Dickensblog

'Dodger' casting news

CBBC, the BBC's children's channel, is going ahead with its Oliver Twist prequel series, with Christopher Eccleston starring as Fagin, Billy Jenkins as the titular Dodger, Saira Choudhry as Nancy, and David Threlfall as the chief of police. More information, including a photo of Jenkins as Dodger, is here and here. 

TCM alert

Oliver! is on again today at 1 p.m. Eastern.

TCM alert

A Tale of Two Cities (1935) will air this afternoon at 1:30 p.m. Eastern, as a part of "31 Days of Oscar."

The Muppets are coming!

If you're in the U.K., that is! Tickets are on sale for a British concert tour of The Muppet Christmas Carol next winter, in which a live orchestra will accompany the movie. 

Dickens, Easter, and 'The Life of Our Lord'

I went back on Art Kilmer's podcast, A Cozy Christmas, to talk about Dickens and Easter! You can listen here.

R.I.P, Helen McCrory

The British actress portrayed Kate Dickens in the 2002 docudrama Dickens. She passed away on Friday at the age of 52.

TCM alert

Oliver! airs tomorrow at 8 p.m. Eastern, as part of the channel's "31 Days of Oscar" lineup.

Dickens Fellowship virtual conference

If the virtual Dickens Universe doesn't provide enough Dickens for you in July, consider attending the virtual Dickens Fellowship Conference as well! The event will be held July 16-18. Information, including whom to contact about registering, can be found here. 

Dickens and Easter

I hope all of you who celebrate it had a very happy Easter. The Dickens Society had a fun Twitter thread today (with some pretty cool illustrations) examining all the continuities and contradictions in Dickens's ideas about how to celebrate the holiday -- apparently he liked a big celebration but he also preferred quiet! Start here and scroll down to read the whole thing.

Happy Easter!

In honor of the holiday, the Dickens Museum is offering special "Easter Explorers" virtual family tours this week. Click here for all the details!