Dickensblog

'The serious epitaph of Dickens'

On the 149th anniversary of Charles Dickens's death, here are some pertinent thoughts from his great admirer G. K. Chesterton:

"He was alive to the end. And in this last dark and secretive story of Edwin Drood he makes one splendid and staggering appearance, like a magician saying farewell to mankind. In the centre of this otherwise reasonable and rather melancholy book, this grey story of a good clergyman and the quiet Cloisterham Towers, Dickens has calmly inserted one entirely delightful and entirely insane passage. I mean the frantic and inconceivable epitaph of Mrs. Sapsea, that which describes her as 'the reverential wife' of Thomas Sapsea, speaks of her consistency in 'looking up to him,' and ends with the words, spaced out so admirably on the tombstone, 'Stranger pause. And ask thyself this question, Canst thou do likewise? If not, with a blush retire.' Not the wildest tale in Pickwick contains such an impossibility as that; Dickens dare scarcely have introduced it, even as one of Jingle's lies. In no human churchyard will you find that invaluable tombstone; indeed, you could scarcely find it in any world where there are churchyards. You could scarcely have such immortal folly as that in a world where there is also death. Mr. Sapsea is one of the golden things stored up for us in a better world.

"Yes, there were many other Dickenses: a clever Dickens, an industrious Dickens, a public-spirited Dickens; but this was the great one. This last outbreak of insane humour reminds us wherein lay his power and his supremacy. The praise of such beatific buffoonery should be the final praise, the ultimate word in his honour. The wild epitaph of Mrs. Sapsea should be the serious epitaph of Dickens."

G. K. Chesterton, "Later Life and Works," Charles Dickens

Ten years and counting

In January, this blog hit a major milestone -- which I totally missed at the time! January 26 marked Dickensblog's 10th anniversary. Here, for those of you who haven't seen it (and those of you who have!), is our first post from January 26, 2009.

Birthday roundup

Just catching up on a few Dickens birthday articles from yesterday: 

• The BBC's HistoryExtra website shared a few quirky facts about Dickens's home life, including his love for parties and his taxidermied pets!
• Newsweek offered a few basic Dickens facts and popular quotes in honor of the day.
• Female First compiled a list of actors who have played Dickens. I knew about Simon Callow, Dan Stevens, and Ralph Fiennes, but not the others. (I certainly didn't know about Anthony Hopkins!)
• And finally, Londonist had an article about the pubs that every Dickensian should know.

Happy 207th birthday, Mr. Dickens!

He looks good for two hundred and seven, 
So let's turn up that dial to eleven. 
Everyone gather here
To wish Dickens good cheer
In a voice he can hear up in heaven.

(Do you know how many words in the English language rhyme with "seven"? Almost zero, that's how many. I should have come up with the birthday limerick idea back when he was two hundred and six.)

Birthday festivities

Dickens's birthday is coming up, and the Dickens Birthplace Museum in Portsmouth will offer free admission to celebrate! Go here to learn more. In the meantime, Dickens fans in Philadelphia held their annual birthday bash by the Dickens statue in Clark Park. Philly Voice offers a glimpse into their hallowed tradition.  

Birthday party for 'A Christmas Carol'

Dickens's Christmas classic is turning 175 this year! The Dickens Museum is hosting a celebration with Lucinda Dickens Hawksley the evening of December 19, including "mulled wine, mince pies and tales of Christmases past." If you're in the area, click here to buy tickets!

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.

Happy 206th, Mr. Dickens!

Just in time for Charles Dickens's birthday, his Doughty Street home, now the site of the Dickens Museum, has been named one of Britain's "10 greatest music and literary places." Congratulations to our beloved author on this well-deserved honor. 

And here's a quote from a birthday tribute by Navanita Varadpande: "A brilliant wordsmith and an affectionate narrator, he holds our hands while walking us through the streets of London, nudging us to look into a dark Victorian workhouse or pointing us to the vulnerable segments of the English society." For that brilliance and that affection, we honor him today and always.

Happy 25th anniversary to 'The Muppet Christmas Carol'!

The beloved film -- one of the best Christmas Carol adaptations of all, if you ask me -- was released on this date in 1992. The Telegraph (subscriber-only), The Independent, and Entertainment Tonight have all published articles that celebrate it.

If you have fond memories or favorite lines from The Muppet Christmas Carol, please share!

When Dickens died

In honor of the 147th of the anniversary of Dickens's death today, the Guardian has an article about how the death and funeral were reported at the time. As the Observer wrote in an op-ed shortly after his death, “To all of us, to young and old, to rich and poor, the tidings which saddened England on Friday, came home like the news of a friend’s death.”