Dickens - Aberdeen Voice

Dickens Fellowship Meet Again: Wed April 24

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Apr 222013

Thanks to Dr Paul Schlicke who has reminded Voice that local Dickens fans are planning to meet this week.

Paul informed Voice,

“As previously intimated, at the next meeting of the Aberdeen branch of the Dickens Fellowship we will discuss Hard Times Part 2, Reaping.

“Feel free to join us, whether or not you managed to attend last month’s discussion of Part 1, Sowing.

“We will meet from 7-9 pm on Wednesday 24 April at Grampian Housing Association, 74 Huntly Street, 300 yards up from the Catholic Cathedral, at the corner of Huntly Street and Summer Street. There is free parking adjacent.”

The venue’s also near enough to Union Street and Rosemount to travel by bus. Last month’s meeting had a lower than expected turnout, but the weather, which prevented some from attending, is improving.

Some believe that his writings are as relevant in the current austere age as they have ever been.

If you have read any or no Dickens, or are just curious about the continued interest in an author who was born over 200 years ago, you’ll be made welcome.

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Dickens Fellowship Meet Again

Aberdeen City, Information No Responses »

Feb 182013

The city’s fledgling Dickens Fellowship will be meeting again on Thursday 21 February at 1900, in a room kindly provided by Grampian Housing Association, 74 Huntly Street. Dr Paul Schlicke reveals more.

“In light of the sparse attendance at our last meeting when we were treated to an exhibition of Dickens treasures in the University Library, it’s crucial that we have a decent turnout, if our organisation’s to carry on and grow. Please make an effort to attend if you are at all interested in Dickens’s work and life. At this meeting, we’ll be discussing Scenes from Sketches by Boz”, he wrote in a message to nearly 50 individuals who have registered an interest in participating in a Dickens Fellowship.

Dr Schlicke is keen to welcome suggestions regarding the sorts of events which might prove most popular in future.

“We attracted huge audiences for Miriam Margolyes and Jim Naughtie, but they were obviously high profile events. We had respectable attendances for academic lectures over the past 12 months, but we’re not in a financial position to bring speakers in from outside.

“Last year was special, it being the author’s bicentennial, so the University paid for those who came to lecture as part of the 2012celebrations. I’m uncertain whether or not there would be much interest in turning ourselves into a reading group, so any thoughts as to what might be organised to attract 20 or more participants regularly would be welcome.”

In closing, Dr Schlicke spoke in glowing terms of the work done on the recently re-opened Dickens Museum in London’s Doughty Street after a £3m facelift.

“It is simply wonderful. After worrying times only a few years ago, the Museum’s financial position is now decidedly healthy, and a bright future is in prospect. Following a gala celebration held there for Dickens’s birthday on 7 February, it has been open daily. It is well worth a visit!”

For this week’s meeting, there is parking opposite Dana Petroleum’s offices, with access from Kydd Street. Tea and coffee will be available. It would help in planning for numbers if you could let Dr Schlicke know if you plan to attend.

p.schlicke@abdn.ac.uk
http://www.dickensmuseum.com/

A Dickens Of A Night

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Dec 142012

Peering out over the High Street’s rimed cobbles from ‘neath their frosted brows, one might easily mistake these spectral figures as characters from some long-forgotten Victorian melodrama. But no, this is Old Aberdeen. They are, in fact, local Dickens enthusiasts, gathering for the last time in the great man’s Bicentennial Year. David Innes reports.

“No fog, no mist, clear bright, jovial stirring cold” is how Dickens described Christmas Day in A Christmas Carol.

He might have been describing conditions in Aberdeen on Thursday 6 December, but while the wintry weather was without doubt a factor in keeping numbers low, those who braved the temperatures and icy underfoot conditions to attend the event at the new university library enjoyed a one-off treat.

The university is proud to possess one of the best Dickens collections in the world and it was a privilege to be present when the first editions of all his works were laid out for examination and enjoyment.

With special thanks to Keith O’ Sullivan, the University of Aberdeen’s Senior Rare Books Librarian. Thank you, Keith.

Particularly worthy of mention are the two first editions of Oliver Twist (1838). Until publication of this novel in its constituent parts, Dickens had used the pen name ‘Boz’. He had decided, however, that his own identity be used when the book was published in collected form.

The first edition was published by George Bentley before Dickens’ wish could be granted. It was only delayed by a week, as the Boz edition sold out and the imprint with the author’s own identity was offered for sale.

The entire Sketches by Boz series is also part of the University’s collection. It was surprising to see that each part was priced at one shilling (5 pence), expensive for the times.

