Dickensblog

From the book pile

Today we have reviews of two excellent new Dickens-related books!

Charles Dickens: But for you, dear stranger (from the My Reading series) by Annette Federico (Oxford University Press, 2022)

The My Reading series from Oxford University Press, according to the Series Introduction, "is built on a simple presupposition: that it helps to have a book recommended and discussed by someone who cares for it." Annette Federico's entry in the series more than fills the bill. Federico cares deeply for Dickens, and her analysis of four of his greatest works -- Oliver Twist, David Copperfield, Little Dorrit, and A Tale of Two Cities -- is both thoughtful and affectionate. She truly demonstrates the value of a personal connection to the author being analyzed.

Federico comes to Dickens not as a detached or objective critic, or as someone trying to fit him into a modern landscape, but as someone eager to take what he has to give. She takes characters and elements in his work, including those who have been dismissed or even derided, on their own terms, and explores with fresh eyes what they meant to Dickens and what they might mean to us, his readers. She does this with elements that even I'VE derided (e.g., Little Dorrit insisting that Arthur always call her "Little Dorrit"), making me rethink my derision! 

Federico's book is short, but I can't exactly call it a quick read, because it's so dense with ideas and emotions that it merits reading slowly, and then reading again. Reading her take on Dickens's stories and characters is like spending time with old friends and yet seeing them in new lights. I absolutely loved it, and I can't recommend it highly enough. I'd go so far as to call it a must-read for all who love Dickens.

'David Copperfield' release delayed

The Personal History of David Copperfield is one of several movies that will have its release date pushed back because of the coronavirus quarantine. I'll keep an eye out and let you know when a new release date is set. 

I hope all of you are safe and well, and doing better than Mr. Meagles did in quarantine ("Why, I'd as soon have a spit put through me, and be stuck upon a card in a collection of beetles"). In the days ahead I plan to write some of those long-overdue book reviews I've been promising you for years -- literally years! Yikes! -- for a bit of entertainment. If any of you could use some diversion and would like to write a guest post for the blog on anything Dickensian, let me know in the comment section below, and we'll see about making that happen! 

'Little Dorrit' group read

I'm a bit late with this announcement, but better late than never! Edward Pettit, who runs the Facebook page Reading Charles Dickens, has started a group read of Little Dorrit, reading it in the original monthly installments until June 2021, and you can still join in. Just e-mail him at [email protected] to receive the first PDF installment! (Remember, if you've already read it, no spoilers are allowed!)

R.I.P. John McEnery

The British actor played John Harmon in the 1976 TV adaptation of Our Mutual Friend (click here to read a short reminiscence by co-star Jane Seymour); Mr. Mantalini, William the Waiter, and Mr. Snevellicci in the celebrated stage and television versions of Nicholas Nickleby in the early 1980s; and Captain Hopkins in the 1987 feature film of Little Dorrit. McEnery passed away April 12 at the age of 75.

Hard times for the 'Little Dorrit' church

The Church of St. George the Martyr in Bermondsey -- the model for the church in which Amy Dorrit was baptized, spent a night when locked out of the Marshalsea, and was married -- is in such poor shape that it has been declared "at risk" by the group Historic England.

'Little Dorrit' radio drama available online

The 2009 radio dramatization of Little Dorrit, with Jasmine Hyde, Julian Wadham, and Ian McKellen, is currently available on BBC iPlayer Radio, and will remain available for the next month or so. As you'll see from this old review, I was pretty lukewarm about it, but give it a listen anyway -- maybe you'll enjoy it more than I did! Thanks to Kristy for the tip!

2017 Dickens Universe recap

The University of California Santa Cruz's Newscenter has a writeup of this summer's Dickens Universe, which threw attendees a curve by focusing on George Eliot's Middlemarch (though "in relation to Dickens"). Next year, Newscenter reports, the conference will go back to studying a Dickens novel -- this time, Little Dorrit.

Mapping Dickens

The Dickens Society is launching the Charles Dickens collection at the Placing Literature site. The Society's Facebook page explains:

TCM alert

The six-hour 1988 adaptation of Little Dorrit (or as I like to call it, "Dickens on Acid") airs tomorrow morning at 5 a.m. Eastern. 

And the Dickensblog Order of Merit goes to . . .

Katharine and Ryan Taylor, who named their new daughter Ada Clare! (Katharine is a Facebook/LiveJournal friend of mine.) Both Ada and Clare are family names, and Katharine says, "It didn't hit me until after we'd already settled on the name that Ada Clare (even spelled the same way) is the name of Jarndyce's beautiful and virtuous ward in Bleak House. But that's a fine literary association to have." 

Congratulations and blessings to them! And thank heaven Tattycoram wasn't a family name. ;-)