Dickensblog

Taking over the world, one reader at a time

Nice article here by Luanne Austin, who nearly ditched Dickens for good after reading The Old Curiosity Shop twenty years ago, but was won back over by A Tale of Two Cities (note: article contains spoilers):

“Tale” has such relevance for today, about how corrupt governments can so oppress and impoverish a people as to drive them to desperate acts of violence.

Dickens does not romanticize the people who led the French Revolution, though. It is a sordid tale of how the oppressed so often — personally and politically — become the oppressors.

Against the backdrop of this human misery and murder, the tale of Sydney Carton shines. He too is oppressed and impoverished, corrupted in the deepest places of his heart. Unlike the rebels, though, he has no thirst for vengeance but a hunger for righteousness, restoration and redemption.

I'm very happy to have been one of those who helped talk Luanne into giving Dickens another try, over at Arts and Faith. Welcome to the world of Dickens fans, Luanne!

. . . And now a few tidbits for the American fans

• Arizona residents can win a Disney DVD by answering this question from the Arizona Daily Star: "In what Dickens adaptation did Daniel Radcliffe debut?" No, don't put the answer in our comment section here -- we already know what it is. Send it to the Star. The deadline is tomorrow at noon, and you have to be able to pick up your prize in person if you win.
  
  (I won't use the tag for that book in this post, just so we can't be accused of helping anyone cheat!)


• North Carolina residents are in for a treat: PlayMakers Repertory Company is putting on Nicholas Nickleby -- the enormous, two-part version with some 150 characters -- this fall. Even those of us who aren't near enough to go can get a small taste of the production via their new blog, Nicholas Nickleby: From Page to Stage. (Thanks to BethR at Arts and Faith for the blog link!)

How come Europe gets all the good stuff first?

First came the German poster for A Christmas Carol; now Italy has a trailer! Alas, despite four semesters of studying the language, I haven't retained enough Italian to be able to comprehend very much. And very few of the characters show up here, and the video quality isn't great.

On the plus side, the Italian version of "Bah! Humbug!" cracked me up.

Scrooge: The Sermon

Wonder if I could talk my pastor into something like this?

Dickens and vampires?

Oh, Pride & Prejudice & Zombies, what hast thou wrought?

Eleven Emmy nominations for 'Little Dorrit'

A very respectable showing! Below is the complete list with my observations:

• Outstanding Miniseries. Excellent! And it only has one competitor, HBO's Generation Kill.
• Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie: Tom Courtenay as Mr. Dorrit and Andy Serkis as Rigaud. (Wonder if it took them a while to figure out which name to assign Serkis's character.) That's it for the actors: There's nothing for Matthew Macfadyen or Claire Foy, leaving me fuming yet again over the stupid unwritten rule that says that those who play bad guys, or semi-bad guys, are worthier of acclaim than those who play good guys. Still, Courtenay's and Serkis's were both fine performances -- especially Courtenay's, I think.
• Outstanding Writing for a Miniseries, Movie or a Dramatic Special: Andrew Davies. Well, Mr. Davies, as many reasons as I found to fuss at you over the course of five weeks, you did do a very nice job overall. Good on you.
• Outstanding Directing for a Miniseries, Movie or a Dramatic Special: Dearbhla Walsh, director, for part 1. I don't care for this Emmy trick of splitting up miniseries into their component parts and only awarding some of those parts. Here it means that two other fine directors get left out. I'm glad for Dearbhla Walsh but sorry for the others.
• Outstanding Art Direction for a Miniseries or Movie: James Merifield, production designer; Paul Ghirardani, art director; Deborah Wilson, set decorator. Well deserved. I knew that Alice-in-Wonderland set at the Circumlocution Office would get 'em.
• Outstanding Casting for a Miniseries, Movie or a Special: Rachel Freck, casting director. At least there's something acknowledging the excellence of the whole cast, even if the cast itself is criminally underrewarded.
• Outstanding Cinematography for a Miniseries or Movie: Lukas Strebel, director of photography, for part 1. Don't know much about cinematography, and I don't know what made part 1 worthier than any other part, but good job, Mr. Strebel.
• Outstanding Costumes for a Miniseries, Movie or a Special: Barbara Kidd, costume designer, and Marion Weise, costume supervisor, for part 3. Part 3? So it wasn't the toga that got their attention after all. Huh. Must have been those fancy ensembles of Fanny's -- or maybe Emmy voters just have a thing for purple.
• Outstanding Hairstyling for a Miniseries or a Movie: Karen Hartley-Thomas, department head hairstylist. All those feathers and things in the hair for Fanny and Mrs. Merdle paid off!
• Outstanding Music Composition for a Miniseries, Movie or a Special (Original Dramatic Score): John Lunn, composer, for part 5. Now if only we could have his outstanding music composition on a soundtrack!

The Creative Arts Emmys will be given September 12, and the Primetime Emmy ceremony is September 20. Congratulations and good luck to all the Little Dorrit nominees!

Creating a culture of charity

Thanks to Amanda for sending me the link to this engaging and thoughtful review of Jenny Hartley's Charles Dickens and the House of Fallen Women (which I've finally bought for myself). A sample:

He was the writer whose depiction of cruelty, poverty, and urban suffering most directly shaped the moral imagination of his countrymen. In so doing, he played a direct part in cultivating the charitable impulse that remains such a conspicuous and attractive part of English culture.

And special thanks to Brian Murray, writer of the article, who's graciously agreed to send me a copy of his own book, the delightfully named Bedside, Bathtub & Armchair Companion to Dickens.

Blast from the past

I've actually never seen Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol, but I know it's loved by a lot of people. If you're going to Comic-Con, you might want to get a glimpse of this.

A Dickens of a Christmas

. . . complete with a real Dickens!

Who's who, Dickens edition

My poster's here! And I wish you all were on hand to help me identify the illustrations. I'm feeling rather ignorant right now. So far I've picked out (or I'm pretty sure I've picked out) Miss Mowcher; Scrooge and Marley; Little Dorrit, Blandois, Mrs. Clennam, Affery, and Flintwinch; David Copperfield and Dora; young David and Betsey Trotwood; Lucie Manette and her father; Pickwick and his friends; Pip and Magwitch; Little Nell; Nicholas Nickleby with Mr. and Mrs. Squeers; and Lizzie Hexam and Eugene Wrayburn. But there are still so many left!