During this season to be jolly , we are ordinarily entertained by Charles Dickens’A Christmas Carol . Here are some Dickensian titbit that can be used to illuminate your theater fellow traveler during pause at this year ’s presentation ofA Christmas Carol(which , by the elbow room , was first published 165 years ago , on December 19 , 1843 ) .
1.Dickens ( 1812 - 1870 ) put his pen to paper at an early age , submitting account of fires and other mishaps to the British Press starting at the age of 12 . As a vernal man , Dickens was a tremendously successful reporter .
2.His early pseudonym was " Boz , " and most of what he wrote under this moniker was later published in a collection call " Sketches by Boz " in 1836 . A lesser known ( and lesser used ) pseudonym was " Timothy Sparks . "
3.Dickens ' novelNicholas Nicklebywas one of many Dickens work that were release serially . theatre of operations - departer , however , have had the dubious privilege of watch the entire tale presented in one fell swoop . Playwright David Edgar and the Royal Shakespeare Company wreak it to the degree in London ’s West goal in 1980 , with a production that lasted 10 time of day ( including suspension and a dinner break ) . Whew ! Nevertheless , the intimidating distance was no setback , as the product drew critical plaudit and go to Broadway the following twelvemonth . you could schedule your own potty fault when you choose to find out it on DVD .
5.Dickens loved animals , particularly click . However , one of his favourite pets was a raven he call in " Grip . "
6.With his wife , Catherine Hogarth , he had 10 children , several of whom were appoint after writer he admired , such as Alfred Tennyson , Henry Fielding , and Edward Bulwer - Lytton .
7.Dickens was a details hombre , and his last will and will was no exclusion . Noting that he had spend quite a lot of money in preserve his large family and cater for his wife , from whom he separated after 24 years , he instructed thusly ( and , in typical fashion for wills at the time , with a paucity of punctuation mark ):
If this post has you craving Dickensian playfulness , opportunities abound . you could take a trip to Dickens World topic park in Kent , England …
… playFagin ’s Gang , winner of the Best New British Board Game at the UK Games Expo of 2007 , or total the Charles Dickens natural action figure to your collection .
This article first appearedlast December .
