Bicentenary of birth of Charles Dickens
The wonderful English writer Charles Dickens was born on 7 February 1812 – exactly 200 years ago this week – and died on 8 June 1870.
I confess that, like too many people, I have read very little Dickens since I left school but, last summer, I did read “A Tale Of Two Cities” which I have reviewed here. And, of course, there have been countless television and film adaptations of his works such as the 1958 version of “ATOTC” which I have reviewed here. A month ago, I visited the new Charles Dickens exhibition at the Museum of London.
So the work of Dickens lives on – but so do the social problems that he highlighted in his novels. We may not have the abject poverty of his times, but the devastating impact of the recession on so many lives would doubtless have been the subject of his writing if he were alive today.
As my personal tribute to Dickens, I have used one of his most famous quotes for my Thought For The Week this Sunday:
“Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure nineteen, nineteen, six, result happiness.
Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure twenty pounds, nought, and six, result misery”.
Mr Micawber in “David Copperfield” by Charles Dickens (1812-1870)
February 7th, 2012 at 10:31 pm
‘Are there no prisons?’ asked Scrooge.
‘Plenty of prisons,’ said the gentleman, laying down the pen again.
‘And the Union workhouses?’ demanded Scrooge. ‘Are they still in operation?’
‘They are. Still,’ returned the gentleman, ‘I wish I could say they were not.’
‘The Treadmill and the Poor Law are in full vigour, then?’ said Scrooge.
‘Both very busy, sir.’
‘Oh! I was afraid, from what you said at first, that something had occurred to stop them in their useful course,’ said Scrooge. ‘I am very glad to hear it.’