Theatre posters of interest and lesser-known works were also displayed, each adding to the overall picture of the hugely-talented man still loved by millions, two hundred years after his birth.

Due to the low numbers, formal business was suspended for the evening but dates of future meetings, based around discussion of specific writings from the great man’s output, were agreed. Everyone on the mailing list will be contacted in advance of these meetings, the first of which is scheduled to be held on 21 February 2013.

If you wish to be added to Dr Paul Schlicke’s e-mail circular, drop him an e-mail p.schlicke@abdn.ac.uk

Anna Dominoes 2012 – Dickens’ Bicentenary Exhibition

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Nov 302012

With thanks to David Innes.

As the Charles Dickens Bicentenary year draws to its close, a one-off opportunity to view the University of Aberdeen’s unique and priceless Dickens collection has been arranged.
This will be held in the Special Collections Department at the new University Library on the Kings College campus on Thursday 6 December at 7pm.

Dr Paul Schlicke of the University’s School of Language and Literature told Aberdeen Voice:

“Our exhibition is to be held in the reading room in the basement, directly at the foot of the stairs, and we’ll be meeting in the seminar room opposite.

“Several people have asked whether or not the exhibition will be available after our event. The answer is, sadly, no: it is for one night only, with displays carried on the desks in the reading room itself which will need to be cleared for business as usual next morning. I can offer, however, to recount for anyone who enquires, the anecdote about the item advertising a theatre production in Aberdeen in the 1830s which will be on view, positively for one night only.”

The group of Aberdeen Dickens aficionados, which has been meeting regularly since June this year, will take the opportunity offered by this gathering to discuss the group’s future and whether or not to pursue a more formal structure. The group will discuss the possibility of constituting itself as a society with formal membership, officers, an advertised annual programme of events and affiliation with the international Dickens Fellowship.

“Time and inclination permitting, favourite passages from Dickens may be read, so anyone attending might want to come prepared with a passage they’d like to perform as a party piece,” added Dr Schlicke.

Hard Times? Not For Dickens Fans

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Oct 262012

Following the stupendous success of the most recent gatherings of Aberdeen’s Dickens aficionados when Miriam Margolyes entertained us and James Naughtie enlightened us, Dr Paul Schlicke has asked Voice to remind readers of the next planned event.

Professor Michael Slater, the world’s foremost living authority on Dickens will be in Aberdeen on Thursday 8 November.
He will be speaking on his experience of writing what is by far the best modern biography of Dickens, under the title An Attempt on the Life of Charles Dickens. The lecture will take place in room 228 of the new University Library at 7 pm. This will also be an opportunity for members of the public to experience this recently-opened state-of-the-art learning and study facility.

Professor Slater, of Birkbeck College, University of London, is author of Dickens and Women, The Genius of Dickens, Charles Dickens: A Life Defined by Writing, and most recently, The Great Charles Dickens Scandal.

He is a former editor of the Dickensian, past chairman of the board of trustees of the Charles Dickens Museum in London, past president of the international Dickens Fellowship, past president of the Dickens Society of America, and founder of the annual Dickens Day at Birkbeck College. He is an excellent speaker. We are privileged to have him visit us in Aberdeen.

For your diaries – our final meeting of the calendar year, at 1900 on Thursday 6 December, will be an exhibition of the Dickens treasures held in the University of Aberdeen library. The collection is one of the very best in the world, including first editions of all of Dickens’s novels, copies of his periodicals, and a wide range of supporting documents. Not to be missed!

Bring along your favourite reading passage from Dickens, which we didn’t have time to enjoy at earlier meetings. We will also use the gathering as an opportunity to discuss the future of our branch, not only in considering possible topics for future meetings, but also deciding whether or not we wish to affiliate with the international Dickens Fellowship.

These events are open to all members of the public and we would be delighted to meet new friends and fellow admirers of the master of fiction.

No Hard Times At Dickens Event

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Jun 282012

“THOMAS GRADGRIND, sir. A man of realities. A man of facts and calculations….. Thomas Gradgrind now presented Thomas Gradgrind to the little pitchers before him, who were to be filled so full of facts.” (Hard Times, 1854)
The master of 19th century fiction may have caricatured imagination-free learning thus, but would have been heartened by the spirit of the questioning and discussion evident during the meeting of the nascent Aberdeen Dickens Fellowship on 26 June.

