Several members of our Immaculate Conception Dickens Champions decided to take a Dickens field trip to the Bodleian Library in Oxford which was holding a special Dickens exhibition. This is how they got on:
Who came along?
Nine members of The Immaculate Conception Dickens Champions book group, namely, Lucretia Louise Tox, Mrs. Rona Toodle, Mags MacStringer, Florence Trish Dombey, Elizabeth Bella Wilfer, Carole Wal’r Gay, Lizzie Shelagh Hexam, Jenny Liz Wren and Pam Cap’n Cutler Campbell.
Target
To drive to Oxford and make our way to the Bodleian Library to visit its special exhibition ‘Dickens and his World’.
Why?
Because we love to learn all about Dickens and his world.
Q: But you’ve already been to the London Museum to see its ‘Dickens and London’ exhibition so why bother?
A: Ah, but this exhibition is very different. You see, this is an exhibition of ephemera. It is a collection of things that could and probably would have been discarded.
Q: Like what exactly?
A: Contemporary materials, prompted by quotations from his writings showing something of the world he lived in. There were sections on the many stage adaptations that were often performed before the novels had completed their serialisation; the plays Dickens produced and acted in, sometimes privately; Victorian London and its amusements; the coming of the railways; domestic entertainments; and his novels and other writings in their original form.
Q: And was it worth it?
A: Absolutely! Seeing original posters and playbills and letters from Dickens was very exciting. We were particularly interested in a play script adapted from ‘Our Mutual Friend’ which we have just read. It was well worth the trip.
What next?
Well. We have a trip organised to see a touring play of Great Expectations prior to its debut in the West End and then we also have the DVD of Little Dorrit to watch after we have read it, which we are doing now and then we’ll be on the final novel Edwin Drood.
Get involved
Read about the Immaculate Conception Dickens Champions visiting London.
Watch out for our Dickens Champions’ blog posts as they read and review their way through Dickens during 2012.
Reading Dickens in your reading group or book club? Get in touch or post a comment to let us know how you’re getting on.
