Charles Dickens: A Brain on Fire! 🔥

Send us a text

The award-winning actor and writer Patterson Joseph takes the listener on a  fascinating journey into the captivating life of Charles Ignatius Sancho, an African man who found favour among the highest reaches of 18th-century British society,  and who had a front-row seat to the infamous Gordon Riots of 1780 ...

Sharing the inspiration behind his thrilling novel -The Secret Diaries of Charles Ignatius Sancho-Paterson shares his unique writing processes, heavily influenced by Dickens' immersive character development, and his uncanny knack for sensory detail

Here is also a link to Paterson reading the audiobook of Sancho:
https://www.audible.co.uk/pd/The-Secret-Diaries-of-Charles-Ignatius-Sancho-Audiobook/B09TD1SGLZ

Support the show

If you'd like to make a donation to support the costs of producing this series you can buy 'coffees' right here https://www.buymeacoffee.com/dominicgerrard

Thank you so much!

Host: Dominic Gerrard
Series Artwork: Léna Gibert
Original Music: Dominic Gerrard

Thank you for listening!

Send us a text

Celeste Callen returns to share her insights on how Henri  Bergson's theories of the 'superficial self' and the 'mechanical man' permeate through Dickens' novels such as The Signal-Man,  Bleak House,  Hard Times, The Chimes,  and Master Humphrey's Clock

Celeste Callen holds a BA (Hons) in English Language and Literature from King's College London and an MSc in Enlightenment, Romantic and Victorian Literature from the University of Edinburgh. She is a third year PhD candidate in English Literature at the University of Edinburgh. Her PhD research explores subjective temporal experience in Dickens’ fiction,  through the lens of Henri Bergson’s philosophy of time. Her other areas of interest include representations of selfhood, memory, subjectivity and temporality, as well as reflections on the novel and the philosophy of time more broadly.

Support the show

If you'd like to make a donation to support the costs of producing this series you can buy 'coffees' right here https://www.buymeacoffee.com/dominicgerrard

Thank you so much!

Host: Dominic Gerrard
Series Artwork: Léna Gibert
Original Music: Dominic Gerrard

Thank you for listening!

Send us a text

Dominic is joined by the inimitable James Swanton  who is performing A Christmas Carol, The Chimes and Haunted Man in person this year at the Dickens Museum. And for those of you listening outside the UK you can watch a live stream of his Haunted Man - filmed inside number 48 Doughty Street - on the 11th December.

James read English at Selwyn College Cambridge. Since graduating his acting credits include Sikes and Nancy at London’s Trafalgar Studios, Irving Undead and this years’ upcoming BBC Ghost Story for Christmas Lot No.249

His inspirations are far ranging, and a brilliant English teacher by the name of Mr Crisp who took James under his wing when he was at secondary school and set him on the path that he still treads today …

Support the show

If you'd like to make a donation to support the costs of producing this series you can buy 'coffees' right here https://www.buymeacoffee.com/dominicgerrard

Thank you so much!

Host: Dominic Gerrard
Series Artwork: Léna Gibert
Original Music: Dominic Gerrard

Thank you for listening!

Send us a text

Dominic is joined by the award-winning author and food historian Pen Vogler who offers insightful reflections on how Charles Dickens used food as complex metaphors in his novels, that reflect the psychological and societal shifts during the Victorian era. The richly detailed food descriptions in works like A Christmas Carol and Little Dorrit reflect not just the era's celebrated dining etiquettes but sometimes Dickens' own discomfort in these settings.

From Pen's new book Stuffed  there's also a hearty discussion on the role of food in society, particularly concerning feeding children, an issue highlighted more than ever during the pandemic. With a nod to the inspiring campaign by footballer Marcus Rashford, Pen finds parallels in Dickens' advocacy for children's rights and a nation's duty to nourish its future generations. We take a bite into history with the contentious debates in Parliament over this responsibility and the impact of land Enclosures on the food system. 

 Get ready also to rediscover the culinary history of forgotten ingredients like caraway seeds and dried broad beans.  Pen also promises a future Christmas episode. So sit back, savour the flavour of history, and let's dig in!

Support the show

If you'd like to make a donation to support the costs of producing this series you can buy 'coffees' right here https://www.buymeacoffee.com/dominicgerrard

Thank you so much!

Host: Dominic Gerrard
Series Artwork: Léna Gibert
Original Music: Dominic Gerrard

Thank you for listening!

Send us a text

Host Dominic Gerrard reads Dickens' account of The Gunpowder Plot from his 1851 A Child's History of England ...

Dickens transports back us to 1605, the era of King James I, Guy Fawkes and a conspiracy that shook the nation.

This compelling narrative is a tribute to November 5th, a date that continues to resonate through the annals of history.

Support the show

If you'd like to make a donation to support the costs of producing this series you can buy 'coffees' right here https://www.buymeacoffee.com/dominicgerrard

Thank you so much!

Host: Dominic Gerrard
Series Artwork: Léna Gibert
Original Music: Dominic Gerrard

Thank you for listening!

Send us a text

It is Publication Eve for today’s guest the inimitable Dr. Helena Kelly.  Her latest book The Life & Lies of Charles Dickens  (published by Icon Books) lifts the cover on what we think we know about Dickens from his friend and sanctioned biographer John Forster.

