Charles Dickens
- Paul Austin
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Re: Charles Dickens
I was reading TV Tropes page on "Too Good For This Sinful Earth" and it talked about the reaction to Dickens' Little Nell.
People offering their own children to save a fictional character??
People offering their own children to save a fictional character??
"History is the parts of the past that the present finds useful" - Anon
- Daisy
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Re: Charles Dickens
I'm not familiar with the story, but that sounds a very strange idea? MInd you, people have been known to take for fact the fate of some fictitious characters in TV soaps.
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- Paul Austin
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Re: Charles Dickens
Indeed - just look at the reaction to Grace Archer's "death" in the Archers.
"History is the parts of the past that the present finds useful" - Anon
- Daisy
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Re: Charles Dickens
Goodness! I remember the night it happened. It was a Youth Club night and we were all listeners to The Archers. There was certainly a sombre mood that night.
'Tis loving and giving that makes life worth living.
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- Anita Bensoussane
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Re: Charles Dickens
I remember the enormous public interest in the Ken, Deirdre and Mike "triangle" on Coronation Street in 1982-83. The episode in which Deirdre ended her affair coincided with a big football match at Old Trafford, and Deirdre's decision was announced on the scoreboard!
Many of Charles Dickens' stories were serialised in popular magazines, so they were like (shorter) soap operas in that readers waited with bated breath for the next installment, fully involved with the characters and eager to know what happened next.
Many of Charles Dickens' stories were serialised in popular magazines, so they were like (shorter) soap operas in that readers waited with bated breath for the next installment, fully involved with the characters and eager to know what happened next.
"Heyho for a starry night and a heathery bed!" - Jack, The Secret Island.
"There is no bond like the bond of having read and liked the same books."
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"There is no bond like the bond of having read and liked the same books."
- E. Nesbit, The Wonderful Garden.
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- burlingtonbertram
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Re: Charles Dickens
In a similar vein, in terms of a publishing phenomenon, there was also:-
Antoine Galland (April 4, 1646 – February 17, 1715) a French orientalist and archaeologist, most famous as the first European translator of One Thousand and One Nights. His version of the tales appeared in twelve volumes between 1704 and 1717.
This was a publishing sensation too, with people clamouring in the streets of Paris to hear the latest stories. Pirate versions came out whilst he was still publishing his own series, and continued right through the 18th century. I've got a British, pirated version from somewhere around 1797.
Antoine Galland (April 4, 1646 – February 17, 1715) a French orientalist and archaeologist, most famous as the first European translator of One Thousand and One Nights. His version of the tales appeared in twelve volumes between 1704 and 1717.
This was a publishing sensation too, with people clamouring in the streets of Paris to hear the latest stories. Pirate versions came out whilst he was still publishing his own series, and continued right through the 18th century. I've got a British, pirated version from somewhere around 1797.
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- Courtenay
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Re: Charles Dickens
At this time of year, there's one particular Dickens classic that naturally comes up for reading or watching on the screen or in the theatre... it's definitely one of my favourite Christmas stories ever. I was just reading this very interesting article on what moved Dickens to write A Christmas Carol and why it still resonates with readers today: A Christmas Carol: What was it that upset Charles Dickens?
The article mentions the Christmas exhibition that's currently on at the Charles Dickens Museum in London — might have to see if I can get there some time soon!
The article mentions the Christmas exhibition that's currently on at the Charles Dickens Museum in London — might have to see if I can get there some time soon!
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It was a nuisance. An adventure was one thing - but an adventure without anything to eat was quite another thing. That wouldn't do at all. (The Valley of Adventure)
It was a nuisance. An adventure was one thing - but an adventure without anything to eat was quite another thing. That wouldn't do at all. (The Valley of Adventure)
What other author are you reading at the moment?
Split from another topic.
Still ploughing through Nicholas Nickleby. If ever a book needed abridging, that is it!
Still ploughing through Nicholas Nickleby. If ever a book needed abridging, that is it!
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- Lucky Star
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Re: What other author are you reading at the moment?
Strangely I also had trouble with this one. The beginning and ending were great but it seriously flagged in the middle. I remember ploughing on out of sheer stubbornness thinking that as it was a Dickens it must be good! Keep going Nigel it does pick up soon.
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- Rob Houghton
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Re: What other author are you reading at the moment?
I find Dickens incredibly tedious. yeah - I'm a pleb, I know!
the only Dickens books I've ever read all the way through are A Christmas Carol - which I've read several times, and A Cricket On The Hearth.
I tried The Old Curiosity Shop but found it incredibly slow-going. I can't imagine reading them as they were serialised originally! I really would have lost track of the plot!
the only Dickens books I've ever read all the way through are A Christmas Carol - which I've read several times, and A Cricket On The Hearth.
I tried The Old Curiosity Shop but found it incredibly slow-going. I can't imagine reading them as they were serialised originally! I really would have lost track of the plot!
'Oh voice of Spring of Youth
hearts mad delight,
Sing on, sing on, and when the sun is gone
I'll warm me with your echoes
through the night.'
(E. Blyton, Sunday Times, 1951)
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hearts mad delight,
Sing on, sing on, and when the sun is gone
I'll warm me with your echoes
through the night.'
(E. Blyton, Sunday Times, 1951)
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- John Pickup
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Re: What other author are you reading at the moment?
My favourite Dickens novel is David Copperfield, which I've read four or five times. I also found Nicholas Nickleby a bit of an ordeal but I did enjoy The Old Curiosity Shop.
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- Eddie Muir
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Re: What other author are you reading at the moment?
I'm a big Dickens fan. My favourite novel is Great Expectations, followed by David Copperfield and Bleak House.
'Go down to the side-shows by the river this afternoon. I'll meet you somewhere in disguise. Bet you won't know me!' wrote Fatty.
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- Rob Houghton
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Re: What other author are you reading at the moment?
i'll have to give them another try. I must admit I enjoy the film and Tv adaptations of Great Expectations - probably my favourite of them all, so perhaps I'll enjoy the book.
'Oh voice of Spring of Youth
hearts mad delight,
Sing on, sing on, and when the sun is gone
I'll warm me with your echoes
through the night.'
(E. Blyton, Sunday Times, 1951)
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hearts mad delight,
Sing on, sing on, and when the sun is gone
I'll warm me with your echoes
through the night.'
(E. Blyton, Sunday Times, 1951)
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Re: Charles Dickens
Well, I love Nicholas Nickleby, but I saw the stage adaptation first.
The Old Curiosity Shop many people consider not to be a successful novel. I think I agree with Thackery that the scenes with Dick Swiveller and the Marchioness are much more interesting than the parts about Little Nell.
The Old Curiosity Shop many people consider not to be a successful novel. I think I agree with Thackery that the scenes with Dick Swiveller and the Marchioness are much more interesting than the parts about Little Nell.
- Anita Bensoussane
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Re: Charles Dickens
The Old Curiosity Shop isn't one of my favourite Dickens books but I was fascinated to come across this building while wandering around Holborn:
http://www.londontown.com/LondonInforma ... Shop/6740/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
It was built in 1567 and may or may not have inspired the shop in Charles Dickens' book (some say it was renamed after the novel came out - though the shop might still have been the inspiration) but Dickens lived in nearby Bloomsbury and is known to have visited it. It now sells upmarket shoes and you have to ring a bell to go in. I must admit I had no intention of buying any shoes but I was dying to see inside. Since there was a bottle of Curiosity Cola on display in one of the windows, I thought I'd ring the bell to ask if they sold the cola. It turned out that they didn't, but the shopkeeper let me go inside (as you might imagine, it's a dimly-lit place with wooden beams, creaking floorboards and two narrow, twisting staircases) and I bought a badge which had a picture of the shop.
http://www.londontown.com/LondonInforma ... Shop/6740/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
It was built in 1567 and may or may not have inspired the shop in Charles Dickens' book (some say it was renamed after the novel came out - though the shop might still have been the inspiration) but Dickens lived in nearby Bloomsbury and is known to have visited it. It now sells upmarket shoes and you have to ring a bell to go in. I must admit I had no intention of buying any shoes but I was dying to see inside. Since there was a bottle of Curiosity Cola on display in one of the windows, I thought I'd ring the bell to ask if they sold the cola. It turned out that they didn't, but the shopkeeper let me go inside (as you might imagine, it's a dimly-lit place with wooden beams, creaking floorboards and two narrow, twisting staircases) and I bought a badge which had a picture of the shop.
"Heyho for a starry night and a heathery bed!" - Jack, The Secret Island.
"There is no bond like the bond of having read and liked the same books."
- E. Nesbit, The Wonderful Garden.
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"There is no bond like the bond of having read and liked the same books."
- E. Nesbit, The Wonderful Garden.
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