PERIOD & MORE PERIOD - THE INVISIBLE WOMAN

Directed and starring Ralph Fiennes  as Charles Dickens, THE INVISIBLE WOMAN is the latest period  movie I saw. It is an adaptation of Claire Tomaline's book of the same name. It was released in 2013, it hasn’t made it to Italian theatres so far, but it is fortunately already available on DVD.  

The invisible woman of the title is Ellen Ternan , played by Felicity Jones, seen as Catherine Morland in Northanger Abbey 2007 or more recently in Hysteria. Ellen, Nelly, was  a beautiful young actress with whom Charles Dickens had a  secret 13-year affair and who was 27 years his junior.

Abi Morgan (Shame)   adapted Claire Tomalin‘s novel.  Tom Hollander , as the author Wilkie Collins,  Kristin Scott Thomas, as Nelly's mother, Tom Burke (The Musketeers)  as Ellen’s husband, George Robinson,   are also in  the cast.

Best Places To Travel Based On Classic British Literature

(by guest blogger Marcela De Vivo) England is full of literary history and culture, much of which is not only available via the printed word, but can also be visited as popular travel destinations.

For those who are interested in classic British literature, who might be planning on visiting England in the near future, it’s worthwhile to do some research on what locations are inspired by classical writings, and then plan to visit them accordingly. 

Whether you’re a fan of Shakespeare, Charles Dickens or Agatha Christie, there’s probably a touristy destination for you based on your favorite British classic novel.

CHARLES DICKENS IN ITALY - CAELUM NON ANIMUM MUTANT QUI TRANS MARE CURRUNT

Today is Charles Dickens's birthday. He was born on 7 February 1812. I'm posting this article to celebrate the incredibly talented story-teller on a very special date and to let you know the man behind the books a little more.

Would you believe such a successful, rich and widely appreciated man suffered from unhappiness? That he pined  for romantic, passionate love all his life long? Apparently he did. He tried to escape his dissatisfaction and unhappiness travelling and, especially, writing.

This piece by Claudio Taccucci, was originally published on Tiscali online paper in Italian. I asked Mr Taccucci permission to translate his article and post it here at FLY HIGH! to share it with all of you who, like me,  are interested in the great English novelist. He gladly and generously accepted, so here it is for you to enjoy. 

Caelum non animum mutant qui trans mare currunt . Those who go to sea may change their horizon,  not their soul. Charles Dickens had a tormented soul and when he was haunted by his own predicaments  or unhappiness, he escaped. If he was in his London house, he went out at night and roamed the city for hours,  going back only in the morning. Nobody will ever know what he actually did in those hours,  which he justified as a quest for inspiration for his novels. When, to avoid melancholy, his walks were not enough, he left on trips. He travelled all over England with a friend, stayed for long periods in Paris or sailed for the States on self – promotion tours.

DICKENS 2012 - THE LIFE AND ADVENTURES OF NICK NICKLEBY

“Happiness is a gift and the trick is not to expect it, but to delight in it when it comes.” ― Charles Dickens, Nicholas Nickleby

Have you seen Nick Nickleby? I don't think many of you had the chance to meet the lovely boy, actually. Watching the 5-part modernization of Charles Dickens' s classic of which he was the protagonist was not for anyone . The Life and Adventures of Nick Nickleby was on at daytime , which doesn't usually  and obviously  get big audiences. That was a pity, because it was a really good one.
You know I wouldn't miss an adaptation of a classic for nothing in the world, so I wanted to see this new one too and, fortunately, I did it. But most people could not, since they couldn't be at home on weekdays at 2.15 p.m.

LONDON LABOUR AND THE LONDON POOR. HENRY MAYHEW'S LONDON AND ITS FIRST ITALIAN TRANSLATION

London Labour and the London Poor is a remarkable work of Victorian journalism by Henry Mayhew, Dickens's contemporary and like Dickens celebrating his bicentenary this year (both were born in 1812). 

Mayhew observed, documented, interviewed, described hundreds of poor people living in the abyss which was London in the 1840s-50s for a series of articles published in the Morning Chronicle. Those articles were later on compiled  into book form (1851 in 3 volumes, 1861 a fourth Extra Volume was added). 

As a fond reader of Victorian literature, yesterday I was in Rome, at Biblioteca Nazionale Centrale, for the presentation of the first Italian translation of Mayhew's work by Mauro Cotone: Il lavoro e i poveri nella Londra Vittoriana.