By David Innes, with thanks to Dr Paul Schlicke. p.schlicke@abdn.ac.uk

Illustrating very well the group’s desire to ensure that appreciation of Dickens’s life and work is enhanced in an atmosphere of mutual understanding and fun, Dr Paul Schlicke, an academic, who is anything but dry and who displays not as much as a single speck of dust, shared his globally-renowned knowledge of Dickens’s life with fellow travellers.

There were questions on the effects of economic circumstances and social class on the author, the influence of his travels on his writing and whether or not his finely-tuned populist artistic antennae would see him wrestling with Rhianna – definitely not ‘old, fat and toothless’ as Maria Beadnell described herself – for music chart supremacy were he celebrating his 20th birthday this year rather than his 200th

It was a fun evening, and it is the group’s intention that these will continue, with some plans already in place.

On Thursday 30 August, Miriam Margolyes will perform her one-woman show, Dickens’s Women, in the University’s Arts Lecture Theatre. Tickets are selling well, and can be had from Aberdeen Box Office, 01224 641122. www.boxofficeaberdeen.com

The next gathering of the group will take place in September and members will be invited to give a party piece, by reading favourite passages from Dickens. Our Parish, from Sketches by Boz, will be the group’s text for discussion.

On Thursday October 11, James Naughtie, Rothiemay loon, University of Aberdeen alumnus and scourge of politicians on Radio 4’s Today, will lecture on Dickens. The topic and venue will be announced at a later date in Voice.

Dr Schlicke is negotiating with a renowned Dickens biographer to speak to the group and Keith O’Sullivan, Senior Rare Books Librarian, has offered to set up an exhibition of the University’s Dickens treasures, of which there are many. In fact, Aberdeen itself has one of the very best Dickens collections in the world.

There is unanimous agreement that there will be a future session devoted to the Downie Slauchter, the Aberdeen murder mystery featured in Household Words in1852.

There has been a call for a series of discussions based on Dickens and ******** topics and those on the mailing list have been invited to suggest such themes for future meetings. Add in further suggested Dickensian events and a schedule for the 2012-13 season is looking very viable.

The group aspires to become the first Scottish affiliate to the Dickens Fellowship and urges anyone with an interest in the author to join in the activities.
https://sites.google.com/site/aberdeendickensfellowship/

What larks!

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New Dickens Fellowship Group To Meet at University

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Jun 222012

By Nicola McNally.

On Tuesday 26th June the Aberdeen Dickens Fellowship group will meet at the University of Aberdeen King’s College campus, to launch their 2012 programme of events.

The meeting will be hosted by Dr Paul Schlicke, honorary senior lecturer at Aberdeen University.

Dr Schlicke told Aberdeen Voice:

“The meeting will consist of an informal seminar discussion of Dickens’s life. No prior knowledge of the topic will be required and no preparation expected. I shall lead the discussion myself and will welcome questions and contributions from everyone present. There will be no charge for admission, and everyone interested is most welcome.

“Then in September we’ll hold our next event, when we will discuss the group of sketches entitled ‘Our Parish’ from Sketches by Boz, and members will be invited to read favourite passages from Dickens, chosen by themselves.

“Thereafter we plan to schedule a series of seminars on topics under the general heading ‘Dickens and’—that is, Dickens and Money, Dickens and Charity, Dickens and Education, etcetera.

“We’ll have one meeting devoted to Dickens and Aberdeen. He came to give public readings on two occasions, turned down an invitation to stand for rector of Marischal College, and published an article in his journal Household Words about the local legend of the ‘Downie Slauchter’. We also plan to have a viewing of Aberdeen University’s magnificent Dickens collection.

“The essential point is that we should meet in fellowship; it is not intended to be an academic organisation, but rather a meeting of people who simply enjoy reading and talking about Dickens and his works. Anyone is welcome to participate”.

To find the venue:

The MacRobert Building is the tall building on the corner of King Street and St Machar Drive . There is ample parking adjacent to the building, free after 4.30pm. The entrance is on the south side of the building (i.e., facing in the direction up King Street towards the city. On entering the building, turn left and then through the doors on your right, and down the corridor for lifts.

Future events which have been arranged will also feature the actress Miriam Margolyes who will be at the University presenting her one-woman show, “Dickens’s Women” on 30th August. Tickets for that event are available from the Aberdeen Box Office on Union Street .

For further information contact p.schlicke@abdn.ac.uk or visit the new website at https://sites.google.com/site/aberdeendickensfellowship/

Great Expectations Of City Dickens Fellowship Group

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Jun 142012

Interested in joining the new Aberdeen branch of the Dickens Fellowship? According to the Fellowship, the Aberdeen branch is their first in Scotland. As highlighted in Voice’s previous article: A Tale of Two Centuries, a successful inaugural meeting was held on Tuesday 12th June in the city’s Belmont Theatre. Aberdeen Voice’s Nicola McNally went along to the event to find out what the local branch were planning.

