Dickensblog

Calls for papers

Here's one for "Dickens and Decadence," a September conference at the University of Stockholm; and here's one for papers on "Polyphonic Dickens" at the 2022 MLA Annual Convention. Thanks to Sara Malton of the Dickens Society for the tip!

Dickens's door

Atlas Obscura has a fun little piece about the door and mirror that are all that's left of Dickens's stay at the Parker House Hotel in Boston.

Happy 209th birthday, Mr. Dickens!

Charles Dickens famously enjoyed having people over for his birthday. This year you can go visit his home virtually, via a guided tour at the Facebook page of Charles Dickens' Birthplace Museum (see more here). Additionally, this collection of images at The (Portsmouth) News takes you through photos of the author and some of the things and places related to him, as well as illustrations from some of his books. Enjoy the tours, and raise a glass to The Inimitable!

A Dickens birthday party

The Dickens Museum is hosting an online party tomorrow at 7 p.m. UK time (2 p.m. Eastern ), and all are invited! Lucinda Dickens Hawksley and Miriam Margolyes will be on hand to take questions, do readings, and talk about how Dickens celebrated his birthday. The cost is 10 pounds plus a .50 pound booking fee (about $14.50).  Register now to get the Zoom link e-mailed to you!

R.I.P., Christopher Plummer

The beloved Canadian actor passed away today at the age of 91. He was a chilling Ralph Nickleby in Nicholas Nickleby (2002) and a magnificent Scrooge in The Man Who Invented Christmas (2019). I'll always wish he could have tackled the latter role in a full-blown Christmas Carol adaptation!

Award nominations for 'Copperfield'

The Personal History of David Copperfield got one Golden Globe nomination (Best Actor in a Musical or Comedy for Dev Patel) and four Satellite Award nominations (Comedy or Musical, Actor in a Comedy or Musical for Patel, Art Direction and Production Design for Cristina Casali and Charlotte Dirickx, and Costume Design for Suzie Harman and Robert Worley). Nice to see, but of course I wish there were more!

'Twist' released in the U.K.

The new Oliver Twist update has been released via British movie channel Sky Cinema, and the early reviews are . . . not great. Take a look here. If you're in the U.K. and have seen Twist, let us know whether you agree with the critics, or enjoyed it!

Meet Augustus Dickens

On Tuesday, January 26, at 1 p.m. Eastern, Lucinda Hawksley will give an online talk about Charles Dickens's brother Augustus (her own "great x4 uncle"), based on her own research conducted in his town of Chicago. Click here to find out more and to sign up! 

The letter that wasn't?

British shopping channel Ideal World had to pull a Dickens letter they were offering for sale when Dr. Leon Litvack of The Charles Dickens Letters Project claimed it was a forgery. But the channel promises "further enquiries" to try to verify that the letter is genuine. Read more here.

A crown for Scrooge

In honor of the 150th anniversary of Dickens's death, Ascension Island released a commemorative Christmas Scrooge crown, available in Cupro Nickel or Proof Sterling Silver. I would have posted about this last month, but they were out of stock. They've since restocked, but the nickel have run out again and the silver are running low, so get them while you can! More information is here.