Charles Dickens 200th
Feb 7th, 2012, 04:02 PM
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Charles Dickens 200th
Today is the 200th anniversary of the birth of Charles Dickens. What wonderful stories and characters he created. Many were written as a serial for the daily newspaper so readers waited anxiously for the next installment. Seems like our waiting for the next episode of Downton Abbey.
What is your favorite book (not counting A Christmas Story)? And how many have you read? Several years ago we were at the yearly Dickens Universe sessions. These are held each July with a different book selected for papers and discussion. That year it was "Hard Times." Various scholar and teachers and others like us enjoy a week on the lovely campus of University of California-Santa Cruz in the midst of redwoods. Every afternoon break wine and cheese. At the end of the conference a Victorian Ball.
This year the book is "Bleak House." I haven't read this one though I did others when i returned from the week. http://dickens.ucsc.edu/universe
Bill in Boston
What is your favorite book (not counting A Christmas Story)? And how many have you read? Several years ago we were at the yearly Dickens Universe sessions. These are held each July with a different book selected for papers and discussion. That year it was "Hard Times." Various scholar and teachers and others like us enjoy a week on the lovely campus of University of California-Santa Cruz in the midst of redwoods. Every afternoon break wine and cheese. At the end of the conference a Victorian Ball.
This year the book is "Bleak House." I haven't read this one though I did others when i returned from the week. http://dickens.ucsc.edu/universe
Bill in Boston
Feb 29th, 2012, 07:20 AM
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Renewed interest in Dickens it seems. Our PBS stations have been showing "Old Curiosity Shop" which is a 2007 BBC video. This is one of Dickens' earlier works (1825) and has the usual noble and evil characters...like Nell and like Quilp. I found it melodramatic but know it stirred up emotions in the time written in serial form. People likely booed Quilp and were devastated at little Nell's death.
Apr 1st, 2012, 04:32 AM
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And now coming up some great Dickens stories on PBS Masterpiece Classic. Tonight is "Great Expectations" about orphan boy Pip and later on (4/15) an adaptation of "The Mystery of Edwin Drood" which was a psychological thriller, his last and unfinished novel. So is anyone out there going to this summer's Dickens Universe sessions at U Cal-Santa Cruz?
Bill in Boston
Bill in Boston
Apr 1st, 2012, 07:32 PM
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I'll answer your question, Bill. I was an avid reader as a child and read Oliver Twist, David Copperfield & A Christmas Carol. A little later I also read Great Expectations. I loved Dickens. You're right about the characters; they were so well written.
Apr 1st, 2012, 09:16 PM
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I wonder if we ought to move this to the Lounge?
I watched Great Expectations tonight and thought it was very good.
I have read all of Dickens, and more more than once. Different favorites at different times. I'm always fond of Barnaby Rudge because it is unusual in its historical emphasis, kind of like A Tale of Two Cities. We were mad for Martin Chuzzlewit about 15 years ago; started a bit of a Dickens frenzy in our social circle.
I'm pretty involved in a Trollope reading group these days, and there is always a lively buzz of Trollope vs. Dickens chatter. If you are a Vic Lit lover, do try some Trollope, too.
I didn't know about the Dickens at Santa Cruz, but thanks for the information. Who know? It could happen.
I watched Great Expectations tonight and thought it was very good.
I have read all of Dickens, and more more than once. Different favorites at different times. I'm always fond of Barnaby Rudge because it is unusual in its historical emphasis, kind of like A Tale of Two Cities. We were mad for Martin Chuzzlewit about 15 years ago; started a bit of a Dickens frenzy in our social circle.
I'm pretty involved in a Trollope reading group these days, and there is always a lively buzz of Trollope vs. Dickens chatter. If you are a Vic Lit lover, do try some Trollope, too.
I didn't know about the Dickens at Santa Cruz, but thanks for the information. Who know? It could happen.
Apr 11th, 2012, 05:13 AM
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Bill,
Thank you for reminding us of Dickens’s bicentennial. I love “Christmas Carol” and TALE OF TWO CITIES. Truthfully, although I have read some of his other novels, the plots are a bit convoluted for my taste.
But I greatly admire his life and work, particularly his sympathy for the poor and his faithful support of struggling artists and actors with whom he came in contact. (Recommend CHARLES DICKENS by Michael Slater)
On this side of the pond, there have been many commemorations of his triumphal reading tours to the States in 1842 and 1867. He was lionized here as he was in Europe.
Tuscanlifeedit, so glad you brought up Trollope. Finally read two of his novels in recent years, THE WARDEN and THE WAY WE LIVE NOW. Fabulous! I must say I prefer his writing to that of Dickens, though his life pales in comparison to the latter. You are lucky to be in a Trollope book group.
Greetings to all Victorian novel readers out there…
Thank you for reminding us of Dickens’s bicentennial. I love “Christmas Carol” and TALE OF TWO CITIES. Truthfully, although I have read some of his other novels, the plots are a bit convoluted for my taste.
But I greatly admire his life and work, particularly his sympathy for the poor and his faithful support of struggling artists and actors with whom he came in contact. (Recommend CHARLES DICKENS by Michael Slater)
On this side of the pond, there have been many commemorations of his triumphal reading tours to the States in 1842 and 1867. He was lionized here as he was in Europe.
Tuscanlifeedit, so glad you brought up Trollope. Finally read two of his novels in recent years, THE WARDEN and THE WAY WE LIVE NOW. Fabulous! I must say I prefer his writing to that of Dickens, though his life pales in comparison to the latter. You are lucky to be in a Trollope book group.
Greetings to all Victorian novel readers out there…
Apr 11th, 2012, 06:21 AM
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As suggested I did move the topic over on April 2 to Lounge under "Celebrating Dickens" but no responses. But I can't seem to locate Lounge discussion of the latest Masterpiece Theater production of Dickens' "Great Expectations." Must be somewhere.
Yes, as stated, some of the Dickens' plots are convoluted and sometimes even boring. We do need to remember that method of newspaper serials meaning the author didn't compose a novel with a unified story. I do like the strange characters such as Miss Havershim in the "Great Expectations" although many of us thought the TV production rather boring. Still wondering about Pip who seemed so one dimensional.
I should try Trollope I guess. Seems maybe I did once.
Bill in Boston
Yes, as stated, some of the Dickens' plots are convoluted and sometimes even boring. We do need to remember that method of newspaper serials meaning the author didn't compose a novel with a unified story. I do like the strange characters such as Miss Havershim in the "Great Expectations" although many of us thought the TV production rather boring. Still wondering about Pip who seemed so one dimensional.
I should try Trollope I guess. Seems maybe I did once.
Bill in Boston