The Italian version of the work is a selection of 138 articles out of the many hundreds Mayhew wrote. Mauro Cotone selected them obtaining a significant wide range of typical figures from the crowd inhabiting London slums: beggars, street entertainers, mudlarks, prostitutes, labourers and thieves. A great portion of those destitute beings had no fixed place of work nor a fixed abode, they lived in the slum alleys and streets where Mayhew meet them. The caricatures full of pathos we find in Charles Dickens's pages become sketches of real people in these articles, people telling about themselves in authentic first-person accounts and objectively described by a professional reporter. 

SOME BLOGGING AT LAST: CONCUPISCENCE & LITERARY VENTRILOQUISM

I've had some spare time to catch up with and read some interesting blogs and articles today. Well, better to say I've neglected some duties and chores (I was really fed-up of correcting and assessing tests and questionnaires, I've been doing that for days!)  and I've spent some time reading good stuff online this afternoon. I'd like to share with you the best posts I've found.

You may think I'm biased since I know the two talented lady writers, authors of the two brilliant pieces but I'm not. So, if you don't trust the objectivity of my words, just click on the links and check yourself!

I WON'T MISS IT! DICKENS AND HIS INVISIBLE WOMAN

After directing and starring in Coriolanus based on Shakespeare's Roman drama, Ralph Fiennes directs and stars as Charles Dickens in THE INVISIBLE WOMAN, film adaptation of Claire Tomaline's book of the same name. The movie is due to release in 2013 and tells about the affair between the famous writer and the beautiful young actress Ellen Ternan (Felicity Jones, Hysteria, Northanger Abbey).

Abi Morgan (Shame) has adapted Claire Tomalin‘s novel, which tells of the 13-year affair between Dickens and Nelly Ternan, a woman who was 27 years  the author’s junior. Tom Hollander (as the author Wilkie Collins) and Kristin Scott Thomas   (as Nelly's mother)  are also in  the cast.

DICKENS WORLD - WATCHING MICAWBER (2001)

In the year of Dickens Bicentenary we owe him some gratitude and remembrance. So, since  I've seen  all the adaptations of his novels I could find, I decided I needed  some more Dickens , surfed the Net and found this lovely series dating back to 2001 (available on DVD).   David Jason stars as Mr. Micawber in this gentle comedy set in Victorian England and inspired by a character from Charles Dickens' novel 'David Copperfield'.

Like in that novel, in this lovely series too , Mr Micawber is incredibly eloquent and well-spoken, but he is also criminally bad with money. He doesn't meet any lovely 10-year-old David in the 4 episodes I saw,  but through his adventures - well, add a "mis" before the "ad "- the watcher can revisit the Dickensian - subtly ironic but lovable - portrait of an amiable character inspired to his own father, John Dickens. Micawber and Mr Dickens senior shared the same sad fate of being incarcerated in a debtors' prison (the King's Bench Prison) after failing to meet their creditors' demands.

GIVEAWAY WINNERS ANNOUNCEMENT FOR THE SKIN OF WATER AND TOM-ALL-ALONE'S

1. The Skin of Water by Greg Johnston

Passions flare and alliances shift in this breathtaking story of survival set during the final days of World War II in Hungary.

Young Zeno dreams of moving to Budapest and becoming a great filmmaker in the Hungarian film studios. But one evening he follows Catherine Steiner, a guest at the exclusive lakeside resort where he works as a bellboy, into the forest. Unknowingly he dives into her life, changing his forever.

Her husband is a wealthy industrialist with the power to create – or crush – Zeno. Despite Catherine’s protests, Zeno moves to Budapest and takes a servant’s job in the Steiner house, shining her husband’s shoes while hearing the family’s secrets.

All Zeno and Catherine have are precious hours in a secret apartment, tucked above the uneasy streets of a city at war, their affair a flimsy wall against a future no one can see or predict. Until it arrives.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, CHARLES DICKENS!

I should have celebrated this occasion, Dickens Bicentenary, at school with my oldest students, the ones in their final year. No way. Schools are still closed because of the snow and it goes on snowing right now outside of my windows. 

I had planned to tell them about Dickens life, his picture of Victorian London,  and show them scenes from David Copperfield and Oliver Twist.

I have to renounce and postpone. But can I celebrate with you? Genius story-teller , Dickens, deserves to be read, remembered and celebrated on his 200th birthday (7 February 1812) . There will be celebrations all through the year and lots of TV programmes and new adaptations of his novels. The latest BBC series were very good. Have you seen them? Have you read my posts about them? Great Expectations was stunning and Edwin Drood a revelation to me who had never read nor seen the story.

