Why the World Still Loves Charles Dickens

[JI7]

<Of all the famous Victorian authors, Charles Dickens retains a place in public affections throughout the world, and Americans adore him as if he were their own. Perhaps this is because Dickens wrote from the heart; he wrote about emotions and situations that people still identify with today. Although the English language has changed since Dickens’ time, the essence of his storytelling remains as relevant as it was in the 19th Century. Dickens’ books were not only stories, they were social commentary intended to change the world. And they did just that. Oliver Twist helped bring about changes to the Factory Acts and other laws that kept children in poverty; Nicholas Nickleby was the reason brutal Yorkshire Schools – where unwanted children were sent and abused – were closed down; and A Christmas Carol remains famous around the world for its message of redemption and charity.

A Christmas Carol was written after Dickens witnessed terrible poverty on the streets of Manchester, in the north of England, and it was intended to make every reader stop and think about how they could make a difference to their society. Dickens wrote to a friend that the story would strike “a sledge-hammer blow on behalf of the Poor Man’s Child”. A Christmas Carol has never been out of print since it was published in 1843 and performances continue to take place all over the world: among the many productions this year is a musical in Mumbai, an outdoor reading by American actors in London’s Hyde Park and a hip hop version in Chicago.

One of the most fascinating aspects of Dickens is how he appeals to religious people of all persuasions. I have been told by fervent Christians, Muslims and Hindus that they revere Dickens as a man of great faith, which he was. Yet Dickens, who became a Unitarian as a direct result of his first visit to America, was scathing toward organised religion, and roundly critical of those who thought all they needed to do was to worship at a church, temple or mosque, instead of offering practical help to those in need.

When Charles Dickens died, one of his friends overheard a child worker in London’s Covent Garden ask, “If Dickens is dead, does that mean Father Christmas will die too?”. This same sentiment seems to accompany the many Dickens festivals around the globe, which honour a man who still – all these years after his early death at 58 years old – affects the way in which we celebrate Christmas.>

http://www.bbc.com/culture/story/20141216-why-the-world-loves-dickens

[malaise]

1. I adore Dickens

David Copperfield is my favorite book to this day

[PassingFair]

15. Mine too.

I've read every one of his books, except "Barnaby Rudge"....
Don't know why I just couldn't get into that LAST ONE.

[dixiegrrrrl]

20. You might be interested in this, then.

Oxford Reader's Companion to Dickens.

"This guide is a boon to understanding Dickens's life, work, ideas, and times. The alphabetically arranged entries include such topics as "amusements and recreation," "industry," "London," and "prisons and penal transportation."
The writer's major works are also discussed, focusing on their inception and composition; publishing history; illustrations (in the original editions); sources and historical context; and plots, characters, and themes.
Many of the signed articles include a bibliography. Black-and-white photographs, reproductions, and four maps accompany the text.
Appendixes include a general bibliography, an alphabetical list of characters noting the work in which they appear, and a subject index.
While there are other companions to the author's work, this is the most comprehensive.

http://www.amazon.com/Oxford-Readers-Companion-Dickens-Schlicke/dp/0198662130/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1418879634&sr=1-2&keywords=oxford+companion+dickens

You can buy new for 106 bucks
or, as I did, get a used hardbound LIKE NEW for 4.00. Maybe 4.65 now.

I also got the Oxford Companion to Trollope, same great price of 4.00 for a like new hardbound.

Why?
because Tollope and Dickens were prolific writers of their times, and it helps to know the social background of the stories, to understand what was so crucial in the plots, and what words meant in the time period they were used.
Like so many other people, I enjoy the Victorian period in England, and fortunately there are resources that gives all sorts of helpful details to further understanding of the times.
Both books are on the breakfast table, I browse with my morning coffee.

[malaise]

31. Thanks for that link sis

[dixiegrrrrl]

33. You are most welcome....

They are the coolest reference books......

[Wounded Bear]

2. Since we seem bent on repeating the conditions he suffered...

I find it high on my "not surprising" list.

[Arcadiasix]

3. He was dang good writer

[moondust]

4. Over my desk...

Picked up this print about 40 years ago at his home in London.

