I'm so happy this holiday season will be pretty special. It'll be a very period Christmas time, you know? Period as in period drama, great costume series, unforgettable emotions. Here's my holiday period calendar, which I'm glad to share with all of you. Are you ready? Bookmark this post or take notes, if you are a period drama freak like me! (for more info about the shows, click on the links below the pictures)
Directed
and starringRalph Fiennes as Charles Dickens, THE INVISIBLE WOMAN is the
latest period movie I saw. It is an adaptation ofClaire 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.
(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.
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.
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!
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.
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.
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.
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.
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?
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.
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)
It's that time of the year again, the time when I start teaching about The Victorian Age to my last year students and reading pages from famous Victorian novels with them as well as watching scenes from their adaptations. As I told you in my previous post, I'm working on Dickensat the moment. We read some pages from Oliver Twist (1838). We had also started watching Roman Polanski 's 2005 film adaptation and we were supposed to finish watching it this morning ...if only we could have found my DVD where I had left it locked last Monday! It wasn't there any longer and the technician helping us teachers in the lab had no idea of what might have happened. Unexplicable mystery!
Surfing the Net for my classes on Dickens these days , I've bumped into several beautiful Victorian /Edwardian paintings signed by a Dickens (or with a beautiful Dickens portrayed ) which I didn't expect. This does not mean I discovered old Charles's talent for Art and Painting but that I found out he had a daughter who was a painter: KATE DICKENS PERUGINI. (1839 -1929) Here she is in a painting by John Everett Millais, one of the Pre-Raphaelites.
In 1880 Sir John Everett Millais painted her in one of his "most striking portraits", but he had previously used her as a model for his painting The Black Brunswicker (1860) (below)
I've watched this DVD only recently, though this TV adaptation is 16 years old . It was made by 'BBC Schools', a low cost production. And the sparse sets and Coketown streets are indeed very basic. But this is more than compensated for by the quality of the cast. this version boasts a cast most big budget films would just dream about: Alan Bates, Richard E. Grant, Harriet Walter, Bill Paterson, and the great Bob Peck, magnificent as Gradgrind .Superb actors, who drive the story along and convey the character so essential to Dickens through a glance or a gesture, in what is a very stripped down and shortened version of Dickens' classic novel.
Inevitably a lot of Dickens' complexity is lost, and the effect of its abridgement leads to a rather jerky approach, with abrupt shifts of time and scene. But overall this is a great adaptation, it is a tribute to the BBC's commitment to quality educational films.
THE PLOT
Thomas Gradgrind is an educator and a riter on political questions. He has founded a school where his education theories are put into practice: children are taught nothing but facts, and he educates his own children, Louisa and Tom, in the same way, neglecting their imagination and their affections. He also adopts Sissy Jupe, whose father worked in a circus.
Mr Gradgrind suggests his daughter should marry Josiah Bounderby, a rich factory owner and banker of the city some thirty years older than she is. Louisa, desiring to help her brother Tom in his career, consents to the marriage, which naturally proves to be very unhappy.
Tom, who is selfish and lazy, is given a job in Bounderby's bank, and eventually steals some money from it, making everybody think Mr Blackpool, an honest factory worker, guilty of that. Tom's guilt is discovered eventually , but he runs away and hides among the circus folk, who show kindness and sympathy by sheltering him . Meanwhile, Louisa has realised she has sacrificed her life and her chances to love. She has met Mr Harthouse, she has fallen in love, she doesn't want to be Mr Bounderby's wife anylonger.
In the end Mr Gradgrind understands the damage caused by his narrow-minded and materialistic philosophy.
(If you want a more detailed plot, have a look here)
HARD TIMES, AN INDUSTRIAL NOVEL - DICKENS AND GASKELL
For this event hosted by Jenny at TakeMeAway this week, I've chosen this classic by Dickens. Throwback Thursday is a weekly corner to write about good reads from the past. Those books we so much loved and we don't want to forget .
