Dickensblog

Getting creative with 'A Christmas Carol'

Along with everything else it's derailed, the pandemic is wreaking havoc on the usual rush of productions of A Christmas Carol. But many artists are finding ways to bring us the story nevertheless! Here are a few examples I've seen:

• An unusual filmed version of A Christmas Carol, with dancers and celebrity voiceovers (including Carey Mulligan, Martin Freeman, Daniel Kaluuya, Simon Russell Beale, and Andy Serkis), will open in British movie theaters December 4. I'm not sure if we'll be getting this one in the United States at any point. More information is here, here, and here.
• Broadway actor Jefferson Mays has filmed his acclaimed one-man version of the Carol. It will be streamed online November 28 to benefit theaters around the United States. Go here to learn more and to buy tickets.
• Gerald Dickens -- whose one-man version I've seen several times, as many of you know -- has also created a film version, as he reports on his blog. Details about the release to come. 
• In Washington, D.C., Ford's Theatre has turned its annual production of the show into a radio play, which will air on its website on December 7 (members only) and December 14 (general public), and on WAMU 88.5 on Christmas Day.

If you know of any other creative productions of A Christmas Carol that deserve a mention here, please mention them in the comments!

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.

Hawksley on 'Dickens and Film'

Tomorrow at 2 p.m. Eastern, writer and lecturer James Clarke will host an online conversation with Dickens descendant Lucinda Hawksley on "Dickens and Film." Go here to find out more and to buy tickets! 

Virtual tours of the Dickens Museum with Lucinda Hawksley

Let Charles Dickens's great-great-great-granddaughter show you around his old home! Lucinda Hawksley will lead a virtual tour on Thursday, June 18, and another on Friday, June 19, to raise money for the museum. Go here to find out how to sign up for the first tour, and go here for details on the second one!

From yesterday's commemoration

The Dickens Museum has posted a couple of videos that fans will want to see: one of an amazing light and sound installation that was projected onto Westminster Abbey for yesterday's anniversary, and another of a special greeting from members of the Dickens family.

Yesterday's virtual conference went great, and there should soon be some videos from that online as well!

Lucinda Dickens Hawksley: 'You can tell in his books when he is depressed'

Dickens's great-great-great-granddaughter gives an insightful interview to Noted on his troubled marriage, his mental health, her favorite of his novels, and what her next book is going to be about.

Happy 175th birthday to 'A Christmas Carol'!

The tributes and honors have been pouring in from all over! Here's a roundup:

• The Paris Review, Vox, and The Christian Science Monitor all have articles about the anniversary. BuzzFeed has a Christmas Carol quiz. BBC News offers suggestions of celebratory Dickensian food and a gin punch recipe in honor of the day.
• The Dickens Museum held an unabridged reading of the book, hosted by Lucinda Dickens Hawksley, and also asked various Dickens experts to weigh in on the question of which movie adaptation is the best. 
• The New York Public Library is hosting an exhibition on the book and also released an Insta Novel version.
• And finally, here's my own tribute.

It's lovely to see Dickens's "ghostly little book" still so loved and appreciated all these years later for all it's given us. If you've seen any tributes that I missed, please post them in the comments!

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!

New interview with Lucinda Dickens Hawksley

In this article, Hawksley talks to International Policy Digest about her famous ancestor's work, and her own.

Dickens in Galveston

Chron.com reports that this year's Dickens on the Strand -- featuring the return of Mark Dickens after 12 years, to perform A Christmas Carol -- brought a little cheer to hurricane-ravaged Galveston, Texas.