In this episode we try to spend some time with Dickens’ wife Catherine, and understand the enormous struggles they both went through: when Charles’ genius sent their lives into the stratosphere, right from the very start of their marriage, at a time when no-one had written the handbook yet on how to cope with global fame …

Support the show

If you'd like to make a donation to support the costs of producing this series you can buy 'coffees' right here https://www.buymeacoffee.com/dominicgerrard

Thank you so much!

Host: Dominic Gerrard
Series Artwork: Léna Gibert
Original Music: Dominic Gerrard

Thank you for listening!

Send us a text

Dominic is joined by the inimitable Professor John Bowen who returns to this series to explore the hidden depths beneath the pages of one of Dickens' most iconic ghost stories -The Signal-Man

Written only a year after Dickens  survived the Staplehurst Rail Crash, The Signal-Man finds an author grappling with trauma and the conflicted feelings of fear and wonder at the new railways, mixed with a desperate yearning to know in advance where danger lies …

Reading excerpts from the haunting tale is the fantastic actor and director Oliver Dimsdale

Support the show

If you'd like to make a donation to support the costs of producing this series you can buy 'coffees' right here https://www.buymeacoffee.com/dominicgerrard

Thank you so much!

Host: Dominic Gerrard
Series Artwork: Léna Gibert
Original Music: Dominic Gerrard

Thank you for listening!

Send us a text

Dominic is joined by the inimitable Dr. Emily Bell who guides the listener through the rollercoaster that is Charles Dickens & Wilkie Collins' Lazy Tour of Two Idle Apprentices  - a unique blend of travel writing and ghost stories seen through the eyes of the quintessentially British  characters of Francis Goodchild and Thomas Idle, who amusingly mirror their creators, Dickens and Collins

This eccentric collection contains within its pages two fantastic ghosts stories - The Dead Hand & The Ghost in the Bride’s Chamber - and other dark flights of fancy that crash in on the everyday. It is a work full of both silliness and mystery and (in spite of its title) the action hardly ever gives in to any idleness ...

Reading the excerpts in this episode is the fantastic actor Adam Cunis

Support the show

If you'd like to make a donation to support the costs of producing this series you can buy 'coffees' right here https://www.buymeacoffee.com/dominicgerrard

Thank you so much!

Host: Dominic Gerrard
Series Artwork: Léna Gibert
Original Music: Dominic Gerrard

Thank you for listening!

Send us a text

Are you an unsung codebreaker? Does your knowledge and feel for Dickens mean that you could be the next person to crack some of the hieroglyphic mystery of the shorthand system that Dickens created for himself. Or are you able to trace the source of the writings that Dickens read from whilst dictating to his pupil Arthur Stone …?

A year ago Dominic caught up with Dr. Claire Wood & Prof. Hugo Bowles on their extraordinary Dickens Code project. Since they last spoke,  Claire and Hugo have not only won the Research Project of the Year: Times Higher Education Award but have now - for the very first time - pooled all of Dickens’ surviving shorthand manuscripts into one place in a special online exhibition entitled - Decoding Dickens: The Shorthand Mysteries … 

Support the show

If you'd like to make a donation to support the costs of producing this series you can buy 'coffees' right here https://www.buymeacoffee.com/dominicgerrard

Thank you so much!

Host: Dominic Gerrard
Series Artwork: Léna Gibert
Original Music: Dominic Gerrard

Thank you for listening!

Send us a text

Welcome to this  special one-on-one chat with Armando Iannucci - one of the leading comedy writers and political satirists of our time - where we delve into his literary passions and influences.

This lively conversation peels back the layers of Armando's lifelong love of Charles Dickens - Martin Chuzzlewit in particular -and his interest in John Milton's masterpiece Paradise Lost and how these literary giants have left an indelible mark on his work. How he would later go on to write, produce and direct his own adaptation of David Copperfield, and whether he agrees that the character of Alan Partridge belongs in Dickens' canon of comic creations!

Plus his current work adapting his mock-verse poem Pandemonium for London's West End.

With readings from the wonderful Rebecca Tanwen.

Support the show

If you'd like to make a donation to support the costs of producing this series you can buy 'coffees' right here https://www.buymeacoffee.com/dominicgerrard

Thank you so much!

Host: Dominic Gerrard
Series Artwork: Léna Gibert
Original Music: Dominic Gerrard

Thank you for listening!

Send us a text

What does it mean to experience time? Is it a linear journey from past to present, or is it a complex and intricate web of memories, feelings, and experiences?
Our guest today is the inimitable Céleste Callen, from The University of Edinburgh, who delves into her thesis that explores subjective temporal experience in Dickens’ fiction,  through the lens of Henri Bergson’s philosophy of time.

This episode explores Bergson's seminal works: Time and Free Will  & Matter and Memory  and Dickens' Christmas Books: A Christmas Carol, The Chimes, The Haunted Man and his first person narratives David Copperfield & Great Expectations ...

Readings in this episode are from the wonderful Sophie Reynolds and Peter Bray

Support the show

If you'd like to make a donation to support the costs of producing this series you can buy 'coffees' right here https://www.buymeacoffee.com/dominicgerrard

Thank you so much!

Host: Dominic Gerrard
Series Artwork: Léna Gibert
Original Music: Dominic Gerrard

Thank you for listening!

