Dickensblog

The 'Barnaby Rudge' Read: Week 15

In the last installment, Barnaby and his mother went on a journey, and Mr. Haredale and Gabriel Varden discovered a surprise at the Rudge house. This week, read chapters 27 and 28.

And if you need to get caught up with the reading, now's a good time to do it, because next week there's going to be a quiz -- with a prize!

Brought to Life, part 6

Here's my chapter. Let us know if you want to write the next one!

***

“Not one other word did Bradley utter all that night. Not once did he change his attitude, or loosen his hold upon his wrist. Rigid before the fire, as if it were a charmed flame that was turning him old, he sat, with the dark lines deepening in his face, its stare becoming more and more haggard, its surface turning whiter and whiter as if it were being overspread with ashes, and the very texture and colour of his hair degenerating.”
 
As the words rang out in Estella’s clear voice, they seemed to be reflected in the silent figure sitting before her. That lovely young voice might have been the voice of a magician working Bradley Headstone’s doom upon him, the words shriveling him into the gaunt shadow of himself.
 
“Not until the—” The voice broke off abruptly as the reader was jolted by a sudden bump from behind her. Dropping the book on the table, she whirled to face the man who had stumbled against her. Her delicate brows drew together in a look of scorn at the luckless fellow, who stepped back at the sight.

Still more Hitchens and Dickens

Remember brothers Christopher and Peter Hitchens and their differing takes on Dickens? I just read today that Peter won the Orwell Prize, a prestigious journalism award. And the judges compared him to -- guess who?

I'll bet he's tickled pink.

I'll drink to that

Melissa LR Handa, book reviewer for AnnArbor.com, has picked A Tale of Two Cities as "this week's recommended read." Click here to read her (very spoilerish) review.

Did Oliver Twist die young?

Science writer Wray Herbert uses Oliver to illustrate a new theory about child abuse and its long-term effects, and gives Oliver's creator a shoutout for being "ahead of his time in sounding the alarm about the mistreatment of children." (If Oliver was on a path to early death, one has to wonder if the same was true of Pip and David Copperfield and a whole host of other Dickensian children.)

The not-so-invisible woman

"Now a film is set to expose this little-known aspect of Dickens' life, first documented in Claire Tomalin's revisionist biography, The Invisible Woman."

Um, excuse me, people, but it can't exactly be little-known when no one ever shuts up about it.

Yeah, I'm grumpy. All the adaptations of his actual books that we're clamoring for, and we get . . . this. And it's not that I think that everything shady in a famous person's life should be kept secret, but this gossipy muckraking instinct turns my stomach. Especially when you read all the stuff that the people from the production company had to say. Just from their quotes, you know there's no chance of the sort of discreet, balanced treatment that Gaylor Arnold gave the subject in Girl in a Blue Dress. Nothing gets my goat quite like people talking about rumor as if it were established fact. And if they're doing it in the announcement, you can just imagine what the finished film will be like.

Honesty is one thing. Sensationalizing and exaggerating -- to the point of making things up -- is something very different.

Amy and Arthur, 'Falling Slowly'

I've been super-busy all weekend with my chapter of "Brought to Life." Man, you guys didn't tell me how much fun this was! :-) Haven't had time to write any real posts, so here, have a nice Little Dorrit music video I just found. This one is by brooksbri23.

The 'Barnaby Rudge' Read: Week 14

Last week, Mr. Chester had a visit from Hugh and then a visit from Sim Tappertit. This week, read chapters 25 and 26.

Brought to Life, part 5

This part is by Marian (and is also posted here). I'm up next. Let us know if you want to write the part after mine!

***

“It was yesterday evening when it all happened. I had just been over to visit Caddy—Mrs Turveydrop—and I had taken my leave at about half-past seven, much later than I’d intended. I walked down to the end of the street directly and waited there a moment, ready to hail the first cab I saw. I’d not been standing five minutes, however, when a boy in a ragged top hat appeared very suddenly, from out of nowhere, as it seemed. He came up to me in a cautious, fugitive sort of way, and startled me further by speaking my name.

“‘Yes, I am Esther Summerson,’ I said. ‘And you—’

“‘Feller by the name of Allan Woodcourt sent me. Said I’d find you here.’

“‘Mr Woodcourt?’

“‘Hush! it ain’t the time for small talk. Come on—if we don’t get out of here sharp, we’ll find ourselves in a pretty pickle!’

Dickens wants to have fun too!

Have you noticed that lately how many classic authors and historical figures are experiencing a second life in pop culture? You've got your Brontë sisters power dolls. You've got your Jane Austen monster mashups. Even Abraham Lincoln is a vampire slayer -- heaven help him.

While I think most of us can agree that there's no pressing need for Oliver Twisted: Please, Sir, I Want Some More...Brains, don't you think it's time our Charles got in on the trend? What kind of Dickensian spinoff or revamp (no pun intended) would you like to see?