Dickensblog

A new 'Christmas Carol'

Lavinia Reid is preparing a new show called A Musical Theatre Christmas Carol for the Chambersburg Ballet Theatre in Chambersburg, Pa. This article covers a number of different aspects of creating the show, "from composition to crowdfunding to working with a programmed digital orchestra." More information is available at the theater's Facebook page.

Staplehurst revisited

History's Narrowest Escapes, a new book by James Moore and Paul Nero, includes a chapter on the Staplehurst train crash that nearly took Dickens's life in June 1865.

Gad's Hill Place to be opened to the public

The school that has operated in the building since the 1920s is moving out, and the house is being refurbished and reopened by members of Dickens's family, including actor Harry Lloyd.

'David Copperfield' back on DVD

The Warner Archive Collection has re-released the 1935 film. Here's an Amazon link.

A year with Dickens

Thanks to Rachel for passing along the link to Dear Mr. Dickens! Blogger Melissa spent a year reading the collected works of Dickens and recording her impressions on this fun and lively blog, in the form of letters to the novelist. A most laudable endeavor, especially for someone who hadn't read Dickens before!

Dickens and his ink

This article about the preferred writing tools of 20 famous authors mentions Dickens and his favorite colors of ink and paper, and includes an image of him with his quill pen. Thanks to Christy for the link.

Steampunk Dickens

Elizabeth Drialo has a fascinating article here about Dickens's obscure story collection The Mudfog Papers, and how it anticipates today's steampunk movement.

More on 'Two Cities,' and a little on 'Martin Chuzzlewit'

• Here's an article that talks more about that upcoming dramatization of ATOTC, and why Terence Rattigan's adaptation has never been done professionally before. It also mentions that Stewart Agnew will play the lead.
• Elsewhere, the blog The East Room makes a strong argument that "it is impossible to think less of Darnay because of Carton’s act of heroic self-sacrifice." 
• Meanwhile, back at First Things, B. D. McClay has a new post up on how "Martin Chuzzlewit" is doing particularly poorly in that poll on the best and worst Dickens novels.

New ATOTC article

Remember this post about the upcoming London production of A Tale of Two Cities, with Sydney Carton as a member of the "27 Club"? The idea inspired me to write a full-length article, which ran today in First Things.

Elsewhere on the FT site, blogger B. D. McClay uses my article as a springboard to ask what readers' favorite and least favorite Dickens novels are.

Help wanted

If you'd like to stand in the street and read Dickens to random passersby, Portsmouth has a job for you!