Dickens Fellowship News

27 July 2010

DICKENS FELLOWSHIP CONFERENCE, EASTBOURNE 21-26 JULY 2010

The 104th Annual Conference of the Dickens Fellowship was a great success enjoyed by nearly 150 delegates. The conference page is being organised. Please send your best photographs to joan@dickshg.freeserve.co.uk. Any selected for inclusion will be credited.

27 July 2010

‘MR POPULAR SENTIMENT’: DICKENS AND FEELING UNIVERSITY OF LONDON DICKENS DAY SATURDAY 16 OCTOBER

Booking forms are now available for the annual Dickens Day, hosted by the Institute of English Studies at Senate House, University of London. Speakers include John Drew, Valerie Sanders, Catherine Waters and Tony Williams. For further information email jon.millington@sas.ac.uk Tel: 0207 664 4859 Papers from last year’s Dickens Day are now available online at http://www.19.bbk.ac.uk. ‘Dickens and Science’ has been edited by Holly Furneaux and Ben Winyard.

27 July 2010

RADICAL IMAGINATION: REFLECTIONS ON THE WORK OF SALLY LEDGER SATURDAY 4 DECEMBER 2010, Senate House, University of London.

Sally Ledger was a great friend to the Dickens Fellowship and the Charles Dickens Museum. A one-day symposium has been organised to celebrate her life, bringing together a host of scholars to reflect on her intellectual contribution to the fields of Victorian and Literary Studies. This event will consider her work on Dickens, Ibsen, the Fin de Siecle and the New Woman, Melodrama, Sentimentality and Affect, Theatricality and Radicalism. The event is free, but registration is required. For further information contact jon.millington@sas.ac.uk

27 July 2010

RAISING FUNDS FOR DICKENS’S CHALET AND THE CHARLES DICKENS MUSEUM

The Friends of Dickens New York report that they have raised over $1600 towards the repair and refurbishment of the Dickens chalet in Rochester. The Branch will now turn its attention to raising funds towards the redevelopment of the Charles Dickens Museum which has a Great Expectations project for 2012.

27 July 2010

DICKENS AND TURNER: A JOINT MEETING OF THE DICKENS FELLOWSHIP AND THE TURNER SOCIETY MONDAY 15 NOVEMBER

2010 Art Workers’ Guild, 6 Queen Square, London.

This will be the first joint meeting between the Central Dickens Fellowship and the Turner Society. The evening will be devoted to exploring connections between these two giant figures of the Victorian period, as well as reflecting more generally on Victorian art and literature.

Short illustrated talks will be given by:

The event starts at 6.30pm. Admission is free, refreshments provided. Donations are requested toward the Dickens Fellowship Oliver Fund, which supports a variety of small charities.

27 July 2010

A NORWEGIAN PICKWICK CLUB

The Dickens Fellowship is pleased to welcome the Pickwick Club of Vestfold County, Norway as an affiliated member of the Dickens Fellowship.

The General Chairman, Fred-Ivar Systad, reported on their midsummer party (or ‘frolic’) held on the last Saturday in June, when members participated in father and daughter wheelbarrow races, toddlers hunted for nightcaps dangling from the trees, and a group of elk came to join in the fun. Pickwick’s adventurous spirit has travelled a long way from the George and Vulture! Members of the Vestfold Pickwick Club will be coming to London in November to receive the Club’s charter of affiliation.

14 July 2010

SHEFFIELD BRANCH ADDS PAGE TO FELLOWSHIP SITE

The Sheffield Branch of the Dickens Fellowship (BRANCH 23) has added a page to the Dickens Fellowship Site. We hope this will be the start of a trend where other branches will add a page so that Dickensians throughout the world will have an easy time locating a branch near them when they visit our site.Contact our postbox for further information.

8 July 2010

SAVING THE DICKENS CHALET

Two events are being organised to take place in September 2010 to raise funds towards the restoration of the Dickens Chalet in Rochester. There will be an 'Elivs is saving the Chalet' evening on 22 September in the pre-show area of Dickens World in Chatham. Rob Hewes as Elvis is donating his time to sing and entertain.Tickets are available from the Rochester Visitor Information Centre from 15 July.

