Dickensblog

Dickens's door

Atlas Obscura has a fun little piece about the door and mirror that are all that's left of Dickens's stay at the Parker House Hotel in Boston.

A Dickens birthday party

The Dickens Museum is hosting an online party tomorrow at 7 p.m. UK time (2 p.m. Eastern ), and all are invited! Lucinda Dickens Hawksley and Miriam Margolyes will be on hand to take questions, do readings, and talk about how Dickens celebrated his birthday. The cost is 10 pounds plus a .50 pound booking fee (about $14.50).  Register now to get the Zoom link e-mailed to you!

The letter that wasn't?

British shopping channel Ideal World had to pull a Dickens letter they were offering for sale when Dr. Leon Litvack of The Charles Dickens Letters Project claimed it was a forgery. But the channel promises "further enquiries" to try to verify that the letter is genuine. Read more here.

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.

Join the Dickenses!

The Dickens Museum will host a virtual Dickens Family Christmas at 7:30 p.m. London time (2:30 p.m. Eastern time) and all are invited to join in! Gerald Dickens, Lucinda Dickens Hawksley, and other descendants of the author will be sharing readings, recipes, and more. Go here to read more, and go here to sign up and get the Zoom link. 

More Dickens stamps

The Isle of Man has released a new batch of Charles Dickens commemorative stamps -- five stamps featuring A Christmas Carol and one featuring the "Lost Portrait." Fans of actor, writer, and Dickensian Simon Callow will be pleased to learn that he has autographed the limited edition first-day covers. Go here to read more, and go here to order them!

A LEGO Carol

Brick Fanatics reports that LEGO.com is giving away this charming new Christmas Carol  set with purchases!

A tribute to Fanny Dickens

Musician Frances "Fanny" Dickens has had a temporary statue erected in her honor in Portsmouth, just steps away from the statue of her brother. It's one of several statues of sisters of famous men placed throughout the U.K., inspired by the new Netflix film Enola Holmes.

Dickens Museum reopening

Congratulations to our friends at the museum, which will be reopening on July 25! For those Brits among us who'd like to go, please note that advanced online booking is required. 

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.