infliction of any such inconvenience upon myself.

“There are many people in this village of Higham, probably, who do not receive or dispatch in a year, as many letters as I usually receive and dispatch in a day … I am on the best terms with my neighbours, poor and rich, and I believe they would be sorry to lose me.

“But I should be so hampered by the proposed restriction that I think it would force me to sell my property here, and leave this part of the country.”

The letters also include insights into the author’s reading habits and writing projects as well as details about a trip to Switzerland.

The Charles Dickens Museum acquired more than 300 items related to the Kent novelist, including the letters, from a US collector in 2020.

The full collection includes personal objects, portraits, sketches, playbills and books and is worth £1.8 million.

Emily Dunbar, curator at the Charles Dickens Museum, said: “One of the best things about this collection of letters is that it shows Dickens writing in his thirties, forties and fifties and the variety of topics that were occupying his mind.

“The letter complaining about the loss of Sunday postal delivery is a great example of Dickens showing self-importance, his awareness, his great fame and position in society coming to the fore.

“He also mentions the huge volume of letters leaving and arriving at his address, of which this new set is a tiny but entertaining fraction.”

The 19th century novelist who also lived in Sheerness and Chatham is best known for writing classic novels such as Oliver Twist, David Copperfield and a Christmas Carol. His influence goes far beyond just literature and many of his phrases, characters and ideas have ingrained themselves in modern culture.

Find out more details about the exhibition here. You can also have a look at the new collection online here if you can’t make it to the museum.