[R B Garr]

7. Awesome. I didn't realize you could visit his home.

I can see planning a vacation just for that!

[moondust]

9. It's also a museum now.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Dickens_Museum

[R B Garr]

21. I'm impressed! I learned something great today. n/t

[appalachiablue]

10. That's a wonderful print, good you've kept it.

I still have a poster of Matisse's Sailor Boy from the Jeu de Paume in Paris 39 years ago.

[WillyT]

5. HUGE K & R !!! - Thank You !!!

[R B Garr]

6. Love this! A Christmas Carol is our all-time favorite.

I just love Charles Dickens. Thanks for posting this. I did read the story awhile ago of what inspired Dickens to write Christmas Carol, and I could see how the story came together for him. It's such a beautiful story and the language is just classic.

[freshwest]

17. MIne, too. Reading it aloud was in December was a classic in my family.

It was an influence on me.

[R B Garr]

23. That is such a special memory. My mom bought me the book

for Christmas many years ago, but reading it together as a family sounds very special. It influenced me a lot, as well.

[Octafish]

8. Christmas Carol

Saved me.

http://literature.org/authors/dickens-charles/christmas-carol/

"God bless us. Every one."

[appalachiablue]

11. Very nice piece, thank you. Happy Holidays.

[tclambert]

12. Republicans must hate Dickens.

They must root for early Scrooge. How they must hate it that Jacob Marley earned eternal punishment for being "a good man of business."

(That's one of my favorite parts, when Marley roars back at Scrooge: ""Business!" cried the Ghost, wringing its hands again. "Mankind was my business. The common welfare was my business; charity, mercy, forbearance, and benevolence were all my business. The dealings of my trade were but a drop of water in the comprehensive ocean of my business!&quot

[Ilsa]

13. I just watched the 1999 version with Patrick Stewart

as Scrooge on TNT. Hubby's favorite is George C. Scott. The lessons are applicable today.

[world wide wally]

14. Dickens documented a two class society, the aristocracy, and the working class poor.

This is exactly as so many Republicans are working so hard to bring this country to. They have no room for anything resembling charity, a helping hand, or the common good.
Merry Christmas.

[elias49]

16. A Tale of Two Cities!

Truly one of the great books by a great author!

[KingCharlemagne]

26. Next up for you should be 'Great Expectations,' Dickens' masterful takedown

of the Victorian Yuppies and Hipsters of his day (and the perils of trying to vicariously live out one's ambitions through others).

Here's a quote told through the eyes of the child narrator Pip from GE a propos of nothing but that has stuck with me ever since I read it:

Joe made the fire and swept the hearth, and then we went to the door to listen for the chaise-cart. It was a dry cold night, and the wind blew keenly, and the frost was white and hard. A man would die to-night of lying out on the marshes, I thought. And then I looked at the stars, and considered how awful if would be for a man to turn his face up to them as he froze to death, and see no help or pity in all the glittering multitude.

Chapter 7

[freshwest]

27. Dickens wrote about the damp English cold, how it went through one's clothes in several books.

I think most of us, even as a kid, because I was that way, tried to help people like that. It was just a connection kids have, they feel more vulnerable and grateful for what they have.

And they wonder why everyone doesn't have such blessings and how to help. If brought up the way I was, anyway. I don't know what is happening to kidss whose parents are so unfeeling. I can't grasp a kid being so uncaring about the suffering of others, unless there is something missing, it seems unnatural to me.

But my folks were of the Great Depression, who knew true hunger and solidarity. Things were more simple, perhaps, not so many people desiring luxury instead of survival. I'm not sure if we can re-create that same kind of caring society without so much pain before that.

[KingCharlemagne]

28. Dickens would have plenty to say about our gross hypocrisy and empty cant, were

he around to witness a society where 1 in 5 children experiences hunger at least once per month while 1% of the population controls 40% of the wealth. Dickens would flay the finance and banking crew and would utterly demolish the denizens of self help that pollute our national consciousness.

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

30. "It is a far, far better thing that I do ..."

best words never uttered by a character.

Yes, a great book.

