Dickensblog

Al Kasha, R.I.P.

You may have seen the news that the award-winning songwriter died last Monday at age 83 . . . but did you know he wrote a musical version of David Copperfield? Copperfield the musical ran for only 39 performances on Broadway in 1981, but it did earn Kasha and his songwriting partner Joel Hirschhorn a Tony nomination for Best Original Score!

'David Copperfield' -- an Iannuccian Dickens movie or a Dickensian Iannucci movie?

By Cody M. Quanbeck, guest blogger

Adaptations can be very divisive. Two people can both be fans of a work and disagree with what an adaptation of it should be like. Some people want an adaptation to capture the feeling of its source. Others want it to be its own thing.

Armando Iannucci’s new cinematic adaptation of David Copperfield, Charles Dickens’s beloved novel about friendship, marriage, parenthood, and life in general, is an adaptation of the second kind. That isn’t to say that it’s a completely different animal from the book. Both Dickens and Iannucci (and Iannucci’s cowriter, Simon Blackwell—a good name for a Dickens character, actually) indulge in elaborate sarcasm, satiric caricatures, and florid, enjoyably artificial dialogue.

Dame Diana Rigg, R.I.P.

The beloved British actress's Dickens connection was playing Lady Dedlock in the 1985 Bleak House miniseries. She passed away Thursday at the age of 82.

Keeping up with 'The Gospel in Dickens'

If you'll indulge me in some more book promoting (this is how it is when there's an author in your life! :-) ):

• Here's a lovely writeup of The Gospel in Dickens by Byron Borger of Hearts & Minds Bookstore, who will host the book's launch event on September 22. If you pre-order the book from Byron now, you can get 20 percent off. (Note: The Hearts & Minds site works a little differently from most; you order a book by typing the title and author into the space provided. But it's quite easy to do, and I can testify that the customer service is great.) 
  
  Also, five free autographed copies of the book will be given away at that event! If you sign up to attend, you'll be automatically entered in the drawing, and the winners will be announced during the event.
  
  
• I spoke with Betsy Farquhar at Redeemed Reader about the new book (along with my other new book, Dorothy and Jack: The Transforming Friendship of Dorothy L. Sayers and C.S. Lewis).

Hawksley on 'Dickens and Film'

Tomorrow at 2 p.m. Eastern, writer and lecturer James Clarke will host an online conversation with Dickens descendant Lucinda Hawksley on "Dickens and Film." Go here to find out more and to buy tickets! 

'Quilp' soundtrack released

Footlight Records has released the soundtrack of the musical film Quilp, based on The Old Curiosity Shop and starring Anthony Newley, David Hemmings, and Michael Hordern. (Their site says it's a '60s musical, but IMDb puts the release of the film -- also known as Mr. Quilp -- in 1975). Apparently this is the first time this soundtrack has been released, so I can't tell you how it sounds! But I can tell you that Footlight is having a Labor Day weekend sale, so if you order now, you get a couple dollars off. (Note: This soundtrack is in CD-R format.)

First look at 'The Gospel in Dickens'

That is, first up-close-and-personal look for Mr. Dickens and me! Click to see . . .

'David Copperfield' arrives in U.S. theaters

Armando Iannucci's The Personal History of David Copperfield had its official U.S. release date today. Obviously, it's not at all the sort of release many of us anticipated. I'd been planning to be there the first weekend, if not the first night -- now I'm not sure if I'll make it to the theater at all during its run. Even as more and more movie theaters open, it still feels like a big risk to take.

But then, that's a decision everyone has to make for himself or herself. If you go (no judgment here, as long as you carefully follow your theater's safety procedures, of course!), please drop by the comments section and let us know what you thought!

In any event, Copperfield has been met with acclaim on this side of the pond (currently at 93 percent positive on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes), so even under the difficult circumstances, I don't see this film dropping out of sight. 

Faber's Dickensian fantasy

Novelist Michael Faber, perhaps best known for The Crimson Petal and the White, has written a Young Adult fantasy novel called D: A Tale of Two Worlds, described by one reviewer as an "extravagant fantasia on Dickens." The book will be published September 17 in the U.K. and December 8 in the United States.