Send us a text

Welcome to a new series of Charles Dickens: A Brain on Fire!🔥

Today we take a deep dive into Dickens’ final, unfinished novel,  The Mystery of Edwin Drood …

Joining us to talk about this extraordinary book, is the inimitable Dr Pete Orford who is a Lecturer in English Literature, and Course Director for the MA research in Charles Dickens, at the University of Buckingham.

Pete has written extensively on Shakespeare, Dickens but also Terry Pratchet, Philip Pulman and JK Rowling. With contributions to The Oxford Handbook and Blackwell Companion to Charles Dickens and he is currently editing Pictures From Italy for Oxford University Press.

Pete is also the author of Edwin Drood: Charles Dickens’ unfinished novel and our endless attempts to end it - which means following swiftly on the back of this episode he will be joining us again to talk about all the ‘what if’s’ and conspiracy theories that have sprung up in trying to solve the unanswered questions of what was Dickens going to write next at the point where his novel stops! 

But right now, in this first part, our focus is on the text that exists …

Support the show

If you'd like to make a donation to support the costs of producing this series you can buy 'coffees' right here https://www.buymeacoffee.com/dominicgerrard

Thank you so much!

Host: Dominic Gerrard
Series Artwork: Léna Gibert
Original Music: Dominic Gerrard

Thank you for listening!

Send us a text

What if their scribbles on paper could reveal intimate details about a person’s character, personality, and even their health? Charles Dickens, one of the greatest authors in the annals of literature, is under the microscope in this riveting conversation with Emma Bache, one of the UK's top graphologists.

Emma offers her expert analysis on Dickens' handwriting, hinting at revelations that range from potential bisexuality, to insights into his tumultuous relationships with women. From the youthful writing of Pickwick to the poignant final page of The Mystery of Edwin Drood ...

Emma's book Reading Between The Lines is fun way for you, the listener, to examine your own writing and what it could say about you!

For full links to the manuscripts and other writing mentioned in the episode  go to @DickensFire on twitter.
The three Dickens extract links are here also:
1. The Pickwick Papers (The New York Public Library, Berg Collection)
2. A Christmas Carol (The Morgan Library & Museum)
3. The Mystery of Edwin Drood (Victoria & Albert Museum)

Support the show

If you'd like to make a donation to support the costs of producing this series you can buy 'coffees' right here https://www.buymeacoffee.com/dominicgerrard

Thank you so much!

Host: Dominic Gerrard
Series Artwork: Léna Gibert
Original Music: Dominic Gerrard

Thank you for listening!

Send us a text

What do luxurious wallpapers, deadly poison, and supernatural elements have in common? Join host Dominic Gerrard for a captivating conversation with novelist and literary historian Jon Michael Varese as we unravel the mysteries of his latest novel, The Company. Set in 1870, this gothic tale follows the Braithwhite family as they grapple with the shocking discovery of a poisonous pigment in their wallpaper business. Jon shares his inspirations for this riveting story and how it mirrors modern issues like climate change and denial of truth.

Here is a link to purchase The Company
Here is also a link to purchase Lucinda Hawksley's Bitten By Witch Fever ...

Support the show

If you'd like to make a donation to support the costs of producing this series you can buy 'coffees' right here https://www.buymeacoffee.com/dominicgerrard

Thank you so much!

Host: Dominic Gerrard
Series Artwork: Léna Gibert
Original Music: Dominic Gerrard

Thank you for listening!

Send us a text

Dominic welcomes the brilliant writer Katie Lumsden back to the podcast.

Katie's debut novel The Secrets of Hartwood Hall, published by Penguin's Random House, is now out in the shops (both sides of the Atlantic) and ready to be a part of your summer reading.

Katie has also  launched a The Mega Dickens Readalong, where you the listener are all invited to read all of Dickens’ novels in chronological order, so in this episode she shares her impressions of  the first five books that have been read by the group so far: Pickwick Papers, Oliver Twist, Nicholas Nickleby, The Old Curiosity Shop  and Barnaby Rudge. 

Reading excerpts from these first five novels is the wonderful actress, Olivia Mace. 

Support the show

If you'd like to make a donation to support the costs of producing this series you can buy 'coffees' right here https://www.buymeacoffee.com/dominicgerrard

Thank you so much!

Host: Dominic Gerrard
Series Artwork: Léna Gibert
Original Music: Dominic Gerrard

Thank you for listening!

Send us a text

Dominic is joined by Dr. Nicholas Cambridge who is an Honorary Research Fellow in Humanities at the University of Buckingham and a visiting scholar in Medical Humanities at Nova Scotia’s Dalhousie University. 

After qualifying as an electrical engineer, Nicholas switched career to became a GP and as a medical student won the first ever History of Medicine Prize from the Royal Society Medicine. He then worked for 25 years as a family Doctor in Surrey (in the south of England), but that prize he won as a student nearly 50 years ago seems to have planted a seed that in retirement is now growing to fruition.
His new book, Bleak Health which gives a fascinating insight into the conditions that Dickens, his family and people in the 19th Century more widely, had to contend with. The primary sources in Bleak Health are Dickens’ own words where in his letters he confides to the people who are closest to him, about his mental, physical and emotional struggles throughout his life …

Support the show

If you'd like to make a donation to support the costs of producing this series you can buy 'coffees' right here https://www.buymeacoffee.com/dominicgerrard

Thank you so much!

