Dickensblog

Interdisciplinary Dickens: Report on the latest Dickens Society symposium

I'm sorry I didn't get a chance to link to this article before the Dickens Society symposium that it promotes, but it's still worth reading. Author Joel Brown explains that "the English novelist and journalist cast an extraordinarily wide net across society, thanks to his natural curiosity and his drive to accurately depict the struggles of his fellow human beings," and that this variety was reflected in the papers presented, which covered everything from Dickens and vampires to Dickens and microbes.

Scrooge reworked

Playwright Jack Thorne (Harry Potter and the Cursed Child) is writing a new stage adaptation of A Christmas Carol for Rhys Ifans. Director Matthew Warchus suggests that this time, Scrooge will have to "earn" his redemption -- an idea that strikes me as distinctly un-Dickensian. But we'll see how it plays out. The play opens in November at London's Old Vic.

TCM alert

A Tale of Two Cities (1935) is on TCM at 8 p.m. Eastern tonight, as part of Ronald Colman's stint as Star of the Month. The TCM website has an article about the making of the film. (I like the part about how "rowdy sailors and their dates" loved it!)

Austen and Dickens

You may have heard that today marked the 200th anniversary of Jane Austen's death. Like Dickens before her, she's being honored with her picture on the £10 note, and along with Dickens, she will be featured in a new exhibition at the Bank of England Museum called "Stories from the City: The Bank of England in Literature." Go here and here to read more.

Scrooge: The Board Game

Here's a promising new project! There's a website and a trailer, and apparently there's going to be a Kickstarter. You can sign up at the site for a newsletter to follow the game's development.

Ode to Miss Havisham

Over at Birth.Movies.Death., Kalyn Corrigan has written a tribute to Miss Havisham, "the ultimate vengeful . . ." -- er, well, just go read the article! Here's a short sample: "There’s something soothing about the sadness that Miss Havisham allows herself to feel. There’s something human in it. Something we could use more of in today’s hardened world."