Two musical plays are being performed in the St John's Centre, Meopham Church, on Tuesday 28 September at 7.30pm. 'Do not Forget me Quite', by Claire Graydon-James, was inspired by the life of Ivor Bertie Gurney (1890-1937), the war poet and composer. The second play, by Katie Kingshill, is based on the character of Sairey Gamp, from Dickens's novel, Martin Chuzzlewit. The event will be held on Tuesday 28 September at 7.30pm. Tickets are on sale at £10 each including refreshments. Please contact 01474 813268."

23 June 2010

DICKENSIAN GARDEN PARTY

On Saturday 3 July the Rochester and Chatham Dickens Fellowship, in conjunction with Medway Council, are organising a Dickensian Garden Party in the grounds of Eastgate House. The event starts at 2pm. Guests are encouraged to wear Victorian costume and there will be a programme of diverse entertainments and delights. All proceeds will go to the Dickens Chalet Restoration Fund. Tickets cost £2 and are available from the Rochester Tourist Information Centre in Rochester High Street.

16 June 2010

GREAT EXPECTATIONS WEEKEND IN KENT

The Guildhall Museum in Rochester is hosting a Great Expectations weekend on 10 and 11 July 2010. This is described as 'a chance to locate the book firmly in its native soil of north Kent.' It will be an informal, friendly weekend with many opportunities for discovering historic objects and buildings. Speakers will include Malcolm Andrews, editor of The Dickensian, Martin Hall, Director of Greening the Gateway, Kent and Medway, and John Vigar of The Churches Conservation Trust.Talks on Saturday, guided tours on Sunday, between 10am and 4pm. Cost is £15 per day or £25 for both days. Contact guildhall.museum@medway.gov.uk 01634 848717

12 June 2010

London Ivy Launched

In June 2010, London Ivy was launched, the email newsletter for worldwide members of Dickens Fellowship branches. Click to see the inaugural issue, "Issue Zero". To receive a free subscription to future issues, send an email, stating your name, and the branch of the Fellowship to which you belong, to the editor, Stephen Jarvis, by clicking here -->: Subscribe to London Ivy  Given the volume of mail this is likely to generate, please do not expect an individual reply.

9 June 2010

BRITISH PATHE LTD – DICKENSIAN NEWSREELS DISCOVERED

British Pathé Ltd have recently uncovered a number of rare Dickensian newsreels in their film archive. These range from footage of a 1918 memorial service for the The Inimitable to the opening of a Boz-themed restaurant in the 1960s. Clips are freely viewable on the following website: http://britishpathe.wordpress.com/2010/06/01/charles-dickens-and-britsh-pathe/ British Pathé’s Media Officer, Mr Jack Cullen, would like to hear from any Fellowship members who can give further information about the clips. Please contact him at: British Pathé Ltd, The Media Centre, 3-8 Carburton Street, London W1W 5AJ. Tel 0207 665 8349.

8 JUNE 2010

WREATH-LAYING

Professor Joel Brattin of Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Massachusetts, laid the Dickens Fellowship wreath on the grave of Charles Dickens in Westminster Abbey on Tuesday 8 June. As part of a short service, following Evensong in the Abbey, Professor Brattin spoke of the links between Dickens and Worcester, which Dickens visited during his American travels in February 1842, and the continuing links that exist: two students from the Worceseter Polytechnic Institute are currently engaged in work for the Charles Dickens Museum, and many others are working in organisations in London and York. Several of the WPI students attended the ceremony, which was also attended by around 40 members of the UK Dickens Fellowship. We would like to express thanks to Professor Brattin for taking the key role in this important ceremony in the Dickensian year, and, as always, to Peter Duggan, for arranging the event. Wreath Laying pictures.

