Dickensblog

Happy 211th birthday, Mr. Dickens!

How do you celebrate Dickens's birthday? Stefan Sierakowski celebrates it by placing a "happy birthday" ad in The Record, on behalf of the Toronto branch of the Dickens Fellowship. This year the paper has a delightful profile of Sierakowski and the Toronto branch, which also holds an annual Dickens birthday party where they raise money for a children's hospital. The Record article includes a look at the 2020 version of Sierakowski's Dickens birthday ad, which includes the touching line "You are, in every respect, our literary friend."

However you choose to celebrate the birthday of our literary friend, may you enjoy it!

Good news for the Dickens Museum

The museum is now receiving some financial support from Britain's National Lottery Heritage Fund. Museum director Cindy Sughrue tells BBC News that the museum is "geared up to open as soon as possible over the summer."

Incidentally, the Dickens Society is running a fundraiser in which, when you donate to the charity of your choice, they'll give a matching donation to the Dickens Museum. Go here for details.

Virtual tours of the Dickens Museum with Lucinda Hawksley

Let Charles Dickens's great-great-great-granddaughter show you around his old home! Lucinda Hawksley will lead a virtual tour on Thursday, June 18, and another on Friday, June 19, to raise money for the museum. Go here to find out how to sign up for the first tour, and go here for details on the second one!

Visit the Dickens Museum online

The Charles Dickens Museum is now displaying images of many of its items online -- a project that began before the shutdown but turned out to be very "timely," according to curator Louisa Price. (A classic Dickensian coincidence, or Dickensidence, as we sometimes call them around here!) Go take a look, and while you're there, remember that the Museum could really use some donations right now, if you can spare anything!

An appeal from the Dickens Museum

As an independent (non-government-funded) museum, the Dickens Museum is hurting for funds right now. There are many people, places, and organizations in need of donations right now, I know, but if you could spare something for this particular cause, I know they'd be very grateful and put it to good use. Go here to read their appeal and to donate.

Fireside reading and a character competition

Those book reviews are coming, I swear, but first a couple of quick news items:

• Actor and audiobook narrator Gildart Jackson will begin reading from Great Expectations at 8 Eastern this evening at @firesidereading on Instagram. He plans to read a chapter a day.
• The Journalists' Charity, co-founded by Dickens, is honoring the 150th anniversary of his death by asking for "written portraits of a modern-day Dickens character." The Guardian has more.  

News roundup

Just wanted to share a few news items before beginning the book reviewing:

• The Dickens Museum is, unsurprisingly, closed indefinitely, but remains active on social media. Actor Dominic Gerrard, who has performed a one-man Christmas Carol there, has done a reading of the first chapter of A Tale of Two Cities to raise money for the Museum.
• The joint Dickens Fellowship/Dickens Society Symposium in London in July is still scheduled to go ahead, but organizers are monitoring things and will make a final decision in May.
• In the New Yorker, Amy Davidson Sorkin argues, "Esther Summerson is one of the great heroines of literature, in part because she understands the vital importance of social distancing and isolation, even when it is hard."
• Phyllis Rose is re-releasing her 1983 book Parallel Lives, which focuses on five Victorian couples, including Charles and Catherine Dickens. In an interview with the Guardian, Rose argues that "is disappointing, and incredibly small-minded" to "cancel" great writers like Dickens over their bad behavior. The new edition of her book can be ordered here.   
• The TV series "Great British Menu" has a children's literature theme this year, in honor of the 150th anniversary of Dickens's death. (Seemed like a bit of a stretch to me too, but apparently it has something to do with Oliver Twist being the first child protagonist. Anyway, I'd never carp about a show honoring Dickens for any reason!)
• Dr. Pete Orford is beginning a Hard Times readalong on April 1.

More good news for 'Copperfield'

The Personal History of David Copperfield will be a special presentation at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) as a special presentation in September! This is the second prestigious film festival to announce that it will show the film (you'll recall that the BFI London Film Festival announced it last month). 

In other Copperfield news, Lionsgate UK, the British distributors of the film, have partnered with BBC Children in Need for a fundraising effort. "Secondary schools will be invited to download an exclusive 30 minute version of the film script . . . [which] will provide an opportunity for students to build on their acting skills and self-confidence whilst raising money for BBC Children in Need by selling tickets to peers, teachers and parents to come and watch their performance." Read more here. 

Coal, charity, and 'The Man Who Invented Christmas'

Kudos to Bleecker Street, distributors of The Man Who Invented Christmas, who came up with a brilliant response to bad reviews of the film (not that they've had many to worry about!):

"The indie distribution company has been sending coal to the critics who gave the movie a bad review. In keeping with the spirit of Christmas, Bleecker Street has also been making a donation to the Bowery Mission homeless shelter for every piece of coal that gets sent out."

Charles Dickens himself couldn't have done it better. 

Coutts and Dickens

The Coutts Foundation website has a new article up about the woman who inspired its founding, Angela Burdett-Coutts, and the work she did alongside Charles Dickens to fight poverty.