Dickens didn’t write about the Preston Lock-out directly in Hard Times, but the book does explore the harsh conditions faced by workers. It is set in the fictional ‘Coketown’ which is thought to be partly based on Preston and it describes the dehumanising effects of industrialisation on society. Through his storytelling, the author vividly describes the challenges faced by the working classes during this period of rapid industrial change. Dickens did however write about the dispute in the magazine he edited, Household Words. He used his time in Preston and his experience of other strikes as inspiration and based some of the characters on real-life figures.