My hero today, is Charles Dickens. This is his bicentenary year, and celebrations of all sorts are going on including a new adaptation of Great Expectations by the BBC. Here's the trailer which features a gorgeous young actor called Douglas Booth as Pip - check out the cheekbones, and those eyes! .
What makes Dickens a hero for me is not only the hours of pleasure I have had reading his books but also his commitment to being a social commentator. He lectured against slavery in the United States, helped to set up a home for 'fallen' women, and raised funds which helped Great Ormond Street Hospital survive its first major financial crisis. But most of all, there are his wonderful books, so popular they have never been out of print. A Christmas Carol is one of my favourite stories and I love David Copperfield and Oliver Twist. The only one I have failed with is Bleak House which is incredibly complicated but one day when I have loads of time and a huge pot of coffee, I will finish it!
Oh that looks good, Cara, and Gillian Anderson is suitably spooky as Miss Haversham. 'Pip' is a bit too young for my tastes, but I agree about the cheekbones. Great Expectations is probably my favourite Dickens book of all time.
ReplyDeleteAnd yes, Dickens is a hero worth celebrating.
What a surprise hero today. Definitely a good one. Thanks for the reminders of his works of all sorts.
ReplyDeleteI will be watching, Gillian Anderson looks gorgeous as usual - love the music - thanks for the heads up
ReplyDeleteCara If you watch the tv version of Bleak House you will love it. (see my comment on facebook).
ReplyDeleteI too love Dickens (pity he was such a s*** to his wife!)and he was a great social reformer. He knew from personal experience what it was like to be poor and exposed the evils of society at that time.
Yes, gorgeous young man!
I thought we needed a bit of a shakeup Patricia! You're right Margaret about him being rotten to his wife, but so was Thomas Hardy - apparently he 'revered' his wife, but only after the poor woman was dead. Hmmmm. The new TV version does look pretty good doesn't it. Gillian Andersen seems to be making a bit of a habit of playing spooky uptight Victorians. I do have the tv version of Bleak House on DVD. Loved it! But still can't get on with the book, unfortunately.
ReplyDeleteCara x