8 JUNE 2010

DICKENS IN THE NEW MILLENNIUM – TOP TEN REASONS

The Dickens Society has just held its annual conference in Aix-en-Provence on the subject of Dickens in the New Millennium. Around 60 academics attended the gathering, and there were many stimulating papers on the afterlife of Dickens’s novels, the challenges of teaching Dickens to young audiences today, and an assessment of why it is important to do so. A light-hearted approach to the topic was taken by Natalie McKnight of Boston University, who proposed her Top Ten Reasons Why Dickens Matters in the New Millennium, which included the following:

1. -because we will always need to laugh out loud
2. -because Dickens continues to be a thriving industry, and we don’t have many of those left
3. -because Dickens fosters excellent international relations, and so few things do.

Dickens Fellowship members might like to think what else featured in her list of top 10 reasons!

Natalie attends meetings of the Boston Branch of the Dickens Fellowship.

8 JUNE 2010

THE OTHER DICKENS – A LIFE OF CATHERINE HOGARTH

Lillian Nayder’s biography of Catherine Hogarth “demonstrates that the Dicenses’ marriage was long a happy one, more importantly, … that the figure we know only as ‘Mrs Charles Dickens’ was also a daughter, sister, and friend, a loving mother and grandmother, a capable household manager, and an intelligent person whose company was valued and sought by a wide circle of women and men.’ Lillian Nayder is Professor and Chair of English at Bates College, Maine, USA. The biography will be available from 1 November 2010. For more information about this book or to place an order please contact Robin Coleman in the Cornell University Press sales department (rwc76@cornell.edu )

8 JUNE 2010

MICHAEL SLATER AT THE CENTRAL FELLOWSHIP MEETING 25 JUNE

Professor Michael Slater’s talk to the Central Fellowship on Tuesday 25 May was very well attended. Speaking in the large wood-panelled hall of the Artworkers’ Guild Michael gave a vivid and entertaining account of the writing of his critically- acclaimed biography of Charles Dickens, and a glimpse of his working methods. Professor Slater described how his admiration of Dickens had increased while he was researching the novelist’s relentlessly energetic and creative life. Our admiration of Michael Slater grew as he described the task he had undertaken, rather reluctantly, and had accomplished so completely.

Professor Slater will be giving the Hilda Hulme Annual Lecture on Dickens’s Shakespeare on 7 July in the Beveridge Hall, Senate House, University of London at 6pm. The event is free. If you wish to attend please contact Jon Millington jon.millinton@sas.ac.uk, 020 7862 8659/8736

Please note that the talk by Michael Slater at the Guildhall Library on 14 July is now fully booked.

28 May 2010

The Central Dickens Fellowship is organising a walk on Saturday 12 June at 2pm.

FROM HOXTON HALL TO WILTON'S - EAST END THEATRE MEMORIES Passing the sites of the Britannia Music Hall, the Shoreditch Empire, St Leonard's Hall, the National Standard, the Eastern Alhambra, the City of London Theatre, the Cambridge Music Hall, the Goodman's Fields Theatre, the Garrick, the Royalty.

Anthony Burton describes the architecture. Tony Williams evokes the theatre history and associations with Dickens.

The walk starts at 2.00pm from Hoxton Hall and will take about 2 hours. Arrive early to visit this historic music hall and an exhibition on its history Hoxton Hall is at 130 Hoxton Street, London N1 6SH

26 May 2010

THE COFFEE SHOP AT THE CHARLES DICKENS MUSEUM is now open, and serving Victoria sponge cake, toasted muffins and delicious coffee. The café, which has been created in former office space at the rear of 49 Doughty Street, is light and bright and has double doors opening onto the small walled garden, where a blackbird is currently nesting in a holly tree…….

26 May 2010

LORD MAYOR OF LONDON DURING THE DICKENS BICENTENARY David Wootton, Chair of Trustees at the Charles Dickens Museum, will be Lord Mayor of London from November 2011 and throughout 2012.

