Show Notes
It’s Christmas Eve, and Dominic takes a deep dive with you all through A Christmas Carol. Returning to the series is the inimitable Prof. John Bowen (who recently worked on David Edgar’s Carol adaptation for the RSC) and who like many of us, re-reads this ghostly little book every Christmas and has pondered its power and meaning for decades. The Carol Philosophy that Dickens expresses so generously in this story is truly universal: everyone has a chance to change and not be fixed, or branded,...
More from Charles Dickens: A Brain on Fire! 🔥
Dominic is joined by Dr Emily Middleton who returns to guide us through Dickens' final Christmas Number ... No Thoroughfare. Written in collobration with Wilkie Collins in the December of 1867 the story is preoccupied with pathways in life that are seemingly blocked or torn away from you: whether it’s a mother searching for her lost child; a young man desirous to marry but prevented by an over-protective guardian; or the sudden drop into a chasm that opens up as you traverse a mountain path i...
Dominic is joined by the inimitable Dr. Joanna Hofer-Robinson and Dr. Pete Orford, for a lively discussion on their new publication The Plays of Charles Dickens . This is the first ever critical edition of Dickens’ plays which include the early farces of The Strange Gentleman, The Village Coquettes, Is She His Wife, Or Something Singular, The Lamplighter … and his later collaborations of Mr Nightingale’s Diary, The Frozen Deep and No Thoroughfare ... Original cover headshot of Dominic Gerrard...
Dominic is joined by the inimitable Dr. Céline Prest who guides today's discussion on A Tale of Two Cities - one of the most gripping, exciting and heart-rending stories that Dickens ever wrote. Céline completed her Phd at the Sorbonne University in 2016. Her doctoral research was awarded the André Topia Prize by the Chancellerie des Universitiés de Paris, and the Robert B. Partlow Jr prize by the Dickens Society. In 2019 she published a new edition of The Pickwick Papers for...
Ahead of a new series this month Dominic re-shares his popular interview with the inimitable Armando Iannucci! Armando is 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...
Charles Dickens: A Brain on Fire! will return in the summer ... In the meantime there are nearly 100 Episodes to enjoy with guests such as: Stephen Fry, Miriam Margolyes, Armando Iannucci, Andrew Davies, Alice Loxton, Robert Douglas-Fairhurst, Lucinda Hawksley, John Bowen, John Mullan, Rosie Holt, Steven Knight …. And many more! And if you’d like to make a small donation to cover the costs of researching, recording and producing this series, wherever and whenever you listening to this y...