Host: Dominic Gerrard
Series Artwork: Léna Gibert
Original Music: Dominic Gerrard

Thank you for listening!

Send us a text

Dominic is joined by the brilliant actress, poet & playwright Laurie Ogden. Together they talk about her experience filming her TV debut as Biddy in FX's Great Expectations ...

Laurie's poetry collection Humaning is available to purchase here: 

Support the show

If you'd like to make a donation to support the costs of producing this series you can buy 'coffees' right here https://www.buymeacoffee.com/dominicgerrard

Thank you so much!

Host: Dominic Gerrard
Series Artwork: Léna Gibert
Original Music: Dominic Gerrard

Thank you for listening!

Send us a text

Dominic is joined by the brilliant Dr. Emily Bell who digs deep into Dickens’ second novel: Oliver Twist; or, the Parish Boy’s Progress …

Emily is a Lecturer in Digital Humanities & Digital Skills at  the University of Leeds; and is an alumna of both the University of Warwick (where she read English) and York where she completed her MA and Phd. She is also Editor of The Dickensian and is a researcher and consultant on programmes such the BBC’s Horrible Histories and Homeschool History …

In this episode Dominic reads excerpts from not only Oliver Twist but there are also clips from his performance of Sikes and Nancy which was filmed during lockdown at the Charles Dickens Museum - the very building where Dickens’ actually wrote this astonishing book.

N.B. This conversation touches on some of the more disturbing themes in the novel - such as Nancy’s murder, Sikes’ hanging, and antisemitism - so just be aware if that’s something you might find difficult to listen to. 

Enjoy the episode!

Support the show

If you'd like to make a donation to support the costs of producing this series you can buy 'coffees' right here https://www.buymeacoffee.com/dominicgerrard

Thank you so much!

Host: Dominic Gerrard
Series Artwork: Léna Gibert
Original Music: Dominic Gerrard

Thank you for listening!

Send us a text

Dominic is joined by the inimitable Steven Knight who's exciting and daring screenplays include Peaky Blinders, Taboo and SAS Rogue Heroes.
Steven also adapted the dark and thrilling FX A Christmas Carol  (with Guy Pearce as Scrooge) and has now re-imagined Great Expectations in a new series led by Olivia Colman. Now screening on Hulu in the US and BBC One in the UK.

Support the show

If you'd like to make a donation to support the costs of producing this series you can buy 'coffees' right here https://www.buymeacoffee.com/dominicgerrard

Thank you so much!

Host: Dominic Gerrard
Series Artwork: Léna Gibert
Original Music: Dominic Gerrard

Thank you for listening!

Send us a text

Host Dominic Gerrard reads the opening chapter of A Tale of Two Cities ...

Support the show

If you'd like to make a donation to support the costs of producing this series you can buy 'coffees' right here https://www.buymeacoffee.com/dominicgerrard

Thank you so much!

Host: Dominic Gerrard
Series Artwork: Léna Gibert
Original Music: Dominic Gerrard

Thank you for listening!

Send us a text

Dominic is joined by the inimitable actor and Dickens descendant Harry Lloyd. Together they discuss their first impressions of  FX’s new Great Expectations and Harry's experience of playing Dickens characters in previous BBC dramatisations of his Great Great Great Grandfather's works, and his career more widely.

The copyright for this specific episode is owned by FX Networks.

Support the show

If you'd like to make a donation to support the costs of producing this series you can buy 'coffees' right here https://www.buymeacoffee.com/dominicgerrard

Thank you so much!

Host: Dominic Gerrard
Series Artwork: Léna Gibert
Original Music: Dominic Gerrard

Thank you for listening!

Send us a text

Dominic is joined by the inimitable broadcaster & historian Alice Loxton who takes us on a journey into the frenzied and scandalous world of London society in the Georgian Period ...

Alice is a celebrated presenter on History Hit  and her new book UPROAR! takes a look at the movers and shakers of the time as seen through the eyes of  caricaturists such as James Gillray, Thomas Rowlandson & Isaac Cruikshank

You can also follow Alice on Twitter, Instagram and TikTok

Support the show

If you'd like to make a donation to support the costs of producing this series you can buy 'coffees' right here https://www.buymeacoffee.com/dominicgerrard

Thank you so much!

Host: Dominic Gerrard
Series Artwork: Léna Gibert
Original Music: Dominic Gerrard

Thank you for listening!

Send us a text

It's the 10th Day of Christmas ... and Dominic is joined by the brilliant writer Katie Lumsden where they attempt to examine, with fresh eyes, Dickens' long forgotten Christmas Book The Battle of Life ...
 
An alumna of both Durham & Bath Spa Universities, her debut novel The Secrets of Hartwood Hall  - set in 1852 - is now available to pre-order here. Katie also hosts the hugely successful Youtube channel Books and Things where she examines in detail the mountains of literature she reads her way through each year!

And reading excerpts from The Battle of Life is the wonderful Sophie Reynolds who is the curator at Jane Austens’ House in Chawton. 

Support the show

If you'd like to make a donation to support the costs of producing this series you can buy 'coffees' right here https://www.buymeacoffee.com/dominicgerrard

Thank you so much!

