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When the Miser Met the Martian: A Sci-Fi Dickensian Drama
This special holiday lecture by Associate Professor Marty Gould (University of South Florida) is presented as part of the 2020 Dickensian Holiday Weekend. Inventively reimagining Dickens’s Christmas classic via popular interest in interplanetary communication, Richard Ganthony’s play A Message from Mars gave A Christmas Carol a timely update. A product of the “Mars Mania” of the 1890s, the play is…
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Marley’s Chains
Susan Zieger, Professor of English at UC Riverside, discusses two essential elements in the interactions between Ebenezer Scrooge and Jacob Marley’s Ghost in Stave One of A Christmas Carol: humor as a counterpoint to the last judgment and the metaphor of chain. TRANSCRIPT: Hello, I’m Susan Zieger. I teach at the University of California Riverside, and…
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Wilkins Micawber
Tim Clark, Friends of the Dickens Project Board Member and Dickens Universe auctioneer, reprises his role of Wilkins Micawber. TRANSCRIPT: Hello. My name is Tim Clark, and I am the chairman of the greater Riverside area, Dickens Fellowship in Southern California. I’m also on the board for the [Friends of the] Dickens Project for our…
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A Green Old Age
In this week’s installment, Tyger Wright, a Santa Cruz based artist, highlights a passage in ‘Barnaby Rudge’ where Dickens pays “tender attention to a population that is often marginalized, our elders.” TRANSCRIPT: I am Tyger Wright, sustained thus far in my life by fine arts, literature, and grace. Last year was the best piece of…
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Friends Christmas Auction
The Friends of the Dickens Project’s fundraising auction is a community-building event to celebrate the work of the Dickens Project. All proceeds will support the activities of the Dickens Project, including high school and community college scholarships and travel grants.
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Christmas with Dickens
Charles Dickens just wants to talk about his book, A Christmas Carol, but what happens when spirits begin to show up? Is Dickens being guilt-tripped by his estranged wife, Catherine; haunted by the Ghost of Christmas Present; regretting his portrayal of Ebenezer Scrooge? And what is Queen Victoria doing there?
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Reading Dickens Today
Charles Dickens just wants to talk about his book, A Christmas Carol, but what happens when spirits begin to show up? Is Dickens being guilt-tripped by his estranged wife, Catherine; haunted by the Ghost of Christmas Present; regretting his portrayal of Ebenezer Scrooge? And what is Queen Victoria doing there?
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Looking Before and After: Plotting with David Copperfield
Citing two pivotal passages from David Copperfield, Friends of the Dickens Project Board Member, Wayne Batten, illuminates the links connecting Clara Copperfield, Betsey Trotwood, and Dora Copperfield. TRANSCRIPT: Hello, I’m Wayne Batten living in Nashville. I’m a retired school teacher and I’m on the faculty of the Dickens Universe. Today, I’d like to share a favorite…
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Hairdresser Heroine
With over one thousand created characters, it has been said that one will never meet a person whom they hadn’t encountered within the pages of a Charles Dickens novel. In David Copperfield, retired clergyman Larry Hicks finds a heroine who reminds him of a childhood friend. TRANSCRIPT: I’m Larry Hicks and I have to confess I’ve…
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Dickens à la Carte
In today’s installment, Professor Ian Duncan (UC Berkeley) shares a charming passage from Bleak House in which Mr. Guppy, early in his career as an attorney’s clerk, acts as a generous host. At the same time, Dickens explores theories of early evolutionist science. TRANSCRIPT: Hello, I’m Ian Duncan, and I’m speaking to you from Berkeley, California, locked…
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Victorian Kitchens & Cocktails Workshop
Dust off your copies of What Shall We Have for Dinner? by Lady Clutterbuck and Mrs. Beeton’s Book of Household Management and join us for three interactive sessions exploring Victorian kitchens and cocktails.
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Dickens, Mesmerism, and Ghosts
Just in time for Halloween, Dr. Romany Reagan explains how the Victorian revival of Mesmerism of the 1830s allowed Dickens to explore “ideas about the workings of the mind [that] come through in his work when you start to see his characters and their hauntings through the lens of his mesmeric philosophy.” TRANSCRIPT: Did you know that…