Dickensblog

R.I.P., Christopher Plummer

The beloved Canadian actor passed away today at the age of 91. He was a chilling Ralph Nickleby in Nicholas Nickleby (2002) and a magnificent Scrooge in The Man Who Invented Christmas (2019). I'll always wish he could have tackled the latter role in a full-blown Christmas Carol adaptation!

'Estella Scrooge' available online

The Streaming Musicals website has a new Christmas Carol musical. I haven't taken a look myself yet, but there are some impressive theatrical names involved, including John Caird (director of Les Miserables and Nicholas Nickleby); Paul Gordon (composer/lyricist of Jane Eyre and Daddy Long Legs), and Betsy Wolfe, whom I once saw give an inspired performance as Rosa Bud in The Mystery of Edwin Drood on Broadway. And when the synopsis says that Estella Scrooge meets up with Pip Nickleby at Harthouse in Pickwick, Ohio, you know someone knew their Dickens! Go here to find out how to buy or rent the show, and here for more information on the show itself.

'A World Full of Dickens Stories': A review

By Tai French, guest blogger

A World Full of Dickens Stories: 8 Best-Loved Classic Tales Retold for Children by Angela McAllister (Frances Lincoln Children's Books, 2020)

The works of Charles Dickens, though marvelous, can be a tad daunting at first, especially for the young. With a dizzying array of characters, unfamiliar social mores and settings, and a wealth of subplots, a full-length Dickens novel can quickly overwhelm a novice or reluctant reader. Imagine how helpful a trusted guide could be, one who helps the reader keep track of the primary characters and follow the golden thread of the story through its twists and turns! A World Full of Dickens Stories is just such a faithful guide.

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.

Recent Dickens mentions

A number of good new "books about books" have recently come out, quite a few of which offer Dickens recommendations. (I've read all the way through the first two -- with the others, I've just read the Dickens sections so far!)

• My friend Karen Swallow Prior, author of Booked: Literature in the Soul of Me, has a new book out called On Reading Well: Finding the Good Life through Great Books, in which she uses various novels and short stories to highlight different virtues. A Tale of Two Cities illustrates the concept of justice. (I got to read an early version of the chapter and offer feedback, which was an honor and a treat!) Karen's excellent book recently was named one of the Best Books of 2018 by Publisher's Weekly.
• In I'd Rather Be Reading: The Delights and Dilemmas of the Reading Life, Anne Bogel (who blogs at Modern Mrs. Darcy) names David Copperfield as one of the books that helped her to come of age as a reader.
• Book Girl: A Journey through the Treasures & Transforming Power of a Reading Life  by Sarah Clarkson states, "There is no one quite like Dickens" and names him one of the author's "most beloved" writers. Clarkson pays tribute to David Copperfield for its striking imagery and understanding of human nature, Bleak House for its quietly faithful heroine, and Oliver Twist for its suspense. And she quotes a friend who recommends Dombey and Son and Martin Chuzzlewit. 
• James Mustich's 1,000 Books to Read before You Die: A Life-Changing List has a great chapter on Dickens. "It's as if the author has not set out to write a novel," he observes, "but has been dropped into a pulsing reality he has to write his way through, much in the way we must construct a life." Mustich specifically recommends David Copperfield, Oliver Twist, Nicholas Nickleby, A Christmas Carol, Dombey and Son, A Tale of Two Cities, and Great Expectations.

 

Finding Squeers

A letter from Dickens to Lord Robert Grosvenor, which will go up for auction next week, resurrects the debate over which schoolmaster Wackford Squeers was based on.

Charlotte Brontë, Charles Dickens, and 'the contact of their imaginations'

As you may know, today marked the bicentennial of Charlotte Brontë’s birth. In the new biography Charlotte Brontë: A Fiery Heart by Claire Harman, I found this passage about Brontë and Dickens:

R.I.P. Roger Rees

Roger Rees, the actor who won an Olivier Award and a Tony Award in the title role of the 1980 Nicholas Nickleby adaptation (and later earned an Emmy nomination for the U.S. televised version), died Friday at age 71. Rees also played Fred, as well as acting as narrator, in the 1984 television adaptation of A Christmas Carol.

(Image courtesy of Theatermania)

Inspired by Nickleby

Australian novelist K. A. Barker has a brief but lovely tribute to Nicholas Nickleby in her article "Books that changed me" for the Sydney Morning Herald.

Is 'The Boxtrolls' Dickensian?

by Steven D. Greydanus, guest blogger

"Dickensian" is a word cropping up in reviews of the new animated film The Boxtrolls. Is The Boxtrolls "Dickensian"?

Partially. The town of Cheesebridge is full of nasty people akin to Dickens's rogue's gallery: a town full of Squeers, Quilps, Fagins, and Havishams.

But what about the other side of the ledger?