Dickensblog

One question for Dickens

I got this question as part of a LiveJournal meme recently:

If you could see Charles Dickens face-to-face and ask him one question about anything, what would you choose?

My answer:

'Little Dorrit' music video

We haven't had one of these in a while, so here's a nice one! This video is by YouTube user bubblewrapstargirl. The song is "A Thousand Years" by Christina Perri.

 

Podcasting Dickens

The other day I did a podcast with Emily Whitten of Redeemed Reader and Rea Berg of Beautiful Feet Books. I was there representing Youth Reads, a Web page that I run as part of my day job. But I mention it here because, in the course of our conversation about what constitutes a virtuous love story, Dickens came up quite a lot! At various points, you can hear us talk about Bleak House, Our Mutual Friend, and Little Dorrit.

Picspam: The button

Thanks to Marian for our first picspam, from Little Dorrit! Below the cut . . .

Dickens and peacocks

In case you didn't know, they go great together! Here are a few photos of a beautiful box made for me by my good friend Wendy Bilen Thorbjornsen. Click photos to enlarge.

Dickens on Screen: A Retrospective

by Rachel McMillan, guest blogger

One of the highlights of my year was the Dickens on Screen festival at the TIFF Bell Lightbox in Toronto. This particular event, organized to coincide with the bicentenary, had several stops and was curated by Adrian Wootton, the chief executive of Film London  and an avid Dickensian and film historian in his own right.

TCM alert

Part 1 of the 1988 Little Dorrit, with Derek Jacobi, Sarah Pickering, and Alec Guinness, airs on TCM at 6 a.m. Eastern tomorrow (Saturday). Part 2 airs at the same time next Saturday morning. Thanks to Rachel for the tip.

The 'Tale of Two Cities' bracelet

I made this for a challenge at the Great Tales LiveJournal comm: Create some sort of fan work, other than a fanfic, that tells a story. This is a charm bracelet that tells the story of A Tale of Two Cities. Wanted to share it with my fellow Dickensians!

 

Sorry about the blurry photo -- it was the best I could do! A description of the charms and their meaning is below the cut.

The most villainous villain

A friend remarked the other day that she thought Rigaud/Blandois in Little Dorrit was the most evil of all Dickens's villains. That got me thinking. If I had to choose, I think I'd probably give Bill Sikes that title. The man is sheer brutality; I can't find one redeeming feature in him.

Of course, I reserve the right to change my mind in the future, because there are an awful lot of villains to choose from!

What do you think? Who's the most evil Dickens villain, and why?

Dickens Fellowship Conference photos, part 3

More photos from the birthplace: