Happy 200th Birthday Charles Dickens!
This year is the 200th Anniversary of Charles Dickens birthday--February 7, 2012 as well as the 200th anniversary of Jane Austen’s completion of Pride and Prejudice (actual publication date was 1/28/1813).
I will be celebrating different aspects of the joint 200th Anniversaries over the next year, but as this coming Tuesday is Charles Dickens’ 200th Birthday Celebration, I will be giving away 2 copies of my most recent book at the end of this week in celebration of this Bicentennial event.
When I first conceived of the cross-over idea for Fitzwilliam Ebenezer Darcy it had nothing to do with this year’s joint anniversary. I had recently lost my parents, the year I completed the rough draft, and wrote it in their honor. Dickens was my father’s favorite author, and Austen my mother’s. Each Christmas my father would gather us around the fire and read to us A Christmas Carol, while my mother constantly encouraged me to improve my mind through extensive reading, aka Jane Austen/Elizabeth Bennet style.
I started this blog to celebrate my true love for Mr. Darcy. But my discoveries of Austen were initially inspired my parents love for literature.
At a later date, I will tell you more of MY Darcyholism, but for this week I wish to celebrate the life of Dickens.
Of course, the first novel I discovered was A Christmas Carol. Originally with my dad’s reading, and then with various film and TV versions as well as my own reading. Next up was Oliver Twist! I decided to read it after seeing the big screen musical version with Ron Moody and Mark Lester. Reading Dickens was a challenge for a youngster as young as I at the time, but determinedly, I completed it and learned a great deal in the experience. Next up was A Tale of Two Cities which I utilized for a term paper in my English class. Later, I would go on to read Bleak Street, Great Expectations, Little Dorritt (which later many Austen fans delighted in visualizing Matthew MacFayden’s portrayal) and The Mystery of Edwin Drood. I found this wonderful Tribute to Dickens and the film/TV versions of his works. If you watch closely you will see Matthew MacFayden within the tribute:
Historians celebrate Dickens and his works each and every year, but particularly this year of the 200th Anniversary.
For me, the melding of Dickens and Austen seemed obvious, but it was inspired by my Christmas 2008 Marathon viewing of 10 variations of A Christmas Carol in only one weekend.
I come to the conclusion of my brief introduction to the joint 200th Anniversary celebrations. Celebrate with me here. I will chose winners this week from ALL the comments on the blog site, as well as to this particular thread. Extra entries will be given to those who are members of this blog, or who Like, Barbara Tiller Cole, Author or who Follow BarbTCole on Twitter.
BOOK DESCRIPTION:
'Pride and Prejudice' meets 'A Christmas Carol' A Jane Austen/Charles Dickens crossover story, 'Fitzwilliam Ebenezer Darcy' takes the best of both classics and spins them into a delightful Holiday treat! F.E. Darcy has fallen into pitiful self-loathing and sorrowful angst-ridden despair; all of this due to his belief that he has lost forever the chance to marry the only woman he has ever loved—Elizabeth Bennet. Seeing her son in such a state, the Ghost of Anne Darcy reaches out to him; informing him that three ghosts would visit him and give him hope. Will these Spirits provide him with the courage to try again to win the esteem of his one true soul mate? Barbara Tiller Cole, an Atlanta native and the writer of the popular book 'White Lies and Other Half Truths', presents this family friendly classic—a delightful combination of the best of her two favorite authors, Jane Austen and Charles Dickens. Barbara credits her parents with fostering a love for both of these authors. Each Christmas, Barbara’s father would sit and read Dicken’s classic 'A Christmas Carol' to the family. Her mother consistently challenged her to improve her mind by extensive reading, Jane Austen style. This book is dedicated to the memory of Cliff and Jeanne and the season they loved the best.
I love both these classic authors and enjoyed hearing how you came to mash-up the pair while honoring your parents. My parents were also very influential creating my own love of reading.
ReplyDeleteI loved Little Dorrit so much and took it down in a little under a month I think. I have a 19th century copy I found at a used bookstore in VA that I display in my reading room at home. Of course I cant get enough of the dvd series and have forced many a girl friend to watch it with me! :)
Im a follower on both :) thanks for the give-away chance!
Thanks so much Erlynn! I need to re-read AND re-watch Little Dorrit. It has been awhile. What a lucky find you made! I imagine it is a very special treasure.
ReplyDeleteWill keep you posted on the give away!
Barbara
I love your reason for the mash-up, Barb!
ReplyDeleteOK, after watching the 10-version marathon, which version of A Christmas Carol movie did you like the best? We saw Patrick Stewart on stage in NYC do the one-man show, and let me tell you - that man is AMAZING!! I was exhausted just watching him, but he had energy to spare.
A one man show! What a treat.
DeleteAs for the different ones I saw that weekend. It is a bit difficult for me to tell you my favorite of all time, but that weekend it was the one with George C. Scott. But I also saw ‘Ebby’ with Susan Lucci, and ‘Scrooged’ with Bill Murray over the course of the weekend. It was actually while watching ‘Scrooged’ that I decided I had to write the mash-up!
Appreciate your comments Wendi! Barbara
I love that this book is in memory of both your parents; they would have enjoyed reading the tale and not only at Christmas. I liked the Scrooge version with George C. Scott, but one day would like to see the Patrick Stewart version.
ReplyDelete~ June
(PS - I follow you on Twitter.)
June:
DeleteYes, they would enjoy reading it at any time of year. And hopefully other people will as well. I didn’t write it that it HAD to only be written at Christmas.
I HAVE seen the Patrick Stewart version since 2008, and really enjoyed it. But I haven’t seen the one man show.
When I decided to release my book, I also did it in Large Print as my mother had glaucoma and cataracts and was legally blind when she died (as was my grandmother) and could only read large print books the last 10-15 years of her life. I was very happy to do so as i got to know a number of people in the visually impaired community.
The truth is that I get concerned that the vision issues were so hereditary that I as well could be facing it in the future. I try and do what I have been encouraged to do for my eye health now!
Barbara
I am not as well-read in my Dickens as I should be, but I do love A Christmas Carol. And I just checked out the dvd of Our Mutual Friend from the library (again) yesterday. I got intrigued by it when I read a P&P/OMF mashup on fanfiction.net
ReplyDeleteOf course I dont need to be entered into the giveaway ;)
Thanks Monica. And yes! You have already won a copy! Austen is definitely my favorite over Dickens. But I have read both! If you ‘do’ win, perhaps I can come up with something else for you, if only a guest post opportunity?
DeleteBarbara
Barb, I have to thank you very much for introducing me to Dickens. You see, as a Spanish reader I have read our classics, but not the English ones. It is great that your book guided me in that direction :)
ReplyDeleteChina: I am so happy that I helped you discover a little more English (and American) literature. You have come a LONG way in a short time!
DeleteBarbara
Barbara, I so enjoyed reading about your reasons for your love of Charles Dickens and Jane Austen. It was sweet and touching. What a tribute to both your parents to have those cherished memories and the love of both authors.
ReplyDeleteYour book sounds very interesting. I have always liked A Christmas Carol and have watched many versions on tv during the holidays. I think it is so neat that you wrote your book in honor of your parents. That alone makes it special. The giveaways are always nice. Thanks for the opportunity!
Janet..
DeleteI am honored that you appreciated my story about the reasons for writing this. And I do have treasured memories of them. They died 10 days apart in 2005, right about this time of year. Can hardly believe it has been 7 years.
Good luck!
Barbara
Happy birthday Charles Dickens (another favourite of mine - along with Jane Austen, of course) and also to my daughter who shares a birthday with Dickens (she'll be ten and only time will tell if she leaves as much of a mark on the world as Dickens did).
ReplyDeleteThank you for honouring Dickens both in your wonderful Dickens/Austen mash up and with a spot on your blog!
Lucy:
DeleteThank you for your ‘birthday wishes’ for dear Charles..LOL. And NO I am NEVER going to be a Jane Bingley! :D Happy 10th Birthday to your daughter!
I am looking forward to you post in just a little less than a month!
Barbara
I love the opportunity for the giveaway chance.
ReplyDeleteHappy Birthday Mr. Dickens! I love Great Expectations and A Christmas Carol.
Patricia:
DeleteI am very happy that you took the opportunity to comment and get a chance on the giveaway. I loved Great Expectations as well! There was a very interesting film version of that one as well.
Barbara
Fitzwilliam Ebenezer Darcy is already on my WishList!!!
ReplyDeletethank you for this giveaway!!!
Happy Birthday to Charles Dickens!!!!
cyn209 at juno dot com
Good luck Cyn! And I hope you are enjoying your 200th Birthday Celebrations for Dickens today! :D
DeleteBarbara
Happy Birthday, Mr Dickens.
ReplyDeleteAlthough I have not read any of his books yet, I have seen a few TV adaptations namely Great Expectations, Bleak House, Little Dorrit and David Copperfield. I think I got put off by the length of his books and that's why I have never attempted to read them. Maybe I'll try A Christmas Carol first. Any suggestions for a first-time reader?
Am a follower of your blog and 'like' your FB page.
evangelineace2020(at)yahoo(dot)com
I would suggest that you start with A Christmas Carol, for sure. They are ‘wordy’ but his characterizations and descriptions are very visual. I learned a lot by studying his writing.
ReplyDeleteI wish you luck in the drawing!
Barbara