Dickensblog

Hating Miss Havisham

Claire Fallon at The Huffington Post includes Miss Havisham on her list of "11 Unlikable Classic Book Characters We Love To Hate." Do you agree or disagree? Is Miss Havisham hateful, or merely pitiable, or something else altogether?

(H/T The Buzfuz)

Charity runs in the family

Forty years ago, Monica Dickens, great-granddaughter of Charles Dickens, founded the first U.S. branch of the Samaritans, an organization that provides emotional support to those in distress. Monica's daughter Prudence Stratton attended their "Breakfast for Hope" benefit that marked the anniversary.

Grilling with Micawber

The Ann Arbor Independent offers some summer barbecue tips and a recipe, "Mr. Micawber's Devil," based on Micawber's cooking scene in David Copperfield. 

Dickens goes digital

Londoners, here's something of interest: a free "Digital Dickens" workshop at Senate House on July 7. Click here to learn more!

'Great Expectations,' in fiction and in life

Maura Kelly at OUPblog, at the Oxford University Press site, has an excellent post about the timeless themes and characters of Great Expectations and how people everywhere are able to relate to and learn from them. Among other things, she contrasts Pip's growth as a character with the resentfulness and lack of growth of Elliot Rodger, the UCSB killer.

Update on 'Fitoor'

NDTV.com has a short article and video about Katrina Kaif and Rekha, the actresses set to star in Fitoor, the upcoming Bollywood version of Great Expectations.

I can relate

Blogger Paige Landsem has written a lovely post about the joys of taking a break from dense and difficult books to sneak off and spend some time with Sydney Carton. (Post contains spoilers for A Tale of Two Cities.)

Congratulations to Michael Slater!

Dickens biographer Michael Slater has been made a Member of the British Empire for "services to Literary Scholarship." Thanks to The Buzfuz for the tip.

Decorate with Dickens

I've just run across a really nice website called Dickens Prints, which sells prints of illustrations from eight different Dickens novels. You can buy them framed (£40 apiece, or about $65), or just mounted (£25, or about $40.50). 

Inspired by Nickleby

According to USA Today, Nicholas Nickleby plays an important role in the new novel The Rise & Fall of Great Powers by Tom Rachman.