Charles Dickens

Dicken's is undoubtedly one of the greatest writers, and his books can be both tragic and comic, with many twists and turns. Adaptations on film, TV and radio have been countless over the years and what follows is only a small sample of what is currently available. More will be covered as and when it is released.

The Mystery of Charles Dickens. Prepare to encounter some of Victorian England'd most memorable and intriguing characters. Travel to a land of pompous beadles and drunken midwives, and on through europe and America for infamous adventures at the most fashionable society parties. Witness love, hatred, comedy, passion and despair, int he companyu of one of the greatest writers of all time.

In this tour-de-force performance of Peter Ackroyd's acclaimed stage show, Simon Callow portrays not only Charles Dicken's but many of his best-loved characters, from Mr Micawber and Bill Sykes to Oliver Twist and even Nancy. Featuring material not included in teh radio broadcast, unforgettavble moments from his novels interweave with Ackroyd's own words and incisive, compassionate narrative.

With a father imprisoned for debt, young Charles was deprived of an education and forced to work in a blacking factory. Such experiences moulded this lonely and unusual child into the fiercely industrious and highly ambitious writer who would later claim that his characters talked to and touched him.

Priced just £9.99, this double cassette is a must for all fans and collectors.

Micawber. David Jason, and the writer of Only Fools and Horses John Sullivan, were teamed once more for ITVs presention of Micawber. Based on the character by Charles Dickens, before his encounter with David Copperfield. A proud family man, Micawber is keen to keep up appearances in the face of adversity to support his loving wife and many children. Living on the bread line, he is ever optimistic that something will turn up but in the meantime supplies and abundance of love and happiness to his family. But as the demands of numerous creditors escalate, Micawber begins a series of ill-fated careers, including working as a stage manager, a tour guide, adn even a butler!

This video contains both parts of this Yorkshire Television Production and runs to nearly 200 minutes. Priced £14.99, it is available now.

A Tale of Two Cities. This DVD is part of the specially packaged collectors series from Carlton Video and includes a 25 minute documentary that gives unique behind the scenes insights and features interviews with Dame Dorothy Tutin, Christopher Lee and director Ralph Thomas. The film is the 1958 Dirk Bogarde classic, and is based on the Dicken's novel about sacrifice, principle, and the French Revolution. Bogarde plays Sidney Carton, a disillusioned, heavy drinking London lawyer who defends a young French aristocrat, Charles Darnay, when the informant Barsad, played by Doinald Pleasence, accuses him of spying. Carton finds himself falling in love with Darnay's fiancée Lucie Manette (Tutin) and, although he confesses his love to her, they agree to keep it secret.

When Darney returns to France, a country in the grip of revolutionary terror, he is imprisoned by a mob led by Madame Defarge on the orders of his corrupt uncle (played by Christopher Lee). Hearing Lucie's pleas for help, Carton seizes the opportunity for action and, ultimately, redemption.

Priced at £15.99, this digitally remastered edition is has Bogarde in one of his most famous roles and will be a must for all fans. The film also available on video priced £10.99.

The Pickwick Papers. As it was his first novel, I thought this best as my first foray into Dickens' and I have found out since, was not the best book to start with. Mr Samuel Pickwick, retired businessman and confirmed bachelor, is determined that after a quiet life of enterprise the time has come to go out into the world. Founder of the Pickwick Club, he and other constiuents Tracy Tupman, Augustus Sondgrass and Nathaniel Winkle elect to report back their journeys and exploits on a regular basis. So is formed a chronicle of their hilariously comic adventures, The Pickwick Papers.

Ipswich, Rochester and Bath all have a part to play in the forging of choice material for the papers, as does a cast of characters including Pickwick's landlady, Mrs Bardell - who is unfortunately led to believe that her tenant wishes to marry her - the hospitable Mr Wardle of Dingley Dell, the ne'er-do-well strolling player Jingle, and Pickwick's Cockney servant Sam Weller and his coachman father Tony. ISBN 0563 381442.

