Dickensblog

Inspired by 'Great Expectations'

If you happen to spot a novel in the bookstore titled Great Expectations with the author listed as Vinson Cunningham, you're not seeing things. Debut novelist Cunningham borrowed Dickens's title for his semi-autobiographical story of a young Black worker on the Obama presidential campaign. But according to Slate's generally positive review of the book, "The title is the only Dickensian thing about Cunningham’s novel."

However, Welsh novelist Crystal Jeans does have a novel in the works whose plot is loosely based on that of Dickens' novel. Titled Accidental Darlings, the book is set in the 1920s and '30s and follows an orphan girl, Anastasia, who goes to live with her mysterious aunt. The book will be published by The Borough Press; no release date has been given yet.

The Miss Havisham monodrama

An operatic monodrama, before you ask, is a one-person opera -- and who better to carry a piece like that than Dickens's Miss Havisham? Composer Jacques Cohen wrote The Lady of Satis House back in 2012, in honor of the author's bicentenary. Now it's just had its first recording.

This interview with Cohen gives all the details. And here's where you can find the recording, released by Meridian Records and starring Marie Vassiliou with the Tippett Quartet. 

Pip as Millennial (and Joe as Ted Lasso)

Eliza of the More by Reaping Substack explains: 

You see, when I came to read Great Expectations for the first time a few years ago, I found myself identifying very strongly with Pip, and it didn’t take long for me to realise that the reason for this simpatico was down to the years of professional disappointment, and constant sense of having been promised something that remained tantalisingly out of my reach. While not born between 1980 and 1995 (unless the novel has time travel themes that I hadn’t quite tapped into), Pip’s dilemmas, troubles, and struggles are incredibly reminiscent of my cohort. Really, Pip Pirrip is as much a quintessential Millennial as I am.

Go here to read her delightful piece in full!

TCM alert -- a trifecta!

There's a triple-header of Dickens films on the channel early tomorrow morning, as part of a "coming of age" theme. David Copperfield (1935) starts at 2:15 a.m. Eastern, Oliver Twist (1948) at 4:30 a.m., and Great Expectations (1946) at 6:30 a.m.

TCM alert

Great Expectations (1946) airs at 7:45 a.m. Eastern tomorrow.

More 'Expectations' in the works

The never-ending flow of Great Expectations retellings and spinoffs continues! This time it's Expectations, a contemporary sequel of sorts that morphs into a murder mystery. Chris Robert Riegel directs, and Callan McAuliffe and Blu Hunt star. Deadline Hollywood has more.

Possible Miss Havisham series at Netflix

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are reportedly developing a Netflix show called "Bad Manners" that would be based on the character of Miss Havisham. If it goes ahead, let's hope it's better than the last Great Expectations adaptation. (It could hardly be worse.)

Thoughts on Hulu's 'Great Expectations,' episodes 5 and 6

This post will contain major spoilers, so I'll put the review under the cut.

Thoughts on Hulu's 'Great Expectations,' episodes 3 and 4

A particular speech of Mr. Jaggers's from episode 3 neatly sums up this whole enterprise, and Steven Knight's whole approach to Dickens. When Pip asks why Jaggers has been made his guardian, Jaggers answers, "Because I am known to be evil. Celebrated for it. And your benefactor knows that in an evil place like London, attachment to virtue would be fatal."

In almost any other production, that might be conveying something like bitter sarcasm or world-weary lament or at least deliberate exaggeration. In this one, where there is no subtext, subtlety, or wit, and everything is to be taken at face value, there's no other way to hear it but as straightforward truth. It's so laughably on the nose that it put me in mind of an old joke from "Mystery Science Theater 3000," where an obviously villainous character arrived on the scene and one of the guys quipped, "Hi, I'm Bob Evil!"

Thoughts on Hulu's 'Great Expectations,' episodes 1 and 2

Watching Steven Knight's Great Expectations, after having watched his A Christmas Carol a few years ago, has driven me relentlessly to one conclusion: Knight just doesn't like Dickens. At all. If Knight had been born hating Dickens and hated him more every day of his life, he couldn't have done him more dirty than he has.

Once again we have the characters twisted and distorted out of all recognition. Once again we have a woman put in a degrading sexual position by an older man (a relative, in this case). Once again we have Dickens's quicksilver words discarded for clunky, leaden attempts at dialogue, and his odd, fascinating quirks smoothed over, to be replaced with various vices and kinks. Even the music, by Keefus Ciancia, is grim and joyless.