Fiction - Miscellaneous People, Places & Cultures, Literature - Authors & Writers, Fiction - Historical People, Fiction - General & Miscellaneous
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Overview
Why do people react so strangely in the presence of the famous? The first “media” tour of North America – complete with fans and reporters – was that of the mid-nineteenth century British novelist Charles Dickens. At the end of his journey, Dickens made a stop in Montreal, where he was invited to join the amateur theatrical group of the Montreal garrison. In short order, he took over the production, dismissing the organizing committee and taking the best roles for himself. He even raided people’s homes for furniture for the sets. All the while, Dickens neglected his poor, accident-prone wife, Kate.With insight and wit, Jan Mark explores the mixed blessings of becoming involved with the very famous. Regolo Ricci’s wickedly funny paintings combine the high drama and the farce of Dickens’s writing…and his life.
At the end of his 1842 American tour, Charles Dickens visits an amateur theater in Montreal where he selects the plays to be performed, take the best roles and costumes for himself, and generally make life difficult for his star-struck hosts.
Editorials
Children's Literature -
Charles Dickens was touring the United States in 1842, and stopped in Montreal on his way home where he became involved with an amateur production of three short plays. He indulged his appetite for the theater by planning the performances and taking the leading roles. The family who hosted Mr. and Mrs. Dickens are the other important characters in the book, especially the young daughter, Dorothy, whose point of view is most frequently related. The story is told in a choppy, pseudo-Victorian way, with chapter headings that strike a modern reader as pretentious. The illustrations are also strange, garish in color and Victorian in style. The scenes chosen for illustration are unusual--Charles Dickens shouting at a cast member, and Mrs. Dickens falling out of a carriage. All in all, this is a book with little appeal.School Library Journal
Gr 4 Up-When the Perrys discover that the renowned Charles Dickens is coming to their Montreal town, they contrive a number of ways to meet him. His arrival is witnessed by the youngest children, who are dazzled by his brilliantly hued costume and bemused by his accident-prone wife. Closer contact occurs when Mrs. Perry and her potential son-in-law accept small roles in a dramatic presentation featuring the writer as director, stage manager, and performer. The pace grows increasingly feverish as the noted author strips the Perry home for stage scenery, threatens his wife with mesmerism, and drives his cast to distraction. Against all odds, the production is a success and everyone breathes a sigh of relief when the illustrious man departs. Written in a Dickensian style employing short chapters with long headings, the present-tense narrative is related mostly from the viewpoint of Dorothy, the middle child. Briticisms, Victorianisms, and a plethora of real and dramatic characters contrive to complicate the text; several innuendoes may be beyond the intended audience. Some basic knowledge of Canadian history and Dickens, himself, is required to follow events. The framed full-color illustrations capture the styles of the day and add broad humor to the tongue-in-cheek telling. A cast of characters and a historical note at the beginning attempt to identify fact from fiction. The result is a short novel for Dickens fans and history buffs but a secondary purchase for most libraries.-Carol Ann Wilson, Westfield Memorial Library, NJ Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.|Book Details
Published
October 1, 1999
Publisher
Tundra Books (NY)
Pages
72
Format
Hardcover
ISBN
9780887764684