The first meeting was set up following a successful spring programme of Dickens lectures, film showings and readings at the University’s King’s College campus and the Belmont Cinema.

The branch is being hosted and organised by the renowned Dr Paul Schlicke, Honorary Senior Lecturer at the University of Aberdeen and a Trustee of The Charles Dickens Museum.

The local literati who attended the first meeting included students, academics and assorted curious Aberdeen Voice readers who turned out to support this first meeting dedicated to the works of Charles Dickens, journalist and prolific author.

Future activities planned for the Aberdeen group will include films, lectures, readings, parties and some themed evenings such as: Dickens and Film; Dickens and Money; Dickens and Women and Dickens and Social Reform.

Dr Schlicke recommended:

“The Aberdeen group could wait a year before affiliating with Dickens Fellowship headquarters“.

He asked the group to consider: what the Aberdeen Dickens Fellowship branch should be for: (parties/ social events or more formal lectures and readings), how often they would like to meet; and possible venues for the branch meetings. It was decided that monthly meetings would be held with a variety of activities.

The choice of a Dickens text for the group to discuss at the September meet was not easy! The group’s options ranged from topical novels such as ‘Hard Times’ or ‘Bleak House’ in these times of austerity… or possibly one of the ‘blockbusters’: David Copperfield or Great Expectations? A Tale of Two Cities or Oliver Twist?

The decision was made and the text for summer holiday reading, for those who choose to accept the challenge, is to be the excellent Sketches by Boz.

The group noted that city centre venues are better for some meetings but the University of Aberdeen campus, and in particular, the library, would allow the group to use lecture and film facilities as well as visit the Dickens Special collection in the University library.

The next meeting is being planned for Tuesday 26th June at 7pm in Room 301, MacRobert Building, Aberdeen University. This will feature an introductory lecture on the biography of Dickens by Dr Schlicke, followed by informal discussion. If you’d like to attend, please email Dr Schlicke on p.schlicke@abdn.ac.uk to confirm a place or for further information on the Fellowship.

New members with an interest in Dickens and his work will be made very welcome and membership is provisionally free so it is hoped that the Aberdeen group will go from strength to strength. While new branches of The Dickens Fellowship are appearing all over the globe from Canada to Cambridge, your local branch can be found no further than King Street!

A Tale Of Two Centuries As Local Dickens Fans Gather

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Jun 072012

By David Innes.

2012 is the bicentenary year of the birth of Charles Dickens, arguably the English language’s greatest writer.
It is fitting then, that enthusiasts in Aberdeen are making positive moves towards establishing a local branch of the Dickens Fellowship, led by Dr Paul Schlicke, Honorary Senior Lecturer at the University of Aberdeen and a Trustee of The Charles Dickens Museum.

Dr Schlicke told Voice,

“I’ve proposed that we have a meeting to discuss dates, times, venue and not least what kinds of activities might be attractive to us as a group.

“Since these are early days, I think we’ll hardly need to consider drafting a constitution or affiliating with the international Dickens Fellowship at this stage, but we do need to decide when, where and how often we wish to meet, and to discuss ideas as to what we might do at our meetings.

“We propose to hold perhaps six evening meetings a year, for lectures, discussions, readings and any other activities, as the local membership decides. Provisionally, membership will be free of charge.

“I stress that although I am myself a retired academic, I don’t envisage scholarship as our primary purpose; rather we should be gathering to share our enjoyment of the Inimitable. Indeed, you don’t need ever to have read a word of Dickens to join in the fun.”

This chimes with the ethos of the international Dickens Fellowship which

“was founded in London in 1902 with its stated aim to ‘knit together, in a common bond of friendship, lovers of the great master of humour and pathos, Charles Dickens’, to spread the love of humanity, to campaign against those social evils that most concerned Dickens, and to assist in the preservation and purchase of buildings and objects associated with his name or mentioned in his works”.

The first meeting will be held on Tuesday 12 June at 7pm in the lounge of the Belmont Cinema. Anyone with an interest in Dickens and his work will be made warmly welcome. To help gauge interest, please contact Dr Schlicke at p.schlicke@abdn.ac.uk if you intend coming along or if you want to be kept informed about the Fellowship.

It will be the best of times.

https://sites.google.com/site/aberdeendickensfellowship/
http://www.dickensfellowship.org/