The story is set in Coketown, fictitious name for the typical Victorian industrial town (partially based on 19th century Preston) , where the air is polluted by smoke and ashes and pervaded by the poisonous smell from the canal and the river. The sad , monotonous life of the people is reflected in the grey, gloomy, atmosphere of the setting. The appalling misery of the working classes is embodied by Stephen Blackpool: one of the hands in Bounderby’s factory, Stephen lives a life of drudgery and poverty. In spite of the hardships of his daily toil, Stephen strives to maintain his honesty, integrity, faith, and compassion.
Dickens had visited factories in Manchester as early as 1839, and was appalled by the environment in which workers toiled. Drawing upon his own childhood experiences, Dickens resolved to "strike the heaviest blow in my power" for those who laboured in horrific conditions. That experience must have provided him inspiration while writing his HARD TIMES.
In this novel, published in instalments in 1853 in his review HOUSEHOLD WORDS, Dickens deals with the sufferings of the factory system , the activity of trade unions, the appalling living conditions of workers with his post-Industrial Revolution pessimism regarding the divide between capitalistic mill owners and undervalued employees during the Victorian era. Another related novel, North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell, was also published in this magazine in 1855. Her story was set in another fictitious industrial town of the North of England, Milton, based on Victorian Manchester . Anyhow, in their dealing with the reality of the factory system, the two great novelists show differences. In HARD TIMES the social issues and the social context are the background of the story and Dickens's main interest is in the effects which that harsh reality has on the characters' lives and affections ; his focus is on the characters' emotions and feelings and, for this reason, his novel has been defined as "humanitarian". In Mrs Gaskell's NORTH AND SOUTH, or also in her previous MARY BARTON (1848), the social issues and the social context come in the foreground, they are part of the plot as much as the intelinked lives of the characters.
UTILITARIANISM
The Utilitarians were one of the targets of Dickens in this novel. Utilitarianism was a prevalent school of thought during this period, its most famous proponents being Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill. Theoretical Utilitarian ethics stated that promotion of general social welfare is the ultimate goal for the individual and society in general: "the greatest amount of happiness for the greatest number of people." But Dickens believed that, in practical terms, the pursuit of a totally rationalized society could lead to great misery.
Bentham's former secretary, Edwin Karbunkle, helped design the Poor Law of 1834 (Dickens' target in OLIVER TWIST 1837-38), which deliberately made workhouse life as uncomfortable as possible. In the novel, this is conveyed in Bitzer's response to Gradgrind's appeal for compassion at the end of the story.
Dickens was appalled by what was, in his interpretation, a selfish philosophy, which was combined with materialist laissez-faire capitalism in the education of some children at the time, as well as in industrial practices. In Dickens' interpretation, the prevalence of utilitarian values in educational institutions promoted contempt between mill owners and workers, creating young adults whose imaginations had been neglected, due to an over-emphasis on facts at the expense of more imaginative pursuits. Tom and Louisa Gradgrind are sad exemplifications of Dickens' pessimistic vision of the results of Utilitarian educational methods.
“ It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair” (Book 1, ch. 1)
A TALE OF TWO CITIES (1859) is one of Dickens’s darkest tales and one of his two historical novels (the other one is Barnaby Rudge). The novel was published in weekly installments (not monthly, as with most of his other novels). The first installment ran in the first issue of Dickens' literary periodical All the Year Round appearing on 30 April 1859.
It is set in Paris and London (the two cities) in the years before and during the French Revolution. Its widely known opening (above) was the description of that terrible time but it is also considered the author’s literary description of his own age, the Victorian era. Some have argued that in A Tale of Two Cities Dickens reflects on his recently begun affair with eighteen-year-old actress Ellen Ternan, which was possibly asexual but certainly romantic. The character of Lucie Manette resembles Ternan physically, and some have seen "a sort of implied emotional incest" (not my words!) in the relationship between Dr. Manette and his daughter. Dickens was first inspired to write this novel after starring in a play by Wilkie Collins entitled The Frozen Deep ( yes! They say he was a good performer!). In the play, Dickens interpreted the role of a man who sacrifices his own life so that his rival may have the woman they both love; the love triangle in the play became the basis for the relationships between
Charles Darnay (Xavier Deluc)
Lucie Manette (Serena Gordon)
Sydney Carton (James Wilby)
in The Tale of two cities.(In the pictures above, the protagonists in the 1989 TV adaptation)
The impression you get while reading this novel is that Dickens doesn’t believe in justice, human justice, and doesn’t trust revolutions. Neither against incredible unjust tyrants. Like Orwell many years later in his Animal Farm, Charles Dickens shows how every revolution turns into its contrary, an involution, and how the rebellious subjects become as evil and unjust as the tyrants they overturned. Men always make the same mistakes in history.