Host: Dominic Gerrard
Series Artwork: Léna Gibert
Original Music: Dominic Gerrard

Thank you for listening!

Send us a text

Dominic reads a Christmas Day excerpt from Chapter IV of Great Expectations where Pip has to sit through the ordeal of a Christmas Dinner with a heavy  conscience ...

HAPPY CHRISTMAS! 

Support the show

If you'd like to make a donation to support the costs of producing this series you can buy 'coffees' right here https://www.buymeacoffee.com/dominicgerrard

Thank you so much!

Host: Dominic Gerrard
Series Artwork: Léna Gibert
Original Music: Dominic Gerrard

Thank you for listening!

Send us a text

It's Christmas Eve! And Dominic reads an excerpt from Stave III of A Christmas Carol ...

Support the show

If you'd like to make a donation to support the costs of producing this series you can buy 'coffees' right here https://www.buymeacoffee.com/dominicgerrard

Thank you so much!

Host: Dominic Gerrard
Series Artwork: Léna Gibert
Original Music: Dominic Gerrard

Thank you for listening!

Send us a text

Dominic is joined by the wonderful Dr. Claire Wood again for a special Christmas episode on Charles Dickens' The Story of the Goblins who Stole a Sexton; A Christmas Carol and The Chimes ...

Reading extracts from these stories is the brilliant actor Tom Andrews ...

HAPPY CHRISTMAS!!

Support the show

If you'd like to make a donation to support the costs of producing this series you can buy 'coffees' right here https://www.buymeacoffee.com/dominicgerrard

Thank you so much!

Host: Dominic Gerrard
Series Artwork: Léna Gibert
Original Music: Dominic Gerrard

Thank you for listening!

Send us a text

Dominic is joined again by the inimitable Robert Douglas Fairhurst who returns to this series to explore Dickens' five iconic Christmas Books: A Christmas Carol, The Chimes, The Cricket on the Hearth, The Battle of Life & The Haunted Man ...

Robert's latest book Metamorphosis: A Life in Pieces is available to order here

Happy Christmas!

Support the show

If you'd like to make a donation to support the costs of producing this series you can buy 'coffees' right here https://www.buymeacoffee.com/dominicgerrard

Thank you so much!

Host: Dominic Gerrard
Series Artwork: Léna Gibert
Original Music: Dominic Gerrard

Thank you for listening!

Send us a text

Dominic is joined by the brilliant Morgan Lloyd Malcolm: who’s writing for stage and screen includes her pivotal play Emilia - which won three Olivier Awards when it transferred from Shakespeare’s Globe to the West End - and a soon to be released adaptation of Josephine Hart’s Damage for Moonage, Gaumont & Netflix

As a writer Morgan also works extensively with Clean Break: a feminist theatre company that engages and empowers women who have either experience of the criminal justice system or are at risk of entering it. Morgan has also written several pantomimes, and Christmas shows for children.  All of these elements of her work have been woven into her magical new adaptation of A Christmas Carol which opens this week at the Rose Theatre, Kingston …

The music in this episode is taken from the show itself and has been composed by the hugely talented Eamonn O’Dwyer

Support the show

If you'd like to make a donation to support the costs of producing this series you can buy 'coffees' right here https://www.buymeacoffee.com/dominicgerrard

Thank you so much!

Host: Dominic Gerrard
Series Artwork: Léna Gibert
Original Music: Dominic Gerrard

Thank you for listening!

Send us a text

Dominic is joined by Gage Mcweeny, who is Professor of English at Williams College, Massachusetts. Gage is an alumni of both Columbia and Princeton, with a specialism in nineteenth-century literature; sociology; and culture. His book The Comfort of Strangers: Social Life and Literary Form  (OUP) examines that Victorian phenomenon of new people emerging everywhere in the Great Cities as Industrialisation takes its hold in the 19th Century and how authors such as George Eliot, Oscar Wilde, Henry James and of course  Dickens respond to it. He also wrote the introduction to the Longman edition of Hard Times.

Reading extracts from Hard Times is the actor Ben Eagle and The Bookshop Band also appear in the episode with their song The Tumbling Girl ...

Support the show

If you'd like to make a donation to support the costs of producing this series you can buy 'coffees' right here https://www.buymeacoffee.com/dominicgerrard

Thank you so much!

Host: Dominic Gerrard
Series Artwork: Léna Gibert
Original Music: Dominic Gerrard

Thank you for listening!

Send us a text

Host Dominic Gerrard reads the opening chapter of Bleak House ...

Support the show

If you'd like to make a donation to support the costs of producing this series you can buy 'coffees' right here https://www.buymeacoffee.com/dominicgerrard

Thank you so much!

Host: Dominic Gerrard
Series Artwork: Léna Gibert
Original Music: Dominic Gerrard

Thank you for listening!

Send us a text

Dominic is joined by the brilliant Dr. Anna Mckay who is a social and cultural historian who specialises in both 18th & 19th Century British Maritime history and the methods of confinement that were practised throughout that period. Anna's research has taken her to historic prisoner of war depots and penal colonies across the world. She has also undertaken archival research in the UK, Australia, Bermuda and Canada. Anna is also writing a book on the Hulks and is best placed to tell us how true to life Dickens’ portrayal of Magwitch really is …

Reading excerpts from Great Expectations and contemporary newspapers is the inimitable Matt Grinter

Support the show

If you'd like to make a donation to support the costs of producing this series you can buy 'coffees' right here https://www.buymeacoffee.com/dominicgerrard

Thank you so much!

