Dickensblog

Dickens: The concert

"Hard Times," a benefit concert in Dickens's honor, will be held Saturday in Milngavie, Scotland, to raise money for the Suzy Fund. Go here for more information.

Dress like Dickens

Do you have what it takes to be a dandy? The Dickens Museum holds a "Sunday Best" event on the first Sunday of each month, offering free admission to those who come "dressed to impress." But you have to meet their exacting standards -- AND you have to speak the right words (from Martin Chuzzlewit). Go here to find out how to pass muster!

Big doings at the Dickens Museum

Ian Keable's magic show "The Secret World of Charles Dickens: Mirth, Marvels and the Mysterious" returns to the Dickens Museum next month. Also next month, the Museum will start a new club for kids, called Little Dickens.

7 Quick Takes Friday

• The much-anticipated new London stage production of Great Expectations opened last night. The Londonist has a review of this "Tim Burton-esque take." And Glamour has a brief report that focuses on the costume design. They have a nice photo of Grace Rowe as Estella.
• Speaking of Great Expectations, Dickensblog reader Charity sends a link to a whole bunch of new still photos from the long-delayed-in-America feature film, and adds that it's driving her nuts that there's still no U.S. release date. I know the feeling.
• The Washington Post offers a tongue-in-cheek look at what Dickens's characters would be up to today. My favorites were the predictions for Oliver Twist and Miss Havisham!
• A replica of a sign that young Charles Dickens used to see on his way home from the blacking factory -- the Dog and Pot sign -- has been unveiled by Mark Dickens, his great-great-grandson. You can read all about it, and listen to Mark's speech, here.
• The Week has a list of 11 words and phrases coined (or at least popularized) by Dickens.
• Novelist Jodi Picoult includes Dickens on her list of the top 10 writers she admires.
• This appears to be a few years old, but it's too good not to share: "NFL Players Whose Names Sound Vaguely Dickensian, and the Characters They Would Be in an Actual Dickens Novel (2007-2008 Regular Season Edition)." I agree that Ethan Albright, Darnell Dinkins, Luke Petitgout, Channing Crowder, Rex Hadnot, James Dearth, Chris Snee, Otis Grigsby, Alge Crumpler, Jeremy Trueblood, Jamaal Fudge, Derrick Dockery, and Darnell Dockett sound vaguely Dickensian. Not so sure about Marcus Maxwell, Will Witherspoon, Langston Walker, and Ellis Hobbs. 

Riverside Dickens Festival under way

A short article and some great photos are here!

Gearing up for Dickensfest

Riverside, California, is getting ready for its annual Dickensfest. The featured book this year is Hard Times. And the Press-Enterprise has some details about the choral concert that will be part of the festival.

Celebrating the 201st with 'Great Expectations'

It won't be as big a deal as his 200th, of course, but the Brits have come up with a great way to celebrate Dickens's 200th birthday in February: The West End production of Great Expectations will be broadcast in theaters around the U.K. And some of the money raised will go to a new charity, The Dickens Legacy, which will be fundraising for issues that concerned Dickens. (I think that's the part of the celebration that would have pleased him most!) I haven't yet been able to find much online yet about the charity; anyone who has details, please feel free to share them in the comments section.

Dickens on the Strand

By Selenia Paz, guest blogger

Dickens on the Strand is a world-famous annual one-weekend festival dedicated to Dickens and his time. It is located in Galveston in the state of Texas, and takes place during the first weekend of December, rain or shine.

This was my first experience visiting the festival, although I had already heard about the parades, the food, the costumes, and the visits from Dickens’s relatives. After missing last year’s festival (and the opportunity to view the famous Dickens’s Dream painting in person) I decided this would be the year I would finally visit the festival, especially with the bicentennial taking place this year.

You can sign Dickens's birthday card!

That is, you can if you visit Galveston's Dickens on the Strand celebration. They're going for a world-record-setting number of signatures (over 4000). Best of luck to them!

British students create 'Oliver Twist' graphic novel

The students are from Dickens's own county of Kent. Read more about their project here.