Tuesday, February 27, 2024

Little Dorrit by Charles Dickens




“It was evident from the general tone of the whole party, that they had come to regard insolvency as the normal state of mankind, and the payment of debts as a disease that occasionally broke out.”

Arthur Clennam - Little Dorrit by Charles Dickens


Charles Dickens was an incredible creative force during his lifetime.  He wrote 15 novels, 5 novellas and hundreds of short stories and non-fictional articles. He gave lectures, was a prolific letter writer and edited a weekly journal for almost 20 years.  Because of personal experiences in his early life, Dickens was also a dedicated campaigner for children’s rights, education, and social reforms — including his stance as an outspoken proponent for copyright law and the protection of intellectual property.  


But above all Charles Dickens was most celebrated and beloved for his pioneering of the narrative serial novel. Not only did he capture the imagination of millions during his writing career, but he also had an intense gift for a deep portrayal of a time period and a way of life in the world in which he lived.


I love to read Charles Dickens.  He’s not exactly an easy read - his books are usually very lengthy works and there is a different rhythm to reading them…  You don’t finish a Dickens novel in a night or even a few nights and you need a fully engaged mind.  They are made to settle into - to invest in with your time and attention — but they are so worth it with their colorful characters and lasting storylines. 


Charles Dickens often drew from his own life experiences to weave his deeply memorable storylines. Two novels that are great examples of this are the beloved David Copperfield and the quirky, atmospheric Bleak House. Our current read, Little Dorrit is no exception in its depiction of poverty, social injustice and the idiosyncrasies of the Victorian British legal system - all of which were close to Dickens’ heart.


Home had never been a word of such sweetness to me as after I was ensnared into the Marshalsea prison.

Little Dorrit - Little Dorrit by Charles Dickens


Born Charles John Huffam Dickens at No. 1 Mile End Terrace, Landport, Portsmouth, England in February of 1812, Dickens was the 2nd of 8 children born to John and Elizabeth Barrow Dickens.  John Dickens was ultimately incapable of supporting his large family,  which forced Charles to begin work at 12 years old at Warren’s Blacking Factory after his father’s poor head for finances led to his imprisonment for debt in the Marshalsea Prison. These early formative years became a taboo topic for discussion with Charles Dickens but found wonderfully creative expression in each of his literary works and most particularly in Little Dorrit.


A torn jacket is soon mended, but hard words bruise the heart's core.

Little Dorrit - Little Dorrit by Charles Dickens


The Marshalsea Prison was located in the London borough of Southwark on the south bank of the River Thames near London Bridge.  The prison housed primarily people convicted of some form of subversion; pirates, sailors who had mutinied and also debtors unable to pay their debts.


It was possible during the Victorian period in England for people to be jailed for nonpayment of debts and it could be for a long and indefinite period of time, depending on whether they were able to raise enough money to pay off their debt.  It was not unusual for family members - whether wives or children - to stay in the prison with the person responsible for the debt, which was most likely the “breadwinner” husband or father. 


These family members - often children - endeavored to find employment and any contributing money or earned income would not only pay off the outstanding debt but also provide for necessary food.  Prisoners who could pay would have the advantage of a bar, restaurant, shop and could sometimes be able leave the prison during the day.


If your debt and lack of income was severe enough, you could be crowded into a small room with many other prisoners and the result often was disease or starvation for many imprisoned people. A British Parliamentary Committee in 1729 found that during a period of three months, 300 prisoners had died of starvation and a smaller number from hot weather during the summer months.


The Marshalsea prison operated from approximately 1329 until 1842 when most of it was demolished.  There is still a length of wall remaining with a small plaque commemorating the prison and the work of Charles Dickens.


The prison darkness had a lasting hold upon them both, and was the pervading influence in their new lives.

Narrator - Little Dorrit by Charles Dickens


Our current read - Little Dorrit - is Charles Dickens’ 11th novel, written just after Bleak House and originally published by London’s Bradbury & Evans as a monthly serial from 1855 through 1857 in 19 consecutive installments. It also released as a book in 1857 and received immediate critical acclaim. Little Dorrit’s themes were recognizable to readers of the day with social and economic issues that were familiar but countless readers down through the years have continued to appreciate their hallmarks of love and redemption.  Little Dorrit is truly one of Dickens’ at his best.


Our main character in this quarter’s read is Amy Dorrit or “Little Dorrit”, daughter of William Dorrit, inmate of Marshalsea prison. Little Dorrit  is born in and spends her growing up years in the prison, venturing out with her siblings to earn meagre wages during the day. Working as a seamstress for the severe invalid, Mrs. Clennam, Amy falls under the notice of the son, Arthur Clennam and a rich storyline ensues…


Life is made of ever so many partings welded together.

Little Dorrit - Little Dorrit by Charles Dickens






We will all be able to share our thoughts and ideas as we meet for a Spring Book Breakfast at the end of April to discuss Charles Dickens’ work, Little Dorrit. There is plenty of time to read this one but you may want to get started soon - it is worth the effort!


















Tuesday, November 28, 2023

I Capture The Castle by Dodie Smith



“I have found that sitting in a place where you have never sat before can be inspiring. I wrote my very best poem while sitting on the hen-house.”


Dodie Smith was born in 1896 in Lancashire, England.  She wrote 9 novels, 11 plays, some autobiographical works and two screenplays.  She may not be the most familiar name in your experience of British authors, but, she was, in fact one of the most successful and well-known playwrights of her generation. 


Growing up in a family of people who were great lovers of theatre, Dodie studied at the Academy of Dramatic Art with acting as a possible career but went on to concentrate on what became a very successful writing career. While her plays may not have necessarily remained contemporary favorites, two of her novels have: I Capture the Castle (1948) and The Hundred and One Dalmatians (1956).


“Cruel blows of fate call for extreme kindness in the family circle.”



I Capture the Castle was Dodie Smith’s first novel.  She wrote it in California in the 1940s where she and her husband, Alec  Beesley had moved after his stance as a conscientious objector in Britain during WWII.  She was homesick for England and wrote largely to remember a happier time and place. The first British edition published in 1948 by the Heinemann publishing house in London.


“Noble deeds and hot baths are the best cures for depression.”


The novel became an immediate hit and is still extremely popular - being included at  #82 in the BBC survey, The Big Read in 2003.


I Capture The Castle follows the poor, highly eccentric but genteel Mortmain family and takes place in the areas of Suffolk and in London during 1930s England.  The novel spans April to October in a single year with seventeen year old Cassandra Mortmain as first-person narrator.  It’s essentially a coming-of-age story for Cassandra and follows her inner transformation from girlhood to becoming a young woman.


The characters in this novel are a colorful and memorable collection and make this an enjoyable read for any age. There is a timelessness to how Dodie Smith has drawn each one that somehow make them resemble someone you know or would like to know.


 “I write this sitting in the kitchen sink.”





We will all be able to share our thoughts and ideas on this work as we meet for a Winter Book Breakfast at 10am on Saturday, January 27th, 2024 to discuss I Capture The Castle by Dodie Smith.


Thursday, August 31, 2023

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley


I started from my sleep with horror; a cold dew covered my forehead, my teeth chattered, and every limb became convulsed: when, by the dim and yellow light of the moon, as it forced its way through the window shutters, I beheld the wretch -- the miserable monster whom I had created. He held up the curtain of the bed; and his eyes, if eyes they may be called, were fixed on me. His jaws opened, and he muttered some inarticulate sounds, while a grin wrinkled his cheeks. He might have spoken, but I did not hear; one hand was stretched out, seemingly to detain me, but I escaped, and rushed down stairs. I took refuge in the courtyard belonging to the house which I inhabited; where I remained during the rest of the night, walking up and down in the greatest agitation, listening attentively, catching and fearing each sound as if it were to announce the approach of the demoniacal corpse to which I had so miserably given life.

Victor Frankenstein

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley


lt was the summer of 1816. 


Because of a widespread environmental impact from the eruption of Mount Tambora in Indonesia the previous year, the summer was cold, dark and foggy across most of Europe.  It was a frightening time of political unrest and widespread sickness and famine after crops failed — the perfect setting for the birth of a monster.


Mary Shelley was staying at the Villa Diodati in Switzerland that summer with her partner, Percy Shelley, her stepsister, Claire Clairmont, Lord Byron and Byron’s doctor, John William Polidori. It was an unconventional, literary and passionate grouping of people in an unsettling yet beautiful surrounding.


The story is told that Lord Byron - because of their mutual love of the macabre - proposed a challenge that they each present an original idea for a ghost story.  It took Mary several days but after a particularly vivid nightmare, she began working on her book -  Frankenstein, or the Modern Prometheus.


It was the secrets of heaven and earth that I desired to learn; and whether it was the outward substance of things or the inner spirit of nature and the mysterious soul of man that occupied me, still my inquiries were directed to the metaphysical, or in it highest sense, the physical secrets of the world.

Victor Frankenstein

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley



She was 19 years old, most likely intimidated by the literary success of Shelley and Byron and deeply affected by one of the hot topics of the day — whether it was possible to re-animate a body after its death by being “galvanized” with electricity.


Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley was the daughter of a political anarchist and philosopher William Godwin and a philosopher, writer and women’s rights advocate Mary Wollstonecraft.  Her mother died less than two weeks after her birth and so Mary was primarily raised by her father.  She was informally educated and encouraged to ascribe to her father’s views but felt that she became less of a focus to him after his second marriage.


In 1814 at 17 years old, Mary eloped with poet, Percy Bysshe Shelley, who was then still married to his first wife, Harriet Westbrook.  Together with Mary’s step-sister, Claire Clairmont, the three left England for France and other travels in Europe. 


Despite William Godwin’s radical views on morals and marriage, he deeply disapproved of the relationship between Mary and Percy Shelley.  They were ostracized  by family and their life was complicated with creditors and the death of their first child.


How mutable are our feelings, and how strange is that clinging love we have of life even in the excess of misery!

Narrator

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley


When Mary, Percy, along with their second child, a new infant son and Clair Clairmont arrived at Lake Geneva in May of 1816 to spend the summer with Lord Byron and John William Polidori, they must have hoped for some refuge and relief but found that the unusual weather and darkness kept them all on edge.


Mary Shelley and her short time with her beloved Percy Shelley was flawed and ultimately without a moral compass -  but as an author, she created a unique and memorable work of fiction that has stood the test of time for its creative and groundbreaking quality.  Published January 1, 1818 as an anonymous work with a preface by Percy Bysshe Shelley — it received widely varying reviews but still claimed immediate popular success. The years have seen it developed into plays, films and television with a wide variety of treatments.  


The original work, however is remarkable in its own right and is definitely worth a read!


Cursed, cursed creator! Why did I live? Why, in that instant, did I not extinguish the spark of existence which you had so wantonly bestowed?

The Creature

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley



Is Frankenstein, or the Modern Prometheus a gothic novel or is it one of the first works of science fiction? The answer is a highly-contested one, but in many ways — it is decided by each of its many readers.


We will all be able to share our thoughts and ideas on this work as we meet for a Autumn Book Breakfast Buffet on Saturday, November 4th, 2023 to discuss Mary Shelley’s work, Frankenstein. There is plenty of time to read this one but you may want to get started soon - it is worth the effort!





Tuesday, May 9, 2023

Great Expectations by Charles Dickens




"That was a memorable day to me, for it made great changes in me. But, it is the same with any life. Imagine one selected day struck out of it, and think how different its course would have been. Pause you who read this, and think for a moment of the long chain of iron or gold, of thorns or flowers, that would never have bound you, but for the formation of the first link on one memorable day.”

Pip


I love to read Charles Dickens.  He’s not exactly an easy read - his books are usually very lengthy works and there is a different rhythm to reading them…  You don’t finish a Dickens novel in a night or even two nights and you need a fully engaged mind.  They are made to settle into - to invest in with your time and attention — but they are so worth it with their rich, colorful characters and memorable storylines.


."... everybody for miles around, had heard of Miss Havisham up town—as an immensely rich and grim old lady who lived in a large and dismal house barricaded against robbers, and who led a life of seclusion.”

Pip


Charles Dickens was an incredible creative force during his lifetime.  He wrote 15 novels, 5 novellas and hundreds of short stories and non-fictional articles. He gave lectures, was a prolific letter writer and edited a weekly journal for almost 20 years. 


Because of personal experiences in his early life, Dickens was also a dedicated campaigner for children’s rights, education, and social reforms — including his stance as an outspoken proponent for copyright law and the protection of intellectual property.  


But above all Charles Dickens was most celebrated and beloved for his pioneering of the narrative serial novel. Not only did he capture the imagination of millions during his writing career, but he also had an intense gift for a deep portrayal of a time period and a way of life in the world in which he lived.


Born Charles John Huffam Dickens at No. 1 Mile End Terrace, Landport, Portsmouth, England in February of 1812, Dickens was the 2nd of 8 children born to John and Elizabeth Barrow Dickens.  John Dickens was ultimately incapable of supporting his large family, forcing Charles to begin work at 12 years old at Warren’s Blacking Factory after his father’s poor head for finances led to his imprisonment for debt in the Marshalsea Prison. These early formative years became a taboo topic for discussion with Charles Dickens but found wonderfully creative expression in each of his literary works.


“We spent as much money as we could, and got as little for it as people made up their minds to give us. We were always more or less miserable…”

Pip


Our current read - Great Expectations - is Dickens’ 13th novel and the second to be told in the first person - the first being David Copperfield.  It was originally published in his weekly periodical All The Year Round from December 1, 1860 to August of 1861.  It was then published in October of 1861 in 3 volumes with the publisher Chapman and Hall.


In Great Expectations we follow the story of an orphan nicknamed Pip and walk with him through all of the character-forming experiences that lead him into adulthood and ultimately determine the course of his life as he seeks to discover his own identity and place in his world.  Dickens’ heart for the plight of children is front and center in this work - and the characters are all strong and memorable; Joe Gargery, Abel Magwitch, Miss Havisham, Estella… 


"I loved her against reason, against promise, against peace, against hope, against happiness, against all discouragement that could be.”

Pip


Great Expectations is a truly wonderful reading journey and Charles Dickens is assuredly at his best - mixing mystery, humor and tragedy.  We are led to agonize with Pip but also experience the pang of regret at decisions made and prejudices held.



We will all be able to share our thoughts and ideas as we meet for a Summer Book Breakfast Buffet at 10am on Saturday, July 29th, 2023 to discuss Charles Dickens’ work, Great Expectations. There is plenty of time to read this one but you may want to get started soon - it is worth the effort!






"I never had one hour's happiness in her society, and yet my mind all round the four-and-twenty hours was harping on the happiness of having her with me unto death.”

Pip