Dickensians! discussion

DRAMATIC DICKENS!



Here is the thread to discuss the side reads for our Dramatic Dickens! season.

The main one is Charles Dickens and the Great Theatre of the World by Simon Callow as this one is the most on topic. It is an excellent read, written by an erudite Charles Dickens expert, and easy to obtain in various formats. This is on our shelves as the main side read. However, I am adding other books which I recommend too, (which may not always be easily accessible).

You may have favourite books - or chapters within books - on this theme. If so, please say here and I will add them to our master list 😊. Connie has explored a few about the Victorian theatre. Please also say if you would like to lead a side read of any of these books this year, and I will start a separate thread up for you.

Please though, be aware that any of these books will have a certain amount of spoilers about Charles Dickens's fiction, although some have more than others.

BOOK LIST: Books focussing on Charles Dickens as an actor/performer

Main Side Read:

Simon Callow - Charles Dickens and the Great Theatre of the World

Additional:

Malcolm Andrews - Charles Dickens and His Performing Selves Dickens and the Public Readings

Circle of Fire: Dickens' Vision and Style and the Popular Victorian Theater - William F Axton

George Dolby - Charles Dickens As I Knew Him: The Story of the Reading Tours in Britain and North America 1866-1870

Raymund Fitzsimons - The Charles Dickens Show: An Account of His Public Readings, 1858-1870

Ian Keable - Charles Dickens Magician: Conjuring in Life, Letters and Literature by Ian Keable

Dickens and Popular Entertainment by Paul Schlicke

Selected Chapters/Extracts

Unequal Partners: Charles Dickens, Wilkie Collins, and Victorian Authorship - Lillian Nayder

Victorian Writers and the Stage: The Plays of Dickens, Browning, Collins and Tennyson - Richard Pearson

The Cambridge Illustrated History of British Theatre - Simon Trussler

Please do say here any time, if you have (or know of) other books to add to our list. Thanks!

Has anyone started any of these yet?

If you are already overloaded with reading, then don't worry as these side reads will remain ongoing all year. We have a whole treasure chest of "Dramatic Dickens" reads coming up! 😊

(Edited)

I can heartily recommend Charles Dickens and the Great Theatre of the World by Simon Callow. He is known as an expert on Charles Dickens and has written extensively about him. He has also played Charles Dickens several times: famously once in a one-man show, The Mystery Of Charles Dickens by Peter Ackroyd (another Dickens expert); and in the films "Hans Christian Andersen: My Life as a Fairytale", and "Christmas Carol: The Movie".



He has also been on television several times playing Charles Dickens, including "An Audience with Charles Dickens" (BBC, 1996) and twice in Dr. Who! The first was "The Unquiet Dead", (BBC, 2005) and in the 2011 season finale.

I've read 2 of Simon Callow's books, and found them very engaging and entertaining. He is an erudite and knowledgeable Dickens enthusiast. What struck me as unique about Charles Dickens and the Great Theatre of the World was that in a way, here we have a counterpart to Charles Dickens himself ...

Simon Callow is a much-loved and talented actor, who clearly also has a gift for writing. He could probably have made his way as an author. And as we know, Charles Dickens had a passion for the theatre, and mesmerised audiences with his skill at acting, performing and reading. He would have loved to make the theatre his life's work ... but now he is remembered mainly as a novelist.

Two sides of the same coin?

I don’t think I will be able to join in on this read though I would like to read Callow’s book someday.

Aw, that's a shame Sue, but thanks for saying. 😊 And yes, I'm sure you'd enjoy Charles Dickens and the Great Theatre of the World whenever you have time for it!

I just read the earlier note and see this is for the entire year. For some reason I missed that. Later in the year I should be able to join in and I do want to read Callow’s book. So I’m reversing myself 😊.

Oddly, my library system doesn’t have it. I’ll have to search for it but I have plenty of time.

Sue - Yes! I wasn't sure at first it could be all year, but it will last until our next Christmas book mid-December.

Does anyone else have a good side-read for us? How about the books you used for the first play, Connie?

