Dickensblog

A quiz with a special prize

Oakham Library in Oakham, England, is hosting a Web quiz about books. If you get all the answers right, you'll be entered to win one of ten free copies of A Tale of Two Cities. (They don't say which edition.) Get all the information and download the quiz here. Note: The quiz isn't just about Dickens, it's about books from many different authors and genres.

It ain't over till the jilted lady sings

Did you know there's an opera about Miss Havisham? Seems fitting, somehow. I can definitely see her as an operatic heroine.

A Dickens of a reading

ReadingEagle.com reports on the North Carolina Dickens Fellowship reading competition, focusing on high school junior Morgan Kauffman, who was a finalist with her reading from The Pickwick Papers. Morgan hopes to be able to perform at a Dickens festival in London this December. Best wishes to her!

7 Quick Takes Friday

• Naxos is releasing all 16 of Dickens's major novels as audiobooks, in both abridged and unabridged versions, for the bicentennial. Visit their page for more information and to download their Dickens podcasts. And The Dabbler blog is exclusively serializing their abridged version of The Pickwick Papers.
• Actor Stephen Fry gave away free copies of A Tale of Two Cities on the set of his new film for World Book Night, earlier this week.
• Speaking of free books, the library system in Sheffield, England, is giving away 1500 free copies of Oliver Twist in honor of the bicentennial. Very nice, but since it's Sheffield, shouldn't it be David Copperfield instead? (You know, "Confusion to Brooks of Sheffield!")
• And speaking of Oliver Twist, Robin Stone of the Globe and Mail tells a terrific story about how she got both herself and her nine-year-old son hooked on the children's edition of that book. Kudos to both of them!
• Here's an interesting tale about why Dickens gave away his personal copy of David Copperfield.
• Rabbit Run Theater in Madison, Ohio, is going to be doing three different Dickens plays this summer and fall, and the nearby Lodge at Geneva-on-the-Lake is offering special packages that include overnight stays and tickets to see the performances. Read all about it here.
• Filming has started on The Invisible Woman. Can't say I'm too thrilled about seeing Dickens get the National Enquirer treatment, which is what I'm afraid this is going to be. In other movie news, the new independent film Nancy, Please tells the story of a graduate student who gets into a violent conflict with his old roommate over, of all things, a copy of Little Dorrit. Here's an interview with the director.

Because one can never have too much 'A Tale of Two Cities'

. . . there's a new readthrough about to start! This one has its own blog and is sponsored by the Victorian Studies Centre and Dickens Journals Online.

Dickens and that other writer

Just in time for Shakespeare's birthday, here's a story about how Dickens helped save his birthplace.

(Can you imagine seeing Dickens's signature in the visitor's book at Shakespeare's birthplace? An epic collision of genius!)

For the LOLZ

Thanks to Nina for inspiring this!

'Our Mutual Friend': The Scholarly Pages

This website from The Dickens Project, first launched in 1998, has been revamped and updated. Check it out!

Charles Dickens quiz night at Foyles

Londoners can participate in this free event next Tuesday. Get the details here!

'Great Expectations' gets seven BAFTA Craft Nominations

The BAFTA Craft Awards honor the behind-the-scenes aspects of films (directing, writing, and so forth). GE got the most nominations this year. Click here for more.