[PADemD]

18. Dickens' Great Great Grandson tours reading Dickens' works.

Gerald Charles Dickens performed every character of The Christmas Carol several years ago in Bethlehem, PA.

http://www.geralddickens.com/biography.htm

http://www.geralddickens.com/events.htm

[EndElectoral]

19. Benevolence toward the downtrodden

Was at the Edgar Allan Poe gravesite in Baltimore yesterday. Poe had met Dickens on occasion, and of course died quite young in 1849. Dickens had read that his mother-in-law (Mrs. Clemm) was destitute later in life and two years before Dickens died he sent her $1000 (amount to $16,667 dollars today even though he hardly knew the lady).

"A note from the Daily National Intelligencer (Washington, DC), states: “DICKENS, it is reported, has sent $1,000 to Mrs. Clemm, the mother-in-law of Edgar A. Poe, who is an inmate of a charitable institution in Baltimore, and has been for years in extremely indigent circumstances.” (Tuesday, February 4, 1868). "

While Dickens had his flaws, he did contribute to improving the condition of the poor such as the Field Lane Ragged School which provided evening classes for the poor, and Urania Cottage, a home for fallen and homeless women as well as many other causes.

"No one is useless in this world who lightens the burden of it to anyone else." - Dickens

[lexington filly]

22. So enjoyed this. Thanks.

[sabrina 1]

24. Good post, thank you. Dickens was a great writer. I wonder if he ever thought how

many generations would be reading his work? And how relevant it would remain for so long?

[Tuesday Afternoon]

25. you might be interested in this movie about Dickens ...

The Invisible Woman (2013)

111 min - Biography | Drama | History - 21 February 2014 (UK)
Director: Ralph Fiennes
Writers: Abi Morgan (screenplay), Claire Tomalin (book)
Stars: Ralph Fiennes, Felicity Jones, Kristin Scott Thomas

At the height of his career, Charles Dickens meets a younger woman who becomes his secret lover until his death. In the 1850s, Ellen Ternan is a minimally talented actress who catches the eye of the hailed British author, Charles Dickens. Bored with his intellectually unstimulating wife, Dickens takes the educated Ellen has his mistress with the cooperation of her mother. What follows is a stormy relationship with this literary giant who provides her with a life few women of her time can enjoy. Yet, Ellen is equally revolted by Charles' emotional cruelty and determination to keep her secret. In that conflict, Ellen must judge her own role in her life and decide if the price she pays is bearable.

more at link:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1700845/?ref_=rvi_tt

and from Wikipedia:
The Invisible Woman is a 2013 British biographical drama film directed by Ralph Fiennes and starring Ralph Fiennes, Felicity Jones, Kristin Scott Thomas, and Tom Hollander. Written by Abi Morgan, and based on the book The Invisible Woman by Claire Tomalin, the film is about the secret love affair between Charles Dickens and Nelly Ternan, which lasted for thirteen years until his death in 1870. The film premiered at the Telluride Film Festival on 31 August 2013,[3] and was released in the United Kingdom on 7 February 2014. The film received a Best Costume Design nomination (Michael O'Connor) at the 86th Academy Awards.[4]

more at link:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Invisible_Woman_%282013_film%29

[Freddie]

29. I can't read the book or see the movie

Without crying my eyes out, whether it's George C. Scott or Mr. Magoo in the lead role. And I do, several times each holiday season.
I've read that "A Christmas Carol" is why the holiday changed from a day adults got drunk to its present emphasis on children. A blessing indeed.

[JI7]

37. so christmas could have been like our memorial day, independence da, new years eve

etc.

even with all the focus on shopping there is still a lot of giving . the holiday would really suck if that part went away.

[betsuni]

32. "A Christmas Carol" is a perfect piece of writing,

and I've read it so many times that if my brains worked well I could quote the whole thing. "American Notes for General Circulation" is powerful, Dickens is sickened by slavery and wonders what the hell is wrong with Americans.

[FSogol]

34. Here's a book rec for a book about the writing of "A Christmas Carol"

It is a good story and provides an excellent glimpse into Dickens' life.

"The Man Who Invented Christmas: How Charles Dickens's A Christmas Carol Rescued His Career & Revived Our Holiday Spirits"
by Les Standiford.

[xchrom]

35. du rec.

[JEB]

36. K&R

Tale of Two Cities is relevant to today's world.