Host: Dominic Gerrard
Series Artwork: Léna Gibert
Original Music: Dominic Gerrard

Thank you for listening!

Send us a text

Dominic is joined by the inimitable Andrew Davies whose iconic screen adaptations include  Bleak House, Pride & Prejudice, War & Peace, Les Miserablés, Middlemarch, Vanity Fair ... and many more!

It all begins in 1976 with his iconic retelling of The Signalman ...

Support the show

If you'd like to make a donation to support the costs of producing this series you can buy 'coffees' right here https://www.buymeacoffee.com/dominicgerrard

Thank you so much!

Host: Dominic Gerrard
Series Artwork: Léna Gibert
Original Music: Dominic Gerrard

Thank you for listening!

Send us a text

In this bumper episode Dominic is joined by the brilliant Prof. Hugo Bowles from Italy's University of Foggia and welcomes back to the series the inimitable Dr. Claire Wood.

Together they take the listener on journey inside THE DICKENS CODE: a project that seeks to crack the code of Dickens' unique form of shorthand, and decipher the author's hidden messages from 150 years ago ...

To book for Dominic's GHOSTS AND MURDER live stream on Monday 31st October - which includes readings of Sikes & Nancy, The Dead Hand,The Signalman  plus a live Q&A with Dr. Claire Wood - click here: https://dickensmuseum.com/blogs/all-events/ghosts-murder

You can watch wherever you are in the world!

Support the show

If you'd like to make a donation to support the costs of producing this series you can buy 'coffees' right here https://www.buymeacoffee.com/dominicgerrard

Thank you so much!

Host: Dominic Gerrard
Series Artwork: Léna Gibert
Original Music: Dominic Gerrard

Thank you for listening!

Send us a text

Dominic is joined by the brilliant Dr. Emily Dunbar, curator at the Charles Dickens Museum in London.

Today the museum launches its new exhibition To Be Read at Dusk: Dickens, Ghosts and the Supernatural ...  Emily is here to guide us through what visitors can expect to encounter as they pass through the famous red door and cross the threshold of number 48 Doughty Street, London.

Dominic's film Ghosts and Murder - which includes his readings of Sikes & Nancy, The Dead Hand and The Signalman  - will be live streamed from the Dickens Museum this Halloween 31st October at 7.30 (GMT). Watch wherever you are in the world! Book here

Support the show

If you'd like to make a donation to support the costs of producing this series you can buy 'coffees' right here https://www.buymeacoffee.com/dominicgerrard

Thank you so much!

Host: Dominic Gerrard
Series Artwork: Léna Gibert
Original Music: Dominic Gerrard

Thank you for listening!

Send us a text

Dominic is joined by the fantastic historian Adam Zamoyski who shares his insight into the origins of both Revolutionary thought and action in the last quarter of the 18th Century: what Dickens famously calls 'The Period' in his A Tale of Two Cities ...

Adam's celebrated titles on the Age of Revolution and the Napoleonic Wars include: Holy Madness, 1812. Napoleon’s Fatal March on Moscow, Rites of Peace and Napoleon: The Man Behind The Myth ...

This episode also contains both French Revolutionary and British Reactionary quotes and slogans read by the brilliant actress Léna Robin

You can watch wherever you are in the world!

Support the show

If you'd like to make a donation to support the costs of producing this series you can buy 'coffees' right here https://www.buymeacoffee.com/dominicgerrard

Thank you so much!

Host: Dominic Gerrard
Series Artwork: Léna Gibert
Original Music: Dominic Gerrard

Thank you for listening!

Send us a text

Dominic is Joined by the brilliant Dr. Claire Wood, who is a lecturer in Victorian Literature at the University of Leicester and a former research associate at the University of York. Claire’s writing on Dickens includes: Dickens and the Business of Death, published by Cambridge University Press. Claire is also a founder of the Dickens Code which seeks to crack the mysteries of Dickens’ unique form of shorthand - a project that has just been nominated for a Times Education Award ..

Also joining us to read extracts from The Old Curiosity Shop  the excellent actor, Gunnar Cauthery.

Support the show

If you'd like to make a donation to support the costs of producing this series you can buy 'coffees' right here https://www.buymeacoffee.com/dominicgerrard

Thank you so much!

Host: Dominic Gerrard
Series Artwork: Léna Gibert
Original Music: Dominic Gerrard

Thank you for listening!

Send us a text

It's summer ... the perfect time to talk about Dickens' travels abroad. Dominic is joined again by the brilliant Lucinda Hawskley who returns to talk about her new book Dickens and Travel ... A perfect addition to your holiday reading!

Mentioned also in the episode are two portraits which you can view here:

Daniel Maclise's "Charles Dickens" ('Nickleby Portrait) 1839
Francis Alexander's "Charles Dickens" 1842

Plus Harry Styles' latest album Harry's House !

