Dickensblog

R.I.P., Christopher Plummer

The beloved Canadian actor passed away today at the age of 91. He was a chilling Ralph Nickleby in Nicholas Nickleby (2002) and a magnificent Scrooge in The Man Who Invented Christmas (2019). I'll always wish he could have tackled the latter role in a full-blown Christmas Carol adaptation!

A crown for Scrooge

In honor of the 150th anniversary of Dickens's death, Ascension Island released a commemorative Christmas Scrooge crown, available in Cupro Nickel or Proof Sterling Silver. I would have posted about this last month, but they were out of stock. They've since restocked, but the nickel have run out again and the silver are running low, so get them while you can! More information is here.

Save Scrooge from an online escape room!

Go here and here to find out how to play!

Merry Christmas, fellow Dickensians!

May all your puddings be done enough, may all your fires have plenty of coal, and may you keep Christmas all the year!

Hugh Grant reads 'A Christmas Carol'

Audible has just released Grant's new audiobook of the story. In this article from Good Housekeeping, the British star explains why he wanted to do the project: "Dickens . . . belongs to that rare group of great writers who actually loved human existence."

The need for Dickens and Muppets

At Slashfilm, Chris Evangelista explains why The Muppet Christmas Carol is "essential quarantine viewing."

A tale of four podcasts

I've recently been a guest on various podcasts to talk about Dickens! Here are some links:  

• The Christian Humanist with Michial Farmer (talking about The Gospel in Dickens)
• The Sectarian Review with Danny Anderson (talking about The Gospel in Dickens)
• The Great Books with John J. Miller (talking about A Tale of Two Cities)
• A Cozy Christmas with Art Kilmer, longtime Dickensblog reader and Facebook group member (talking about A Christmas Carol)

And don't miss Art's subsequent episode, where he continued the A Christmas Carol discussion, this time with Gerald Dickens!

In related news, I was on the radio show Chris Fabry Live today to discuss The Gospel in Dickens. I believe that episode will be archived online soon, so I'll post a link if and when it is.

'Keeping Christmas': A review

Keeping Christmas: 25 Advent Reflections on A Christmas Carol, by Allison Pittman (Baker Books, 2020)

Allison Pittman, author of The Seamstress, now has written a delightful spiritual guide to A Christmas Carol. In 25 short but thoughtful (and occasionally laugh-out-loud funny) chapters, she explores the story through the eyes of faith, bringing our deeper meanings and truths. Her ideas on the true identity of the three Spirits are fascinating, and her pinpointing of the real moment of Scrooge's conversion is as intriguing in a literary sense as it is theologically. While written to appeal primarily to Christians, then, Keeping Christmas should be of interest to anyone who loves Dickens's ghostly little book and enjoys revisiting it. 

'Estella Scrooge' available online

The Streaming Musicals website has a new Christmas Carol musical. I haven't taken a look myself yet, but there are some impressive theatrical names involved, including John Caird (director of Les Miserables and Nicholas Nickleby); Paul Gordon (composer/lyricist of Jane Eyre and Daddy Long Legs), and Betsy Wolfe, whom I once saw give an inspired performance as Rosa Bud in The Mystery of Edwin Drood on Broadway. And when the synopsis says that Estella Scrooge meets up with Pip Nickleby at Harthouse in Pickwick, Ohio, you know someone knew their Dickens! Go here to find out how to buy or rent the show, and here for more information on the show itself.

MAJOR TCM alert

Turner Classic Movies is giving us a whole night of Dickens tonight! After kicking things off with A Christmas Carol (1938) at 8 p.m. Eastern, they're showing . . . 

• David Copperfield (1935) at 9:30 p.m.
• Great Expectations (1946) at 12 a.m.
• Oliver Twist (1948) at 2:15 a.m.
• A Tale of Two Cities (1935) at 4:30 a.m.