Bionic Jean wrote: "Does anyone else have a good side-read for us? How about the books you used for the first play, Connie? ..."

If I was picking a side read, I would have picked the same book that you did, Jean. I'm planning on reading the rest of Charles Dickens and the Great Theatre of the World, but I'm overloaded with books at the moment. Simon Callow is knowledgeable, humorous, and a good storyteller. He also understands the life of an actor and a writer from his own experience.

For people that might be enthusiastic about British theatre in general, The Cambridge Illustrated History of British Theatre by Simon Trussler is informative with beautiful illustrations in color. It covers hundreds of years so there is very little about Dickens. However, you can just read the chapters that interest you. I borrowed it from the library, but I noticed that Amazon has used copies at a good price.

I just found a copy of Callow’s book through Bookfinder at Abebooks. In England of course. All of the very good or better copies were in England! Price was excellent and mostly for postage. I still won’t be reading it for a while but nice to know I have it.

Thanks Connie - I've added that one to our list (with a note) 😊 There's another one you used, which I've now forgotten the title of LOL! But Chris is getting it for my birthday so I'll remember it then.

Sue - Oh good! Sorry it's in England though - I really thought Simon Callow was famous worldwide.

Bionic Jean wrote: "Thanks Connie - I've added that one to our list (with a note) 😊 There's another one you used, which I've now forgotten the title of LOL! But Chris is getting it for my birthday so I'll remember it ..."

The book you're thinking about is Victorian Writers and the Stage: The Plays of Dickens, Browning, Collins and Tennyson by Richard Pearson. The introductory chapter, and the chapters on Dickens, Collins, their collaboration, and plays developed from popular novels would fit in well with the Dramatic Dickens year. (There are also chapters about Browning and Tennyson.) This book is a little more academic, but still very readable for people with an interest in Dickens, and has lots of good information. For a table of contents, see this link:
https://link.springer.com/book/10.105...

Thank you Connie! I shall add it now 😊

I'm really excited about reading at least part of that one.

Jean, the least expensive, excellent copy was in England. I think this may reflect how Americans care for their books.

Oh dear.

I found this book by William F Axton which I believe to be the same as this William F. Axton and the book is Circle of Fire: Dickens' Vision and Style and the Popular Victorian Theater. It looks interesting and I will try and read enough of it to give an opinion soon.

https://books.google.com/books/about/...

Thank you so much Sam! That looks right on topic, and I've added it to our list. I'll be interested to hear what you think, and am sure others will be too 😊

Thank you! This looks great, and I've loved Simon Callow's work with opera and opera history. He has a wonderful narrative voice.

Oh I agree Miss Amelia! It's so beautifully mellifluous isn't it?

And do introduce yourself in our welcome thread if you like, so we can get to know you
LINK HERE

One more to add to our Dramatic Dickens side reads is Unequal Partners: Charles Dickens, Wilkie Collins, and Victorian Authorship by Lillian Nayder.

There is one chapter devoted to the 3 act play The Frozen Deep. It looks to be a very interesting book and I can at least read most of this chapter on Google Books.

Thank you so much Lori! I've added it 😊

And I do hope this one comes on kindle too, as another apparently excellent book by Lillian Nayder (The Other Dickens: A Life of Catherine Hogarth) has done.

I have purchased the Simon Callow book on Kindle but haven’t begun reading yet.

Oh lovely, Lee! I think you will enjoy it 😊

Bionic Jean wrote: "Oh I agree Miss Amelia! It's so beautifully mellifluous isn't it?

And do introduce yourself in our welcome thread if you like, so we can get to know you
LINK HERE"

Oh thank you!

Do add your thoughts on any of these whenever you like! I really enjoyed the Simon Callow book, and am forever using Victorian Writers and the Stage: The Plays of Dickens, Browning, Collins and Tennyson - dipping into it as we read a new play - although it can be read straight through, either.

I've just added another to our "Dramatic Dickens!" list of books. It is Dickens and Popular Entertainment by Paul Schlicke, and what I have read of it is really interesting! My copy is from 1988.