To book for Dominic's GHOSTS AND MURDER live stream on Monday 31st October - which includes readings of Sikes & Nancy, The Dead Hand,The Signalman  plus a live Q&A with Dr. Claire Wood - click here: https://dickensmuseum.com/blogs/all-events/ghosts-murder

You can watch wherever you are in the world!

Support the show

If you'd like to make a donation to support the costs of producing this series you can buy 'coffees' right here https://www.buymeacoffee.com/dominicgerrard

Thank you so much!

Host: Dominic Gerrard
Series Artwork: Léna Gibert
Original Music: Dominic Gerrard

Thank you for listening!

Send us a text

Dominic is joined by the inimitable Stephen Fry who takes the listener on an intricate journey through the fog and mystery of Dickens' thrilling masterpiece: Bleak House

Reading extracts from Esther's narrative also is the brilliant Sally Scott

And here is a link to Miriam Margolyes' unabridged audiobook of Bleak House mentioned in the episode

If you'd like to make a small donation to support the running of this series please click here

Support the show

If you'd like to make a donation to support the costs of producing this series you can buy 'coffees' right here https://www.buymeacoffee.com/dominicgerrard

Thank you so much!

Host: Dominic Gerrard
Series Artwork: Léna Gibert
Original Music: Dominic Gerrard

Thank you for listening!

Send us a text

Host Dominic Gerrard reads the opening chapter of Great Expectations ...

Support the show

If you'd like to make a donation to support the costs of producing this series you can buy 'coffees' right here https://www.buymeacoffee.com/dominicgerrard

Thank you so much!

Host: Dominic Gerrard
Series Artwork: Léna Gibert
Original Music: Dominic Gerrard

Thank you for listening!

Send us a text

On the 207th anniversary of the Battle of Waterloo Dominic is joined by the inimitable Bernard Cornwell OBE.

Author of the hugely successful Sharpe series which takes the reader through the Napoleonic Wars, Bernard's latest novel Sharpe's Assassin  is now available in paperback and follows the events of the occupation of Paris immediately after Napoleon's defeat. Bernard has also written a straight history of Waterloo which is an indispensable guide to the campaign.

Dickens was only 3 years old on that day, which defined Britain's global position for a century ...

In this episode ‘Over the Hills and Far Away’ is sung by Georgina White 

Support the show

If you'd like to make a donation to support the costs of producing this series you can buy 'coffees' right here https://www.buymeacoffee.com/dominicgerrard

Thank you so much!

Host: Dominic Gerrard
Series Artwork: Léna Gibert
Original Music: Dominic Gerrard

Thank you for listening!

Send us a text

Dominic is joined by  Marzia Dati: Professor of English Literature at  Liceo Marconi High School and founder of the first Italian Branch of the International Dickens Fellowship, in her home town of Carrara. 

Marzia’s new book A Sentimental Journey through Carrara is a visitor’s guide to this remarkable town that sits at the foot of the Apuan Alps, as they slope their way down to the Sea …  

These marble mountains gave Michelangelo the stone from which he cut the figure of his famous David, and today, if you stand in the lobby of the One World Trade Centre in New York, you will see that its walls are also decorated with Carrara’s unique marble …

Dickens visited Carrara in January 1845 and Marzia shares what he, and other famous writers and artists, found there. Grazie per l'attenzione!

Support the show

If you'd like to make a donation to support the costs of producing this series you can buy 'coffees' right here https://www.buymeacoffee.com/dominicgerrard

Thank you so much!

Host: Dominic Gerrard
Series Artwork: Léna Gibert
Original Music: Dominic Gerrard

Thank you for listening!

Send us a text

Dominic is joined by Ravenmaster Christopher Skaife for a special episode on Grip.

Chris looks after the world famous ravens at the Tower of London, and tells hilarious anecdotes about his Ravens and how ingenious Dickens' descriptions of these rare and wonderful creatures are in Barnaby Rudge ...

This episode also includes special readings from curator of Jane Austen's House Sophie Reynolds.

HAPPY EASTER!

Support the show

If you'd like to make a donation to support the costs of producing this series you can buy 'coffees' right here https://www.buymeacoffee.com/dominicgerrard

Thank you so much!

Host: Dominic Gerrard
Series Artwork: Léna Gibert
Original Music: Dominic Gerrard

Thank you for listening!

Send us a text

Dominic is joined by Professor Robert Douglas-Fairhurst to discuss his extraordinary biography of Dickens The Turning Point: A Year That Changed Dickens and the World ...

The year is 1851 and London's Hyde Park is centre stage with the opening of The Great Exhibition. It is also the year that Dickens sits down to write his masterpiece: Bleak House ...

Thank you for listening! To support this series please follow the link below

Support the show

If you'd like to make a donation to support the costs of producing this series you can buy 'coffees' right here https://www.buymeacoffee.com/dominicgerrard

Thank you so much!

Host: Dominic Gerrard
Series Artwork: Léna Gibert
Original Music: Dominic Gerrard

Thank you for listening!

Send us a text

Dominic is joined by the brilliant  John Bowen:  Professor of 19th Century Literature at the University of York. He is the author of Other Dickens: Pickwick to Chuzzlewit a book which focuses on Dickens’ early novels. John’s work has brought him in to close collaboration with many of the UK’s leading cultural organisations: such as the BBC, British Library, and the V&A. He was also was an academic advisor to David Edgar’s adaptation of A Christmas Carol for the RSC.