Oliver Twist. The stars of this adaptation are Pam Ferris and, Tim McInnery, with Edward Long as Oliver, and it is a far cry from the musical by Lionel Bart (which was my only previous knowledge of the book!). Oliver's mother walked to the worlhouse in the cruelest of weather, gave birth and then died, leaving Oliver to the misery and deprivation that those institutions represented. Hating the regime and eventually being shunned by all, Oliver makes his way to London where he falls into the hands of the notorious Fagin and his gang of child thieves, but Oliver is innocent at heart, and the attempts to teach him the tricks of the trade by Fagin and the Artful Dodger lead him to almost immediate capture by the authorities.

This event causes a change in direction for Oliver and he is taken in by the very man he is accused of robbing, Mr Brownlow, but Fagin's gang cannot have him giving them away and take the first opportunity to snatch him and put him back into their service. This ultimately leads to tragedy for all in the gang with loyalties split between the boy and the honour amongst thieves and Oliver soons discovers his true ancestry.

Dickens' second novel is a moving tale of innocence and corruptions which vividly illustrates the author's attack on the 1834 Poor Law. It features some of his most vital characters, fromt he diabolical Fagin to the murderous Bill Sykes and his mistress, Nancy, whose love for Oliver is both her redemption and her tragedy. ISBN 0563 557060.

Hard Times. John Woodvine, Tom Baker and Anna Massey star in this full cast dramaisation of the Dickens' novel, Hard Times. In the polluted and pverty-ridden Coketown, Louisa and Tom Tadgrind endure a cold an loveless childhood, where everything is based on fact and fact alone, and starved of affection, Louisa is forced into a miserbale marraige with the self-made industrialist Josiah Bounderby (I grew up in a ditch, with a slut for a mother and a drunk for a gran), who is thrity years her senior, whilst Tom descends into a secret life of theft.

This is the squalor and misery that Sissy Jupe, a child of the circus, enters into after her father deserts her. She is adopted by Gradgrind and helps, along with her circus colleages, to combat the pervading gloom and offer some hope fo redemption. This is Dickens' brilliant satire on the Victorian family - and the philosphies of a society which sought to turn men into machines - was written at the height of both his popularity and his creative powers. Teeming with tension and conflict, this gripping adaptation also includes Sarah Jane Holm, Jean Boht, and Richard Griffiths among the cast. ISBN 0563 557559.

Nicholas Nickleby. An all star cast including Oliver Milburn, Anna Massey, Tom Baker, and David Bamber brings pathos, humour, romance and sheer exuberance to Dickens comic tour de force. With Alex Jennings as the voice of Dickens, this Radio 4 dramatisation of Charles Dickens' novel includes some on his most comical characters. Of course, the classic serial at the moment is Little Dorritt, Dickens' masterpieces of social satire. This is being broadcast in five hour long episodes on a Sunday afternoon on Radio 4, and has Ian McKellan as Dickens'. For those of you who have tried to read his books and found them a little stuffy (I never did finish the Pickwick Papers) then this will be an ideal entrance to his world. Nickleby runs to just under a staggering 7 hours and is priced £15.99. The ISBN is 0563 552689.

Bleak House has also been re-issued and stars Michael Kitchen as John Jarndyce in another full dramatisation from Radio 4. This is a tale of London and Law and is a scathing satire on the corruption of the legal system and a vivid portrait of London life. A Sony Award winner, and another 5 hours epic, this is really not to be missed and is only £13.99 (ISBN 0563 558369).

Great Expectations. Geraldine McEwan stars as Miss Haversham with Douglas Hodge as Pip in this gripping saga. When orphan Pip meets the escaped convict Magwitch in an overgrown churchyard on the Kent marshes, little does he know that the incident will change his life forever. This set runs to over 5 and a 1/2 hours and is priced £13.99, with ISBN 0563 393661.