Google remembers Dickens today

CELEBRATING DICKENS BICENTENARY AND THE RELEASE OF TOM-ALL-ALONE'S WITH LYNN SHEPHERD. AUTHOR INTERVIEW AND GIVEAWAY

Today is release day for  Tom-All-Alone's (Solitary House in the US edition) and I'm glad to feature this interview with its talented author, Lynn Shepherd,  (her debut novel was Murder at Mansfield Park) who accepted to answer some questions after I read and reviewed her upcoming book. 

Celebrate Dickens Bicentenary with us, read through Lynn's interview and about her love for Bleak House, leave your comment  + e-mail address  to take part in the giveaway contest open internationally for 1 copy of just released Tom-All-Alone's (copy provided by UK publishers, Corsair & Random House). The winner will be announced on February 28.

Writing a second novel after a successful debut one is never an easy task for a writer. What was your journey from Murder at Mansfield Park to Tom-All- Alone’s like?

THE MYSTERY OF EDWIN DROOD - DICKENS'S LAST GIFT

It's a good period for period drama. BBC schedules several costume series and also promising original modern drama in 2012.
For instance, the last two nights on BBC2 were dedicated to The Mystery of Edwin Drood (1870), an unfinished work which was Charles Dickens's last gift to his devoted readers, left incomplete when a stroke suddenly brought him away from the wordly stage he had always successfully and willingly trodden upon. When he died,   he was only halfway through this dark tale, "leaving all the balls in the air and numerous hints, blind alleys, unrevealed connections and intriguing possibilities on display" - says Diarmouid Lawrence, the director of BBC2 adaptation , which ended last night.

FIRST GOOD READ OF THE NEW YEAR - LYNN SHEPHERD, TOM-ALL-ALONE'S

UK cover

This book is going to be released in less than a month, February 2nd,  as a homage to Charles Dickens in the year of his  birthday bicentenary (February  1812 – February  2012) (Official Site -Dickens 2012)

Tom-All-Alone’s was one of the poorest, dirtiest, most squalid slums in 19th century London. Tom- All- Alone’s  (The Solitary House in the US and Canada edition, May 1st 2012) is the title Lynn Shepherd has chosen for her second novel.

 It is  a gripping noir murder mystery set in foggy Victorian London, in which the characters of Dickens’s Bleak House and Lynn Shepherd’s own creatures come to interact . This is Lynn Shepherd’s second tribute to a great British  writer. Her succesful  debut book was set , in fact, in one of Jane Austen’s Regency novels and   titled, Murder at Mansfield Park (published in the UK, the US and in Spain). (My review on My Jane Austen Book Club)

LAST SEEN: BBC GREAT EXPECTATIONS - WHAT A GREAT BELATED CHRISTMAS GIFT!

Estella : "I have been bent and broken, but — I hope — into a better shape." (from the book)

Let's start from the end. Yes, right from the end. I'm afraid this will be a major spoiler if you haven't read Dickens's novel yet. So, you are warned.  I've just finished watching this beautiful new BBC adaptation of  Great Expectations and I'm delighted  they've chosen Dickens's revised ending, unlikely the previous BBC version. This time Pip and Estella meet again at Satis House ...

"We are friends," said I, rising and bending over her, as she rose from the bench. "And will continue friends apart," said Estella. I took her hand in mine, and we went out of the ruined place; and, as the morning mists had risen long ago when I first left the forge, so the evening mists were rising now, and in all the broad expanse of tranquil light they showed to me, I saw no shadow of another parting from her". (from the novel)

SEPTEMBER 2011 - CHARLES DICKENS IN MANHATTAN AND EMILY BRONTE IN VENICE

After hosting a successful exhibition dedicated to Jane Austen ,   A Woman's Wit - Jane Austen's Life and Legacy, in 2010, The Morgan Library & Museum in Manhattan, NYC opens a new great one to celebrate Charles Dickens's 200th birth anniversary. This is how they present the event: 

Alfred Bryan (1852–1899). Caricature of Charles Dickens

Charles Dickens (1812–1870) was Britain's first true literary superstar. In his time, he attracted international adulation, and many of his books became instant classics. Today, his popularity continues unabated, and his work remains not only widely read but widely adapted for stage and screen.

The Morgan Library & Museum' si collection of Dickens manuscripts and letters is the largest in the United States and is one of the two greatest collections in the world, along with the holdings of Britain's Victoria and Albert Museum. Charles Dickens at 200 celebrates the bicentennial of the great writer's birth in 1812 with manuscripts of his novels and stories, letters, books, photographs, original illustrations, and caricatures. Sweeping in scope, the exhibition captures the art and life of a man whose literary and cultural legacy is unrivaled. 

(September 23, 2011 through February 12, 2012 )