The world of Charles Dickens is going to be brought from the pages of his books and the screen, and transformed into a theme park near London.
A 70,000-square-foot warehouse is the place where the new Dickens World will be housed. The cost for creating it is about $135 million.
The backers of the project, which include Dickens fans and followers, say that it is true to the world he wrote about and lived in.
"Would Dickens approve? Yes," said Thelma Grove of the Dickens Fellowship, a global association of the writer's fans. "He loved to see people enjoy themselves, and he had a very sharp eye for the latest fad."
When asked about the missions statement for the indoor attraction, Graves quoted from "Mr. Sleary from Dickens' 'Hard Times': "People must be amused, squire, somehow. They can't be always a-working, nor yet they can't be always a-learning."
It was scheduled to be opened this week, but has be postponed until May 25.
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