Pakistanis angry over detentions in Times Sq. case Monday, May 24, 2010
ISLAMABAD – Relatives of three men detained by Pakistan for alleged links to the suspect in the attempted Times Square bombing say the men are innocent.
They
AFP - Thursday, August 6TAIPEI (AFP) - - Taiwan's Beijing-friendly government on Wednesday denied boycotting an Australian film festival amid a row over the e
BERLIN (Reuters) - Chancellor Angela Merkel suffered a double blow on Thursday as a senior party ally in east German
Minister seeks closure of anti-Berlusconi websites Wednesday, December 16, 2009
ROME (AFP) - – The Italian government moved Tuesday to close down Internet sites encouraging further violence against Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who
By ELAINE KURTENBACH,AP Business Writer AP - Wednesday, March 18SHANGHAI - Asia's stock market rally seemed to be running out of steam Wednesday, despite an
Edition:
U.S.
Africa
Arabic
Argentina
Brazil
Canada
China
France
Germany
India
Italy
Japan
Latin America
Mexico
Russia
Spain
United Kingdom
Home
Business
Business Home
Economy
Davos 2012
Technology
Media
Small Business
Legal
Deals
Earnings
Summits
Business Video
The Freeland File
Markets
Markets Home
U.S. Markets
European Markets
Asian Markets
Global Market Data
Indices
M&A
Stocks
Bonds
Currencies
Commodities
Futures
Funds
peHUB
World
World Home
U.S.
Brazil
China
Euro Zone
Japan
Mexico
Russia
India Insight
World Video
Reuters Investigates
Decoder
Politics
Politics Home
Election 2012
Issues 2012
Candidates 2012
Tales from the Trail
Political Punchlines
Supreme Court
Politics Video
Tech
Technology Home
MediaFile
Science
Tech Video
Tech Tonic
Opinion
Opinion Home
Chrystia Freeland
John Lloyd
Felix Salmon
Jack Shafer
David Rohde
Bernd Debusmann
Nader Mousavizadeh
Lucy P. Marcus
David Cay Johnston
Bethany McLean
Edward Hadas
Hugo Dixon
Ian Bremmer
Mohamed El-Erian
Lawrence Summers
Susan Glasser
The Great Debate
Steven Brill
Geraldine Fabrikant
Jack & Suzy Welch
Breakingviews
Equities
Credit
Private Equity
M&A
Macro & Markets
Politics
Breakingviews Video
Money
Money Home
Tax Break
Global Investing
MuniLand
Unstructured Finance
Linda Stern
Mark Miller
John Wasik
James Saft
Analyst Research
Alerts
Watchlist
Portfolio
Stock Screener
Fund Screener
Personal Finance Video
Money Clip
Investing 201
Life
Health
Sports
Arts
Faithworld
Business Traveler
Entertainment
Oddly Enough
Lifestyle Video
Pictures
Pictures Home
Reuters Photographers
Full Focus
Video
Reuters TV
Reuters News
Article
Comments (0)
VIDEO
Ads get social at Super Bowl
Super Bowl ad campaigns are going beyond the field and tapping into social media to leverage the millions of dollars spent on the 30-second or 60-second ads aired during the big game. Video
Groundhog predicts six more wintry weeks
Brussels statue too cold to "go"
Beckham unveils underwear for H&M
Follow Reuters
Facebook
Twitter
RSS
YouTube
Read
Job growth surges, jobless rate near 3-year low
|
11:14am EST
Snap analysis: U.S. job creation accelerates broadly
9:19am EST
Iran threatens retaliation over oil embargo
10:37am EST
Analysis: A sobering look at Facebook
|
11:16am EST
Wall Street gains 1 percent on jobs jump
10:31am EST
Discussed
101
Job growth seen slowing after holiday boost
91
Romney wins Florida Republican presidential primary
88
Indiana poised to approve anti-union law
Watched
Iran sends toy drone to Obama
Sun, Jan 29 2012
We are already in new great depression: Paul Krugman
5:15am EST
Leftist protesters attack British banks in Buenos Aires
Thu, Feb 2 2012
Royal party and read-a-thon mark big day for Dickens
Tweet
Share this
Email
Print
Factbox
Charles Dickens at 200
10:10am EST
Analysis & Opinion
A yacht not fit for a queen
TV 2012: A tale of two sets
Related Topics
Entertainment »
Fashion »
People »
Arts »
Lifestyle »
By Mike Collett-White and Sarah Mills
LONDON |
Fri Feb 3, 2012 10:10am EST
LONDON (Reuters) - Queen Elizabeth is throwing a star-studded party for him at Buckingham Palace and in Buenos Aires, leading cultural figures will gather in an old orphanage to read from his works.
Charles Dickens may have died in 1870, but legions of fans around the world unite next Tuesday and beyond to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the birth of a titan of English fiction.
In one sense, the story of the author of familiar classics like "A Christmas Carol," "Bleak House" and "A Tale of Two Cities" is thoroughly modern.
The journey from childhood poverty which deeply influenced the work and thinking of Dickens to international renown for his novels bears comparison to that of J.K. Rowling, dubbed the world's first billionaire author.
Commercially, his books eclipse Harry Potter or any other modern-day publishing phenomenon -- some estimates say "A Tale of Two Cities" is the best-selling novel of all time at more than 200 million copies.
