Dickensblog

Dickens autograph sold at auction

The signature, accompanied by a quote from A Christmas Carol, brought over $23,000.

A Dickensian top ten

The Independent offers a "top ten" ranking of Dickens's novels. See what you think of their choices. There are some expected ones, but also some surprises!

A 'Great Expectations' Christmas

In the midst of all the Christmas Carol commemorations, a writer and an artist have given Great Expectations a turn in the spotlight. In a thoughtful piece at The Boston Globe, Joan Wickersham observes that, though Pip's Christmas in the early part of the book is  darker than Scrooge's, it may have something important of its own to communicate to us. And at The New York Times, Edward Carey has done a marvelously eerie drawing capturing some of the main characters, relationships, and settings of the book.

Celebrating 'A Christmas Carol'

In honor of the book's upcoming 175th anniversary, The New York Times has a lovely illustrated timeline about its history of covering the book over the years. And The Weekly Standard has a reflection -- inspired by the Muppet version, interestingly! -- on some of the deeper and darker themes in the story.

'A Christmas Carol' on TV

In accordance with our usual tradition, here is this year's list of Christmas Carol airings! As always, keep checking back for updates, and let us know if you come across any that I've missed. All times are Eastern.

• Scrooge (1935, starring Seymour Hicks): December 23 at 6 a.m., TCM
• A Christmas Carol (1938, starring Reginald Owen): December 2 at 8:30 a.m., TCM
• Scrooge, a.k.a. A Christmas Carol (1951, starring Alastair Sim): December 23 at 10 p.m., TCM
• A Christmas Carol (1984, starring George C. Scott): December 3 at 6:45 and 9:45 a.m.; December 11 at 2:25 and 5:25 p.m.; December 14 at 8 and 11 a.m., HBO2
• A Christmas Carol (1999, starring Patrick Stewart): December 3 at 8 p.m., Get TV
• Disney's A Christmas Carol (2009, starring Jim Carrey): December 7 at 9:50 p.m.; December 8 at 2:20 p.m.; December 12 at 9 p.m., Freeform

Recent Dickens mentions

A number of good new "books about books" have recently come out, quite a few of which offer Dickens recommendations. (I've read all the way through the first two -- with the others, I've just read the Dickens sections so far!)

• My friend Karen Swallow Prior, author of Booked: Literature in the Soul of Me, has a new book out called On Reading Well: Finding the Good Life through Great Books, in which she uses various novels and short stories to highlight different virtues. A Tale of Two Cities illustrates the concept of justice. (I got to read an early version of the chapter and offer feedback, which was an honor and a treat!) Karen's excellent book recently was named one of the Best Books of 2018 by Publisher's Weekly.
• In I'd Rather Be Reading: The Delights and Dilemmas of the Reading Life, Anne Bogel (who blogs at Modern Mrs. Darcy) names David Copperfield as one of the books that helped her to come of age as a reader.
• Book Girl: A Journey through the Treasures & Transforming Power of a Reading Life  by Sarah Clarkson states, "There is no one quite like Dickens" and names him one of the author's "most beloved" writers. Clarkson pays tribute to David Copperfield for its striking imagery and understanding of human nature, Bleak House for its quietly faithful heroine, and Oliver Twist for its suspense. And she quotes a friend who recommends Dombey and Son and Martin Chuzzlewit. 
• James Mustich's 1,000 Books to Read before You Die: A Life-Changing List has a great chapter on Dickens. "It's as if the author has not set out to write a novel," he observes, "but has been dropped into a pulsing reality he has to write his way through, much in the way we must construct a life." Mustich specifically recommends David Copperfield, Oliver Twist, Nicholas Nickleby, A Christmas Carol, Dombey and Son, A Tale of Two Cities, and Great Expectations.

 

Birthday party for 'A Christmas Carol'

Dickens's Christmas classic is turning 175 this year! The Dickens Museum is hosting a celebration with Lucinda Dickens Hawksley the evening of December 19, including "mulled wine, mince pies and tales of Christmases past." If you're in the area, click here to buy tickets!

Lost and found: Missing portrait of Dickens discovered

A man who paid a little over $30 for a bunch of junk at a sale in South Africa discovered a treasure in it: a long-lost portrait of 31-year-old Charles Dickens, painted by artist and suffragette Margaret Gillies. Art dealer and TV personality Philip Mould, who helped identify the portrait, says, “He was moments away from basically throwing away this fungus-covered picture and then he started looking at it and realised that the face was very compelling.” Mould says that the portrait "ranks among the most exciting things we have ever discovered."

The painting has been restored and had its official unveiling today at Mould's gallery, according to Dickens scholar Dr. Pete Orford, who was there. The Dickens Museum is raising money to buy it so it can be put on permanent display there.

Always check your garage sale boxes of junk carefully, folks -- you never know what might turn up!

Exploring 'The Mystery of Edwin Drood'

The Daily Beast has an installment on Dickens's final, unfinished book in its "Lost Masterpieces" series. I was a little surprised that the article didn't mention Pete Orford's new book on the subject, The Mystery of Edwin Drood: Charles Dickens' Unfinished Novel and Our Endless Attempts to End It (which I'm currently reading). But that omission aside, it's a good and educational read, both for those who already know the novel and those who are new to it. 

R.I.P. Stan Lee

You've probably heard a lot of tributes today to Marvel Comics's Stan Lee, who has passed away at the age of 95. But did you hear that he was a fan of Charles Dickens from his childhood? In this interview, he spoke of buying the novels of Dickens and other classic authors for 50 cents apiece when he was a boy. And in this one, he mentioned that Dickens's "interesting characters" helped him formulate his ideas about how to portray superheroes' personalities.