STUMP » Articles » Dickens Update: Videos You May Have Missed » 20 April 2019, 13:07

Well, looks like I didn’t keep up with making Dickens posts.

While I did it for Pickwick Papers, I didn’t do it for February (Nicholas Nickleby) and March (Old Curiosity Shop). April is Barnaby Rudge.

So let me start with the recent novel, and plug the prior ones.

BARNABY RUDGE

Barnaby Rudge is Dickens’s first, and less-known, historical novel. It’s set in 1775 and 1780, 60 years before he wrote the books. It was Dickens’s first commercial flop.

Here are the videos I made on this book (in the order I made them):

Why Barnaby Rudge was a flop:

The title character:

Connection between Barnaby Rudge and Edgar Allan Poe:

Mob Violence and Official Violence:

I looked for movie/TV adaptations, but this is not a popular book at all. I found a 1960 miniseries, but I haven’t seen it nor can find it (for cheap or on one of my subscriptions.)

I think that there are lots that could be done with this story, but there are many reasons this was one of Dickens’s least successful novels.

OLD CURIOSITY SHOP

This book, on the other hand, was a hyuuuge success. I haven’t found any adaptation I like, and a few I find to be embarrassing.

I think this one could be done with Peter Dinklage as Quilp, and unlike with Tyrion Lannister, he would be an outright villain with no redeeming features. It’s a fun character, and I bet he would enjoy it.

Quilp: my favorite Dickens villain for entertainment purposes

The Death of Little Nell:

NICHOLAS NICKLEBY

This one has been made into miniseries and movies, and I have some I can recommend.

Deaaaaaath:

This one has been adapted often, because there’s a lot to work with, and you can shave down the plot and also drop well-known actors in specific roles.

PICKWICK PAPERS

Yeah, I know I posted on this before, but hey let’s throw it in.

There is one good miniseries adaptation of this:

UPCOMING FEATURES: SCHEDULE OF DICKENS

April: Martin Chuzzlewit
May: Dombey and Son
June: David Copperfield
July: Bleak House
August: Hard Times
September: Little Dorrit
October: A Tale of Two Cities
November: Great Expectations
December: Our Mutual Friend

As mentioned at the beginning of the project, I skipped over Oliver Twist because I detest that book, and Edwin Drood, because it’s unfinished.

And here’s a very short rating list for my favorite Dickens:

1. Our Mutual Friend
2. Martin Chuzzlewit
3. Bleak House
4. David Copperfield

I’m happy to be getting to one of my favorite Dickens novel next month. There are great characters, a fake insurance company, and a really bad artistic idea that Dickens should have not executed.