The 1989 TV Drama
In 1989 Granada Television made a mini-series starring James Wilby as "Sydney Carton", Serena Gordon as "Lucie Manette", Xavier Deluc as "Charles Darnay", which was shown on American television as part of the PBS television series Masterpiece Theatre.
It is a two-part series, a good product with good performing standards, a mixed Anglo/French cast. It depicts the tragedy of the French peasantry under the demoralization of the French aristocracy in the years leading up to the revolution, the corresponding brutality demonstrated by the revolutionaries toward the former aristocrats in the early years of the revolution. Quite accurate and respectful to the book, though shortened of course.
It follows the lives of several protagonists through these events, most notably Charles Darnay, a French once-aristocrat who falls victim to the indiscriminate wrath of the revolution despite his virtuous nature, and Sydney Carton, a dissipated British barrister who endeavours to redeem his ill-spent life out of love for Darnay's wife, Lucie Manette. (If you need a detailed summary of the plot click HERE )
The two male protagonists
1. Sidney Carton
Sydney Carton proves the most dynamic character in A Tale of Two Cities. He first appears as a lazy, alcoholic attorney who cannot muster even the smallest amount of interest in his own life. He describes his existence as a supreme waste of life and takes every opportunity to declare that he cares for nothing and no one. Eventually, Carton reaches a point where he recognizes and can admit his feelings to Lucie herself. Before Lucie weds Darnay, Carton professes his love to her, though he still persists in seeing himself as essentially worthless. This scene marks a vital transition for Carton and lays the foundation for the supreme sacrifice that he makes at the novel’s end.
2. Charles Darnay
Novelist E. M. Forster famously criticized Dickens’s characters as “flat,” lamenting that they seem to lack the depth and complexity that make literary characters realistic and believable. Charles Darnay (and Lucie Manette!) certainly fits this description. A man of honor, respect, and courage, Darnay conforms to the archetype of the hero but never exhibits the kind of inner struggle that Carton and Doctor Manette undergo. His opposition to the Marquis’ snobbish and cruel aristocratic values is admirable, but, ultimately, his virtue proves too uniform, and he fails to exert any compelling force on the imagination.
The theme of the Double and other autobiographical hints
Sydney Carton and Charles Darnay may also have a connection to Dickens' personal life. He hinges on the near-perfect resemblance between Sydney Carton and Charles Darnay; the two look so alike that Carton twice saves Darnay through the inability of others to tell them apart. Carton and Darnay do not simply look alike they seem to anticipate a certain more modern dualism: Carton is Darnay made bad.
Carton suggests as much: 'Do you particularly like the man [Darnay]?' he muttered, at his own image [which he is regarding in a mirror]; 'why should you particularly like a man who resembles you? There is nothing in you to like; you know that. Ah, confound you! What a change you have made in yourself! A good reason for talking to a man, that he shows you what you have fallen away from and what you might have been! Change places with him, and would you have been looked at by those blue eyes [belonging to Lucie Manette] as he was, and commiserated by that agitated face as he was? Come on, and have it out in plain words! You hate the fellow (Book 2, chapter 4)
Dickens like Stevenson? An anticipation of his Jekyll and Hyde? Did you notice? Carton and Darnay = Charles Dickens. He did the same with David Copperfield = Dickens Charles. The author reveals part of himself through these characters.