In this episode they discuss Dickens' first historical novel set against the backdrop of the Gordon Riots of 1780. The 'forgotten' masterpiece that is Barnaby Rudge ...

Support the show

If you'd like to make a donation to support the costs of producing this series you can buy 'coffees' right here https://www.buymeacoffee.com/dominicgerrard

Thank you so much!

Host: Dominic Gerrard
Series Artwork: Léna Gibert
Original Music: Dominic Gerrard

Thank you for listening!

Send us a text

Dominic is joined by the celebrated Austen biographer Dr. Helena Kelly -  author of Jane Austen, The Secret Radical

Helena has completed a new, soon to be published,  biography on Dickens and gives an exclusive interview about it here!

Support the show

If you'd like to make a donation to support the costs of producing this series you can buy 'coffees' right here https://www.buymeacoffee.com/dominicgerrard

Thank you so much!

Host: Dominic Gerrard
Series Artwork: Léna Gibert
Original Music: Dominic Gerrard

Thank you for listening!

Send us a text

To mark Charles Dickens' 210th Birthday, Dominic reads the opening chapter of David Copperfield ...

If you wish to make a small donation to this series - all coffees are hugely appreciated! Link here: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/dominicgerrard/c/2529502?uid=1728604

Support the show

If you'd like to make a donation to support the costs of producing this series you can buy 'coffees' right here https://www.buymeacoffee.com/dominicgerrard

Thank you so much!

Host: Dominic Gerrard
Series Artwork: Léna Gibert
Original Music: Dominic Gerrard

Thank you for listening!

Send us a text

Support the show

If you'd like to make a donation to support the costs of producing this series you can buy 'coffees' right here https://www.buymeacoffee.com/dominicgerrard

Thank you so much!

Host: Dominic Gerrard
Series Artwork: Léna Gibert
Original Music: Dominic Gerrard

Thank you for listening!

Send us a text

Support the show

If you'd like to make a donation to support the costs of producing this series you can buy 'coffees' right here https://www.buymeacoffee.com/dominicgerrard

Thank you so much!

Host: Dominic Gerrard
Series Artwork: Léna Gibert
Original Music: Dominic Gerrard

Thank you for listening!

Send us a text

It's Christmas Eve ... and Dominic's special guest is the brilliant actress, comedian and satirist, Rosie Holt and host of the NonCensored Podcast. This week, they have both re-read A Christmas Carol and are set to talk through what they found in each of the Staves.

They also get massively sidetracked and talk about It’s A Wonderful Life, Scrooged and The Muppets …

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Support the show

If you'd like to make a donation to support the costs of producing this series you can buy 'coffees' right here https://www.buymeacoffee.com/dominicgerrard

Thank you so much!

Host: Dominic Gerrard
Series Artwork: Léna Gibert
Original Music: Dominic Gerrard

Thank you for listening!

Send us a text

In this episode Dominic is joined by the inimitable Miriam Margolyes. With a career spanning six decades, this celebrated actress has been a life-long fan of Dickens throughout. Now in her 80th year she has recently published her autobiography This Much is True  ...  A candid, unflinching, and hugely entertaining story of her life and career.

In this course of this interview, Miriam talks in great detail about her one woman show Dickens and Women and gives an exciting announcement about its future prospects. And as it's Christmas ... the talk naturally turns to A Christmas Carol also!

Support the show

If you'd like to make a donation to support the costs of producing this series you can buy 'coffees' right here https://www.buymeacoffee.com/dominicgerrard

Thank you so much!

Host: Dominic Gerrard
Series Artwork: Léna Gibert
Original Music: Dominic Gerrard

Thank you for listening!

Send us a text

In this Christmas episode Dominic is joined by the Tony Award winning director Tim Carroll. They share their love for Dickens and discuss the process of creating two very different stage adaptations of  A Christmas Carol. One a large ensemble production at The Shaw Festival Theatre, Ontario; the other a solo performance that has just been filmed inside the Charles Dickens Museum, London.

This broadcast of this episode also marks the 178th Anniversary of the publication of Dickens' 'ghostly little book'.

Support the show

If you'd like to make a donation to support the costs of producing this series you can buy 'coffees' right here https://www.buymeacoffee.com/dominicgerrard

Thank you so much!

Host: Dominic Gerrard
Series Artwork: Léna Gibert
Original Music: Dominic Gerrard

Thank you for listening!

Send us a text

In this first episode,  Dominic is joined by Dickens' Great-Great-Great Granddaughter, the Writer and Broadcaster,  Lucinda Hawksley. 

On a cold December morning they talk through Lucinda's book Dickens and Christmas , which has just been published in paperback by Pen & Sword Books. It follows the story of Dickens' earliest Christmas as an infant, through to the five great festive novellas he wrote during the 1840s.

From A Christmas Carol to the Haunted Man and the Ghost's Bargain ...

Lucinda's also shares her earliest memories of knowing who Dickens was and what she really thinks about each of the five Christmas books!

Support the show

If you'd like to make a donation to support the costs of producing this series you can buy 'coffees' right here https://www.buymeacoffee.com/dominicgerrard

Thank you so much!

Host: Dominic Gerrard
Series Artwork: Léna Gibert
Original Music: Dominic Gerrard

Thank you for listening!