Dickensblog

What a horserace!

Remember that Atlantic poll from the other day? The one where Bleak House was way ahead? Well, David Copperfield suddenly came charging up to take the lead, and when the poll closed, it had won. (Nina, how'd you do it? ;-) ) Great Expectations was second and Bleak House dropped back to third -- and they were all within half a point of each other!

If you were dying to do a Bleak House readalong, however, no worries -- the Unputdownables blog is doing one.

A few words from our friends

• Natalia Greene wrote to let us know that Xelsion Publishing is republishing Great Expectations in its original serial form at this site, with new photo illustrations by Kerry Tse. Looks good!
• James Matthews wrote to let us know about this beautiful Dickens scuplture that he did! (Image posted with permission.) He's entered it for the Portrait Society Open exhibition. Good luck, James!
  
  
  
• Finally, Christina from ITV Studios, who's provided the Dickens of London DVD for our giveaway, would like me to remind you all that you only have a few more days to enter. The quiz is here; send your answers to me at gdalfonzo AT verizon DOT net. And please remember: YOU MUST GIVE CHARACTER NAMES. If you've only given the book title, then you need to fix your entry! You have until Saturday night at midnight.

Dickens poll

The Atlantic has an online book club called 1book140, and they're planning to read a Dickens book in March. You can go here to vote for which one they should read! The choices: Bleak House, David Copperfield, Great Expectations, Nicholas Nickleby, and Our Mutual Friend. As I write this, Bleak House has a sizable lead, with David Copperfield in second.

Meet another Dickens descendant

Catherine Dickens Gore, a resident of Hungary, was profiled in yesterday's New York Times.

Two important notes on the quiz

First of all, it appears I'm really bad at screening comments. Sorry! It looks like TypePad won't do what I want, which is to let you guys comment while hiding your comments from each other.

So instead, please send your answers to gdalfonzo AT verizon DOT net. I've changed last night's post to reflect that. If you put your answers on the original "Pop quiz" post, that's fine -- I'll count them if you followed the instructions. Which leads me to point two. . . .

Make sure you read the instructions carefully on last night's post. I'm asking for the character names, not the book titles. (I originally asked for both, but last night's post changed that.) If you gave only the book title, you need to go back and give the character names, or you won't be entered in the drawing.

Thanks for your understanding and cooperation!

New(ish) contest

No one tried the quiz I posted a while back. (Sorry, Christy, but "a lot of those quotes sound like Doctor Who" doesn't count. Nice try, though. ;-) ) So I'm going to sweeten the pot. If you correctly identify which characters said the quotes below, in addition to winning $20 for the charity of your choice, you'll be entered into a drawing to win a DVD of the bicentenary edition of Dickens of London! This is a 13-part miniseries about the moments that shaped Dickens's life, starring Roy Dotrice.

Send the answers to gdalfonzo AT verizon DOT net. (And yes, you can use your books and/or search engines.) You have until 12 a.m. on Sunday, March 4, to enter. Good luck!

1. "Where are you staying, abomination?"
2. "Bravo! . . . Or, if Yoicks would be in better keeping, consider that I said Yoicks."
3. "Bless you, man alive, I'm everywhere. I'm here, there, and where not, like the conjurer's half-crown in the lady's handkercher."
4. "Never imagine anything. Have no imagination at all."
5. "The horthe danthed the Polka till he wath dead bet (he would have walthzed, if he hadn't been in harneth), and then I gave him the word and he went to thleep comfortable."
6. "Let him be -- let him be -- or I shall put that mark on some of you, that will bring me to the gallows before my time."
7. "I am nobody. Don't take on to mind me. Don't mention me. Take no notice."
8. "Take another glass of wine, and excuse my mentioning that society as a body does not expect one to be so strictly conscientious in emptying one's glass, as to turn it bottom upwards with the rim on one's nose."

Fundraising update

Our charity readathon now has three readers! A heartfelt thank you to Tryntsje (also known around here as birdienl) for joining us. If you're interested in donating to our fundraising efforts, here's where you go:

• Tryntsje's page (raising money for Great Ormond Street Children's Hospital)
• Mo's page (also raising money for the hospital)
• My page (raising money for the Somaly Mam Foundation, fighting human trafficking in Cambodia)

Any and all donations, of whatever size, are most welcome!

A brief update on our other fundraising efforts: Anyone who contributes a guest post or a piece of art to the blog this year earns $10 for the charity of their choice. Wev'e had three of these so far. David's earnings went to the Great Ormond Street Hospital, Rachel's to Books for America, and Nina's to the Somaly Mam Foundation. Thanks to all our guest writers and artists. Let me know if you're interested in contributing a Dickens-related post or artwork.

And check back tomorrow for a special giveaway that will also help you raise some funds for charity!

A tremendous family to provide for

According to this article, Dickens's novels contain a total of 989 named characters.

That's got to be some kind of a record, don't you think?

7 Quick Takes Friday

• If you're a U.K. resident, you could win a private tour of the Museum of London's Dickens and London exhibition. See the Guardian for details.
• Dickens Journals Online completed their project of putting all of Household Words and All the Year Round online. They're holding a launch conference at the end of March at the University of Buckingham, in conjunction with the University of Leicester.
• The site Dickens Daily is publishing all the novels serially online, one installment per day.
• PBS's Masterpiece has its Great Expectations page up.
• In a video interview with Access Hollywood, Holliday Grainger talks about filming the other Great Expectations (in which she plays Estella), and how much she enjoyed speaking her favorite line from the book.
• The Huffington Post has an interesting article about biblical references in Oliver Twist.
• Marlborough School in Falmouth came up with some fun ways of celebrating Dickens (and had to correct one child who thought Dickens invented the Muppets).

The best of times: Notes from my bicentenary trip

By David Perdue, Guest Blogger

Upon my return from London for events surrounding the Dickens Bicentenary. I received an email from a fellow Dickens Web site owner, Ritva Raesmaa, from Finland. She also attended the events, although sadly I did not meet her. She summed up the few days in London as a “once in a lifetime” trip . . . and I heartily agree!