26 May 2010

FILM BASED ON STORY OF DICKENS AND ELLEN TERNAN The BBC has announced that it will be making a film based on Claire Tomalin’s biography of Ellen Ternan,‘The Invisible Woman.’

26 May 2010

LECTURES ON DICKENS AT THE CHATEAU D’HARDELOT Two talks on Dickens were given recently at the Chateau d’Hardelot, near Boulogne, France. The chateau is in the village of Condette, where Dickens rented a chalet from M Beaucourt Mutuel in which he spent time with Ellen Ternan during the last years of his life. The inaugural talks were given by John Bowen and Michael Hollington, and were presented in English with a French translation. There are plans for a continuing programme of Dickens talks at intervals throughout the year. An exhibition on Dickens is being organised at the Chateau d’Hardelot to mark the bicentenary, and the Dickens Fellowship conference will be held there in 2013.

26 May 2010

YOOF-SPEAK VERSION OF DICKENS’S WORKS ‘Oi, Mate, Gimme Some More!’ is just one of the titles in a series of ‘reinventions’ of the great novels of Charles Dickens in the language of a younger generation. ‘A Tale of Two Turfs’ has the well-known opening ‘It was da best of times, and not being funny or nuffing, but it was da worst of times, to be honest. Da year was 1775 and fings were looking well suss in da French turf coz the peasants were minging, or rather they was revolting, and not just coz they was Frogs, innit.’ The author, Martin Baum says he is a big fan of Dickens and hopes this book may encourage young people to read him more. ‘I’ve not used any bad language and the book is also aimed at Dickens fans. I want them to read it and smile.’

13 May 2010

'Mr Weller turned and began wending his way towards Leadenhall Market, through a variety of by-streets and courts...' The Pickwick Papers, chapter XXIII On Thursday 13 May, the date on which Mr Pickwick set out on his adventures, a great many people wended their way to Leadenhall Market to celebrate the first City of London Dickens Day. Further details and photographs may be found on the Dickens Day 2010 page.

29 April 2010

The 28 April meeting of the Central Dickens Fellowship was held in the Guild Hall of the Artworkers’ Guild in Queen Square for the Presidential lecture by Professor Grahame Smith. Grahame’s topic was Youth and Age in the Old Curiosity Shop. This year the London Fellowship’s programme of meetings are loosely connected to this novel, and members have been taking the opportunity to re-read it. Many will have been inspired to re-read it AGAIN in the light of Grahame’s inspiring analysis of the inter-generational relationships in the book, which viewed Nell, not only as the idealised symbol of innocence, but also as a ‘normal’ child attempting to deal with the circumstances of an uncaring adult world. His interpretation of Nell as an example of a child failed by society, and whose death may be read in terms of her psychological as well as her physical suffering, was movingly related to the circumstances of many troubled young people in our society today. Grahame’s lecture explored the theme of ‘youthful innocence’ v ‘adult experience’ in other works of Dickens (Our Mutual Friend, Little Dorrit), and explored Dickens’s sympathetic portrayals of care-laden children fending for irresponsible adults – a theme which underlies so much of Dickens’s own experience and is indelibly woven into the fabric of his works. We were pleased to welcome several new members of the Fellowship to this lecture, and look forward to meeting them again next month.

Professor Grahame Smith retired from the University of Stirling in 2000 after 30 years service, but retains active research interests in all aspects of Dickens, in the pre-history of cinema, with special emphasis on the nineteenth century, and in film in relation to questions of adaptation. He is the author of the following monographs: Dickens, Money and Society (1968), The Novel and Society: from Defoe to George Eliot (1984), The Achievement of Graham Greene (1985), Charles Dickens: A Literary Life (1996) and Dickens and the Dream of Cinema (2003).

29 April 2010

INDEX TO THE DICKENSIAN. This analytical index, compiled by John Welford, covers the years 1975-2005, and complements the invaluable Dunn Index 1905-75.

For more detail please go to the new Dickens Fellowship Publications page.