Just a fragment of this adaptation which I cut for you to enjoy
Carton's profession of love to Lucie
She is moved and amazed at Sidney's words but she will marry the man she loves, Charles Darnay.
While Sidney Carton's , in the end, will keep his promise.
Not long ago, writing about one of my favourite novels by Dickens, GREAT EXPECTATIONS, I said that it had one of the saddest ending I had ever read in one his works. Dickens usually rewards the good and punishes the wicked. Well, I wasn’t right. I hadn’t read his THE OLD CURIOSITY SHOP (1841). Someone more important than me, who read it at the time of its publication , reacted even worse than me: the Irish leader Daniel O'Connell burst into tears at the finale, and threw the book out of the window of the train in which he was travelling.
Actually, I haven’t read this novel yet. As usual I had to study about it when preparing my university exams ages ago, but, so far I’ve only seen one of the latest TV adaptations, BBC 2007 The Old Curiosity Shop. I did it yesterday . Though it changes a bit respect to the original plot, it is a good-quality Tv drama depicting a gloomy foggy Victorian London, with good locations, good performances and a good narrative pace.
THE OLD CURIOSITY SHOP was one of two novels (the other being Barnaby Rudge) which Dickens published along with short stories in his weekly serial Master Humphrey's Clock, which lasted from 1840 to 1841. The Old Curiosity Shop was printed as a separate book in 1841.
The story
Poor little Nell Trent ( Sophie Vavasseur) is a sweet thing, an orphan. At 13, she is the soul of innocence, naive , generous and good hearted as she keeps house for her grandfather ( Derek Jakobi) in dangerous dark London of 1839. A ray of sunshine on the bleak and dirty streets.
Her older brother, Fred ( Brian Dick) , who mistakenly thinks she will inherit a fortune accumulated by their miserly granny, already plans to marry her off to his friend, Richard Swiveller (Geoff Breton).
But he is wrong: white-haired Grandpa is a compulsive gambler who stays out all night, leaving Nell sleeping in the living quarters above his curiosity shop, while he regularly loses the money he has borrowed from Daniel Quilp (Toby Jones) . Eventually, the mean wicked Mr Quilp decides he wants his money back and plans to get a younger beautiful wife - though he already has one – blackmailing Nell’s Grandpa: he will give him as much money as he wants if Nell will be a maid-servant in his house. Got it?
When Mr Quilp takes possession of the Old Curiosity Shop , Nell convinces her grandad to leave and they become beggars.... adventures and misadventures await them, while Mr Quilp wants them back ...at any cost.
Dickens's characters
Among Dickens’s devilish villains, Mr Quilp is the slimiest, the most insidious and devious I remember: a malicious, grotesquely deformed, hunchbacked dwarf moneylender.His helpers are as insidious as he is: Mr Samson Brass (Adam Godley ) and his sister Sally (Gina McKee) are obsequious and malicious, greedy and selfish (they reminded me of Uriah Heep).
As always in Dickens’s great novels the evil characters are incredibly wicked and the good ones are incredibly good.The first may sometimes seem grotesque caricatures of demons and the latter naive unaware creatures in a world too complicated and hostile (Oliver Twist, Pipp, Little Dorrit, young David Copperfield, for example)
Among the good characters in The Old Curiosity Shop there’s Kit, Christopher 'Kit' Nubbles, (George MacKay) Nell's only friend and servant. His dedication to his family earns him the respect of many characters, and the resentment of Quilp. He is framed for robbery, but is later released and joins the party travelling to rescue Nell.
As always in Dickens, a mystery must be solved:
who is the mysterious 'single gentleman' who is looking for news of Nell and her grandfather when they have just disappeared? The 'single gentleman' and Kit go after them unsuccessfully, and encounter Quilp, who is also hunting for the runaways. In the book he is Nell’s grandfather’s younger brother, in the TV movie Mr Codlin (Martin Freeman) is Nell’s father who comes back wealthy and changed after many years spent abroad.
So, I want to add this DVD to the list of beautiful adaptations of Dickens's novels I've seen so far:
