Dickens History

THE VERY SHORT HISTORY OF THE DICKENS READINGS

In 1843, the class system ruled Britain, the poverty of the lowest classes was extreme and around half of the funerals in London were for children under the age of ten. When Dickens was exposed to the plight of poor children during visits to the tin mines of Cornwall and the Ragged Schools, he was appalled. These people’s stories needed to be heard and Dickens felt inspired -- or perhaps compelled -- to take action. Dickens’ friend, John Foster, noted that it was as though Tiny Tim and Bob Cratchit were “ever tugging at his sleeve, as if impatient for him to get back to his desk and continue the story of their lives”. Within 6 weeks, he had written A Christmas Carol.

The first publication was on December 19 and by Christmas eve it had sold out. Dickens asked his readers to embrace the stories of their fellow man, the stories of the poor and forgotten, and they did. A Christmas Carol even touched the hearts of hardened capitalists, factory owners and businessmen, with stories of employers going so far as to buy their workers a turkey each and giving them an extra day off to celebrate Christmas with their families. Although this may not seem radical to a modern audience, one must remember that this was the beginning of the idea that even workers and the poor had rights.

The first public readings of A Christmas Carol took place in December of 1853 and people flocked to see it. In keeping with the Carol’s message, Dickens ensured the entrance price at one reading was no more than a sixpence so that impoverished workers wouldn’t miss out.

But it was not just a night of lessons in morality – Dickens also proved to be a very talented actor. He acted the part of each and every character with – as the Cambridge Independent Press said in 1859 – “a different voice, a different style, a different face”. The Portland (Maine) Transcript observed that the author “to an extraordinary extent assumes the personality of each.”

Over the next 16 years, Charles Dickens gave some 444 readings of his works in Great Britain, the United States and Europe, to deafening acclaim. His and the public’s favorite was A Christmas Carol. The Times called it “a happy blending of the narrative & dramatic style.”

Women and men wept openly during his performances, 3000-strong audiences roared with laughter and worthy outcomes were greeted with thunderous cheering and the boisterous waving of hats and handkerchiefs. Sometime Dickens would open the book, read the title, and ostentatiously shut it again, leaving it that way for the rest of the performance.

When, reluctantly, Dickens gave his final reading of A Christmas Carol, against his usual habit he addressed the audience, saying “from these garish lights I vanish now for evermore, with one heartfelt, grateful, respectful and affectionate farewell.” According to his son, the “storm of cheering” that erupted was so unprecedented that a weeping Dickens returned to the stage to blow his fans a final kiss.

Three months later, the man described as being “the greatest reader of the greatest writer of the age” disappeared from the world for ever more.

Dickens’ journey with A Christmas Carol was one inspired by an awakening of empathy deep inside him and in the simple act of telling a story he has managed to share that empathy with us. It is no exaggeration to say that he has changed the world.

Dickens’ passion and his love of story-telling have inspired many great performers, like Phil Zachariah, to take up the challenge of following in his footsteps. We hope that in our production the spirit of Dickens lives on and that he may inspire you as he has us.