29 April 2010

The Dickens Day event, organised by the Dickens Fellowship, the Corporation of London and the City of London Guides, is a mixture of walks, readings and other entertainments, all with a Dickens theme. Participants at Leadenhall include Gerald Dickens, Michael Slater, and members of the Dickens Fellowship from Rochester and Nottingham. Costumed members of the Dickens Fellowship are planning to attend, and there will also be representatives from several Pickwick Clubs. Click here for Itineraries of Dickens Day walks.

Come along to Leadenhall on 13 May and join the fun!

23 March 2010

The New York Branch of the Dickens Fellowship has recruited an enthusiastic new member. Fourteen year old Jordan Cerbone has been passionate about the classics since early childhood, and can quote extensively from the works of Dickens. "I hope one day to become president of a branch (of The Dickens Fellowship) or to start a new branch. As a professor, I would like to inspire the next generation of students to be as enthusiastic about Dickens as I am.”

22 March 2010

At their meeting on 22 March Central Fellowship members enjoyed comparing film adaptations of The Old Curiosity Shop. Dr Tony Williams introduced 10-minute clips from the opening of four film versions. as follows:

1934, directed by Thomas Bentley; first full-length UK Dickens adaptations for sound cinema; Hay Petrie as Quilp, Ben Webster as Grandfather, Elain Benson as Nell. (Tony pointed out that the novelty of sound might account for the enthusiastic blowing of coaching horns in the screen play)

1979 adapted by William Trevor; BBC serial originally ninex30 minute episodes; Sebastian Shqaw as Grandfather, Trevor Peacock as Quilp, Natalie Ogle as Nell.

1994 USA Disney channel, directed by Kevin Connor; over 3 hours long. Peter Ustinov as Grandfather, Tom Courtenay as Quilp; Sally Walsh as Nell.

2007 ITV two-hour adaptation by Martyn Hesford: Derek Jacobi as Grandfather, Toby Jones as Quilp, Sophie Vavasseur as Nell.

Tony related these film versions to the reviews of them in The Dickensian, and the audience gave their own opinion of the various protrayals of Quilp, Grandfather, Nell, Kit and Dick Swiveller. The tea-party scene at Tower Hill from chapter 4 of The Old Curiosity Shop was read aloud, to give a direct comparison of the film script with the original text.

Next month's meeting will be on Wednesday 28 April when the President of The Dickens Fellowship, Professor Grahame Smith, will talk on Youth and Age in The Old Curiosity Shop. The meeting will take place in the ground floor Guild Hall.

21 March 2010

Following an anonymous donation, the Sidmouth Pickwick Club has proudly honoured its first Mr. Pickwick. Founding General Chairman, Derek Davies, was presented with a handsome badge of office. The gilt medallion incorporates an oval miniature painting on copper of Mr. Samuel Pickwick speaking in a panelled room. This was painted by Rita E Whitaker, rms, hs, a local and uniquely-gifted miniaturist who has won many awards.

Acknowledging the award, Mr. Pickwick said that he was deeply moved by this expression of the members’ unmingled esteem. With Emily Wardle (Joy Davies), he counted himself ‘very fortunate to have such caring friends as the genial Sidmouth Pickwickians.’

17 March 2010

LECTURES BY MICHAEL SLATER

Michael Slater has a busy lecturing schedule. Dates of particular interest to those living in or near London are:

• 7 July, ‘Dickens’s Shakespeare’ - Hilda Hume Annual Lecture at Institute of English Studies, Senate House, University of London, free and open to all (5.30pm)
• 14 July, ‘Dickens’s Tales of the City’ – London Guildhall, free and open to all, 6pm
• 20 November, ‘Charles Dickens and John Overs’, Friends of West Norwood Cemetery event (afternoon)

More details will be circulated in the London Particular, and posted on this website in due course.

Engagements outside London include:

• Dublin, Trinity College on 22 April.
• Steyning Literary Festival, 6 June
• Buxton Literary Festival, 12 July

12 March 2010

The BlackVeil

Dickens's short story The BlackVeil has been turned into a stage production, which will tour the UK in April. More details from www.brucejamesproductions.co.uk

24 February 2010

‘What The Butler Saw – Victorian Domestic Servants’
– A Talk by Alison Gowans

Over 40 people attended this talk at the Art Workers Guild on Wednesday 24 February.

