It is with exceedingly great pleasure that we introduce a very, very special guest Blogger to the Blogbrary page this week: celebrating his 200th birthday, we’re delighted to welcome Mr Charles Dickens…
Changing Times:
Thank-you indeed; it is with the gweatest imaginable delight that I have been invited now (upon this, the bi-centennial celebwation of my – not unhumble – birth) to bwoadcast to you, beloved Bexley Bowwowers, a specially cwafted message (or “Blog” as those fwightfully bwight young folks clicking away at their scweens call it–Well! My! ‘Pon my Soul! How shares in the quill pen industwy must have plummeted of late!).
I must say, the litewawy world is a vewy diffewent place now, although much does – alas – wemain the same... (angwy fellows with aggwessive bull-nosed hounds, ewwant financiers and a gweat gulf betwixt wich and poor; and, of course, the dear old gwey and gwimy Thames which keeps wolling along your northern exwemities …)
Weading and Libwawies:
However, I am delighted to note that books and weading wemain popular even now – above all, how I envy you your wonderful public libwawies: a stupendously beneficial institution which (I have no hesitation in wemarking upon) would have wevolutionised my own impecunious childhood and subsequent scwibbling caweer…
Additionally, I find it exceedingly comforting to witness what a splendid collection of my own works you have here in Bexley Libwawies – Gweat Expectations, The Old Cuwiosity Shop, Our Mutual Fwiend, Litle Dowwit, even my unfinished Edwin Dwood…capital stuff!
In addition – and bless my whiskewy cheeks! – what a vewitable feast of biogwaphical matewials your libwawy holds upon my own life and times. What larks, eh? (My one word of caution, however, would be to take any scuwwilous publication cwiticising my welationships with the faiwer gender with an amply sized pinch of salt!)
Lastly, I note with no little sense of amazement that electwonic books have awwived via your libwawies, completely bypassing the old fashioned concept of steam-e-weaders. Ah!, the wonders of technology.
“Chat with Charlie” - Fwequently Asked Qwuestions?:
Well, my beloved fwiends, I gwow weawy now; I shall depart. However, mine hosts (those splendid Libwawians who manage this “web page”) have invited me to appear wegularly this year; hence it is my intention to wegale you often with a wange of wight woyal wollickingly weadble weviews thwoughout 2012.
Hence, if you have any qwuestions, cwiticisms or quewies about me, my life, times and work, then do not hesitate – simply contact me by utilising the `comments' facility so cunningly and carefully pwovided below.
I await your cowwespondence with no little sense of twepidation…
Cheewio!
(Mr C Dickens of London, Kent and occasional wambles thwough bits of Bexley).
15 comments:
Question -
Did Dickens weally have a speech impediment not unlike that of the beloved Jonathan Ross, or were all Londoners of his era unable to pronounce the letter ‘r’?
Dear Questioner ~ thank-you.
Yes, I fear that I did have twouble with my `Rs`, it’s a fwightful nuisance.
(Not many people knew that at the time…in fact, it was me who wrote “Around the Rugged Rock the Ragged Rascal Ran” but – alas - I was never able to wead it out loud at any of my public wecitations).
Yours etc,
Mr D.
Dear Mr Dickens,
I have 2 questions for you.
Do you enjoy watching your books on film or television?
And do you still get paid royalties?
Yours,
Robert
Thank-you indeed, Sir, for your cowwespondence:
Yes, I can categowically and vigowously endorse the BBC’s wecent covewage of all my books; splendid fare! (And – wegardless of some plotting discwepancies - wasn’t Miss Anderson a wavishing Miss Haversham?)
However, regarding my woyalties and fees: I, along with Mr Micawber, always maintain that “something will turn up”, although to go any further here I feel it pwudent to wemain tight-lipped upon this matter.
I wemain, Sir, your humble cowwespondent,
D.
Dear Mr Dickens,
My favourite short story of yours has always been The Signal-Man. I am wondering if you have a favourite out of the many that you have written?
My Dear Peter ~
Splendid to hear from you, and how delightful to learn that you have enjoyed ‘The Signalman’ one of my more petite tales – (short but exquisitely constwucted, no?...I trust that it wasn’t too howwific for you?)
Wegarding my own favourites?...Well, and alas, the unfinished ‘Mystery of Edwin Dwood’ was always a favouwite, in that – getting on in years – the cweative processes failed to awwive easily with this particular endeavour. (Indeed, I had plans in hand next for a sequel to ‘Martin Chuzzlewit’ entitled ‘Sarah Gamp Wuns Wild’, but – sad to relate – my inspiwation had by then wun dry).
So, I shall have to plump for a favouwite, shan’t I!
Let’s say `Pickwick Papers’; the book that first found me fame (and some not inconsiderable pecuniawy wewards), and contained some of my most endeawing characters, viz Messrs Tupman, Snodgwass and Winkle.
Yours etc.
D.
Dear Mr Dickens
You seem very well preserved for someone over 200 years old. What is your secret?
Ah, yes indeed! The secret elixir, the key to the pwolonging of one’s wellbeing?...
I have it: a healthy mind within a healthy body, plus good wholesome and nouwishing foods.
The wecipe?
Wegular working and writing: twavel; the maintenance of family and fwiendships: above all, weading and wambling – devour every book that you possibly can, and walk whenever that you are able.
The wesult? A long, vigowous and weputable life!
D.
Oh, look – I`ve just discovered a wather splendid new website: it’s called Cityreadlondon http://www.cityreadlondon.org.uk/ and – how thwilling! – it’s all about me.
Do take a look.
Capital!
D.
Dear Mr Dickens
You'll have noticed then, that the City Read people are encouraging all your fellow Londoners to read your novel 'Oliver Twist' this year.
Do you think that is a good choice, especially for anyone who has not read one of your books before?
My Dear Tewwi,
Thank-you ~ My! What a splendid question: I have given it my most forthwight considewation, and I am bound to say “Yes!”
A most worthy choice indeed: it contains all the elements of a good yarn – wiches and depwivation, good and evil, degwadation and wedemption, all bound up in a foggy, murky London not wholly dissimilar to the one in which we all still weside: and if you don’t like the book, well, you can always enjoy the musical!
I twust that many new weaders will come to enjoy it this year – now, won’t that be dandy.
Yours etc,
D.
Dear Mr Dickens
Who do you think should be the next England manager?
Ah!
England manger, eh?
I believe that Lord Palmerston has many of the wequisite chawactewistics wequired; similarly, I can heartily commend the qualities of young Wedknapp.
D.
Mr Dickens I now have a joke for you. Why do you never use Twitter? Because you could never limit yourself to 140 characters or less.
I hope that you like this one.
Yours,
Robert
Ha, ha! Thank you, very dwoll.
D.
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