The Afterlife of Dickens Objects
A Tale of 24 Cities
To mark the bicentenary of the birth of Charles Dickens the British Council organised a global reading of his works. Over 24 hours of excerpts from Dombey and Son to The Mystery of Edwin Drood were read aloud and recorded in 24 countries around the world including Australia, Albania, the United Arab Emirates, and Zimbabwe, demonstrating the worldwide reach of Dickens’s work.
Hearing the novels read aloud and in such a variety of accents reveals the richness of Dickens’s writing and the range of interpretations of his texts. As the readings cast Dickens’s words in different lights, they challenge us to consider just how relevant his work is to the UK and the rest of the world today. The project also raises questions about reading for pleasure and performance, about Dickens as a writer of social justice, and about Dickens’s importance to British cultural identity.
The global reading is available to view here.
Stephanie Fuller
February 2012