Alison Gowans gave a highly entertaining talk on the arcane world of the Victorian domestic servant, its hierarchies and snobberies, its humiliations and cruelties, and the discomforts felt both upstairs and downstairs across the class divide. Alison gave statistics of the growth in the number of servants in London, which corresponded to the growing social aspirations of the burgeoning middle class, and interesting data about what the various levels of servants might expect to earn. This detailed research was accompanied by quotations from the many ‘Household Manuals’ which advised householders on how to deal with their staff, and entertaining anecdotes of the ‘servant problem’ as experienced by Jane Carlyle and witnessed by Arthur Munby. And, of course, there were some lively readings from Dickens, in particular from The Pickwick Papers, Bleak House and The Old Curiosity Shop. Alison ended her talk with the story of the criminal serving woman, Kate Webster, who ‘smote’ her elderly female employer with an axe, chopped her up, boiled the bones in the copper, and sold the resulting fat around the neighbourhood. We were then invited to adjourn for refreshments, which, according to Allan Clack, would include some lovely ‘bread and dripping’…….

Alison Gowans has a degree in classics from Girton College, Cambridge, and has been reading Dickens from the age of 7. She has been a member of the Dickens Fellowship for many years, and met her long-term partner, Allan Clack, at one of its meetings.

15 February 2010

198th Birthday Celebration Dinner in London - photos posted

A brief account and photos from the 198th Birthday Celebration Dinner in London have been posted. To view them, click here to see the 2010 Birthday Dinner page.

11 February 2010

Dickens and Andersen: A New Play 'ANDERSEN'S ENGLISH'

A new play by Sebastian Barry has opened in the UK, which tells the story of Hans Christian Andersen's visit to Gad's Hill Place in 1857, and the tensions within the Dickens household at that time. The play is directed by Max Stafford Clark, and stars Niamh Cusack and David Rintoul. For further information go to www.outofjoint.co.uk/prods/andersensenglish.html where you can see a video of the rehearsals of the play and details of the UK tour, which ends in London on 8 May.

Charles Dickens Portsmouth birth archive gets £270,000

A project to discover how life was in Portsmouth around the time of Charles Dickens's birth in the city is to be funded with £270,000 of lottery cash. The Dickens Community Archive project will mark the 2012 bicentenary of the author's birth. (To read more go to http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/hampshire/8419193.stm)

29 January 2010

Chinese Foreign Minister visits The Charles Dickens Museum

While visiting London the Foreign Minister of China chose, on 29 January, to visit the Charles Dickens Museum. He was accompanied by the Ambassador to London, Madame Fu Ying, and a number of aides. The party was welcomed by Chairman of Trustees, David Wootton, and was given a guided tour of the Museum by Professor Michael Slater. The Minister said that Dickens was well-known and well-liked in China."

City Dickens Day

Thursday 13 May will see a celebration of Dickens in Leadenhall Market in the City of London. City of London Guides will lead walks from various starting points with Dickensian associations and will converge on the market-place. Members of the Dickens Fellowship and guests will read passages from The Pickwick Papers.

25 January 2010

2009 Conference Photos Published

The 103rd conference of the Dickens Fellowship was held in Cleveland, Ohio USA in July 2009. Photographs of the conference and attendees are now available. To view them visit the 2009 Annual Conference page.

Note: Due to the number of photographs included, this page may take a few moments to load completely.

15 January 2010

Annual Conference

The 104th conference of the Dickens Fellowship will be held in Eastbourne from Wednesday, July 21st to Monday, July 26th 2010. Bookings are being taken until 31st May 2010. Click here for conference details.

Usually held in July/August, the Fellowship's annual conference brings together members from around the world to enjoy a programme of learning and entertainment inspired by Dickens and other writers of his era.