Punch & Judy History > Mr. Punch and Charles Dickens

When someone wrote to Charles Dickens seeking to enlist his help in 'banning' Punch as a work of Satan, they didn't know that the eminent author was a fan of the puppet show. Dickens reponse is still quoted by performers today. He wrote "In my opinion the Street Punch is one of those extravagant reliefs from the realities of life which would lose its hold upon the people if it were made moral and instructive. I regard it as quite harmless and as an outrageous joke which no one in existence would think of regarding as an incentive to any kind of action or as a model for any kind of conduct. It is possible, I think, that one secret source of pleasure very generally derived from this performance is the satisfaction the spectator feels in the circumstances that likenesses of men and women can be so knocked about without any pain or suffering". (The Letters of Charles Dickens, Vol V, 1847 - 1849. Ed. G. Storey and K.J.Fielding. Clarendon Press 1981. The letter was written on Nov. 6th.)