Dickensblog

Additional 'Copperfield' cast members

Gwendoline Christie, Benedict Wong, Paul Whitehouse, and Daisy May Cooper have been added to the cast of The Personal History of David Copperfield.

TCM alert

Oliver! airs Friday morning at 6:15 a.m. ET, the last movie in the channel's monthlong spotlight on musicals.

A Dickensian situation

As many of you regular readers know, I generally don't allow politics at this blog. And I'm not going to start making a habit of allowing it now. But just this once I'm going to make an exception to the rule, and post a link to this piece from The Conversation. I'm doing it because the article makes a strong case -- I think a convincing case -- that there's a parallel between the current political situation and the political situation that moved Dickens to take a stand, and it makes that case articulately and well. 

Feel free to comment on the article here if you wish, but make sure to keep the conversation civil and to discuss ideas, not bash people. Rudeness will get your comment automatically deleted. I have always said, and I mean it, that all are welcome here, no matter their viewpoint, as long as they behave themselves. I'm trusting you all to do just that.

Inspired by Pip

In The Daily Star, Fayeza Hasanat pays tribute to Great Expectations and the teacher who introduced it to her. An excerpt: 

"Now, when I teach Great Expectations, I still see myself sitting in Professor Choudhury's classroom, frustrated by Pip's apparent naiveté. Back then, I could not understand why it took so long for the upside-down Pip to see the world down-side up, the way he really should have seen in the first place, when the convict held him by the legs. I mean, by flipping him down, the convict actually was straightening him up, wasn't he? It was the convict who showed Pip what love and life and dreams were made of—in a Victorian London that flourished by sucking up the life force of  its  working class people and its colonial subjects. Pip stayed blinded by [E]stella's love, but I saw the spark of Joe's forge glowing in front me, in the eyes of my  professor, the craftsman of knowledge."

An honor for 'The Signal-Man'

When The Sunday Times created their list of the 100 best short stories, Dickens's "The Signal-Man" was one of them. The Times called it "nerve-jangling."

Dickens onstage

I've had articles piling up for weeks and am only just getting around to posting some of them now, so I'm sorry to say that both the musicals I'm about to post about are no longer running. But it's worth knowing that they've had their premieres, and worth keeping a lookout for future runs! Laurie Hornsby's new musical version of Great Expectations, titled Tear Down the Curtains, had its world premiere in Broadstairs last month. Wendy Kesselman's new musical Madame Defarge also premiered last month, in Gloucester.

TCM alert

As part of their Basil Rathbone birthday tribute today, TCM is airing two 1935 Dickens films in which he played villains: David Copperfield (Mr. Murdstone) and A Tale of Two Cities (the Marquis St. Evremonde). The double feature starts at 11:30 Eastern. 

Q&A with Lorie Langdon, author of 'Olivia Twist'

Olivia Twist is an innovative reimagining of Charles Dickens’ classic tale Oliver Twist, in which Olivia was forced to live as a boy for her own safety until she was rescued from the streets. Now eighteen, Olivia finds herself at a crossroads: revealed secrets threaten to destroy the “proper” life she has built for herself, while newfound feelings for an arrogant young man she shouldn’t like could derail her carefully laid plans for the future. (Amazon)

After reading Olivia Twist, Lorie Langdon's fun and exciting new version of Oliver Twist, I was able to ask her a few questions about what went into the writing of the novel, and about what's ahead for it!

Gina: You mentioned in your acknowledgments being very influenced by the musical Oliver!, and I caught references to it here and there. What do you love most about it? What did you find most inspiring about it? 

Lorie: What I love most about Oliver! the musical are the characters. Oliver, Dodger, Fagin, Mr. Brownlow, Nancy, and even Bill Sikes stayed with me long after seeing the movie for the first time. I created my own sort of fan fiction to continue their adventures because I could not let them go.

I believe what I find most inspiring is that despite the horrific obstacles each of them faces, they all have hope for a better future. Even if it’s misguided hope, like Fagin and Nancy.  

The whole story

On the 148th anniversary of Dickens's death, Prarthana Mitra of Qrius has written a nice tribute to "one of the prolific English novelists of all time, in whose works are enshrined all the ugly facets of Victorian England."

That description is perfectly true as far as it goes, but it tells only half the story. Dickens's portrayal of the ugly side of life wouldn't have been nearly as effective or as lasting had it not come to us alongside his portrayal of its beauty. The sordidness and starvation in Oliver Twist and David Copperfield cannot quench hope; the hatred and violence of A Tale of Two Cities are unable to conquer the power of love and sacrifice. Scrooge wouldn't be fully Scrooge without his ultimate redemption. Even the lowest street-sweeper, brought down by poverty, neglect, and disease, dies with dignity when Dickens is telling his story. 

Had Dickens not been able to portray the whole story of life with both its joys and sorrows, had he not seen beauty as well as ugliness, he wouldn't have been mourned as he was. And he wouldn't be loved as he still is today.

Filming is underway on 'The Personal History of David Copperfield'

Aneurin Barnard, who's playing Steerforth, has tweeted a couple of times from the set. It seems Steerforth has a very nice horse!