Stories featuring household names like Samuel Pickwick, the orphan Oliver Twist and miser Ebenezer Scrooge remain in print and live on in hundreds of films, television series and plays, and there is no sign of the adaptations letting up.
Director Mike Newell is working on the highest-profile new screen version of Dickens work with Helena Bonham Carter and Ralph Fiennes starring in "Great Expectations."
The appeal, say experts, is that as well as writing gripping stories, Dickens remains relevant today.
"He surprises you constantly, shocks you constantly, moves you, but for me the flame of anger about inequity and poverty and cruelty, that's what endures for me," said Sarah Phelps, who wrote a TV version of Great Expectations for the BBC.
"Any writer wants their work to live on," she told Reuters. "I think he would be pleased that what he felt strongly about then, people still do now."
POVERTY AND INJUSTICE
Dickens' early experiences laboring as a child in a factory while his father sat in prison for unpaid debts fuelled his ambition and inspired some of his most famous characters and settings, probably including Fagin in "Oliver Twist."
His sense of anger at the social injustice of Victorian Britain runs through his work and helps explain his appeal to later generations.
"He was making the world want to read about the state of the British under-class," TV writer Paul Abbott told the BBC.
Dickens' first short story appeared in 1833, around the time he became a parliamentary reporter in London.
His first novel, "The Pickwick Papers," was serialized in 1836 and became a success, and was followed by "Oliver Twist" and "Nicholas Nickleby."
Dickens travelled to the United States in 1842 and 1867 on reading tours, and in between produced some of his most acclaimed books -- "Bleak House," "Hard Times," "Little Dorrit," "A Tale of Two Cities" and "Great Expectations."
He carried with him the whiff of scandal when, in his mid-forties, he met teenager Ellen Ternan, and their relationship led to his separation from Catherine, his wife and mother to his 10 children.
The author died at his home near Rochester in Kent in 1870 aged 58, and was buried in the Poet's Corner of Westminster Abbey. Thousands of people visited his open grave to pay their respects and throw flowers before it was closed.
ROYALS LEAD GLOBAL CELEBRATIONS
On Tuesday, the bicentenary of his birth, Britain's heir-to-the-throne Prince Charles will visit the Charles Dickens Museum in London where the author lived between 1837 and 1839 and wrote "Oliver Twist" and "Nicholas Nickleby."
The prince will go on to Westminster Abbey to attend a ceremony and lay a wreath on Dickens' grave, the centerpiece of the February 7 anniversary events that spread from Australia to Argentina, and Iraq to Russia.
The Abbey event also marks the largest gathering of the novelist's descendants, with over 200 family members attending including his great-great grandson Mark Dickens.
"This bicentenary should help renew our commitment to improving the lot of the disadvantaged of our own day," said the Dean of Westminster, John Hall.
Prince Charles' mother, Queen Elizabeth, attends a performance of extracts from Dickens' works on February 14 before hosting a reception at her London residence.
On February 7, the British Council will stage a global "read-a-thon" with 24 readings from 24 Dickens texts in 24 hours, starting in Australia and taking in countries including Iraq, China and Pakistan.
Ongoing events coinciding with the anniversary include exhibitions in Zurich, New York and across Britain, theatrical performances by professional actors and schoolchildren alike and an online tribute from bloggers in Spain.
(Reporting by Mike Collett-White, editing by Paul Casciato)
Entertainment
Fashion
People
Arts
Lifestyle
Related Quotes and News
Company
Price
Related News
Tweet this
Link this
Share this
Digg this
Email
Reprints
We welcome comments that advance the story through relevant opinion, anecdotes, links and data. If you see a comment that you believe is irrelevant or inappropriate, you can flag it to our editors by using the report abuse links. Views expressed in the comments do not represent those of Reuters. For more information on our comment policy, see http://blogs.reuters.com/fulldisclosure/2010/09/27/toward-a-more-thoughtful-conversation-on-stories/
Comments (0)
Be the first to comment on reuters.com.
Add yours using the box above.
Edition:
U.S.
Africa
Arabic
Argentina
Brazil
Canada
China
France
Germany
India
Italy
Japan
Latin America
Mexico
Russia
Spain
United Kingdom
Back to top
Reuters.com
Business
Markets
World
Politics
Technology
Opinion
Money
Pictures
Videos
Site Index
Legal
Bankruptcy Law
California Legal
New York Legal
Securities Law
Support & Contact
Support
Corrections
Advertise With Us
Connect with Reuters
Twitter
Facebook
LinkedIn
RSS
Podcast
Newsletters
Mobile
About
Privacy Policy
Terms of Use
Copyright
Our Flagship financial information platform incorporating Reuters Insider
An ultra-low latency infrastructure for electronic trading and data distribution
A connected approach to governance, risk and compliance
Our next generation legal research platform
Our global tax workstation
Thomsonreuters.com
About Thomson Reuters
Investor Relations
Careers
Contact Us
Thomson Reuters is the world's largest international multimedia news agency, providing investing news, world news, business news, technology news, headline news, small business news, news alerts, personal finance, stock market, and mutual funds information available on Reuters.com, video, mobile, and interactive television platforms. Thomson Reuters journalists are subject to an Editorial Handbook which requires fair presentation and disclosure of relevant interests.
NYSE and AMEX quotes delayed by at least 20 minutes. Nasdaq delayed by at least 15 minutes. For a complete list of exchanges and delays, please click here.