Charles Dickens: A Brain on Fire! �‪�‬ Dominic Gerrard

Dominic is joined again by the inimitable Dr. Pete Orford for Part II of his examination of The Mystery of Edwin Drood ... Pete’s book Edwin Drood: Charles Dickens’ Unfinished Novel And Our Endless Attempts To End It … (Pen & Sword books) is our guide throughout. It is a hugely entertaining read where scholarly citations and tomfoolery combine with vibrant illustrations by Alys Jones … there is a link purchase this in the description.And reading extracts today, it is an honour to welcome ...

Dominic is joined by the inimitable Emily Howes, author of The Painters Daughters, who is currently writing her second book, Mrs Dickens, all about the life of Catherine Hogarth and her marriage to Charles Dickens … Emily is an alumna of Cambridge University, where she was a member of the famous Footlights. After gaining a First in English, she studied Lecoq at the London School of Performing Arts. She then went on to create work for theatre, radio and television. Highlights includ...

Dominic meets Ben Power backstage at London’s National Theatre who takes a break from rehearsals to talk about London Tide - an exciting new staging of Our Mutual Friend - which he has adapted with songs composed by the award-winning PJ HarveyBen is a Tony Award winning, and a BAFTA & Olivier Award nominated writer for stage and screen, and an Associate here at the National. His adaptation of The Lehman Trilogy, directed by Sam Mendes, has become an international theatrical ju...

A new series of Charles Dickens: A Brain on Fire! 🔥 will launch on Friday 5th April ...The first episode takes place deep inside London’s Royal National Theatre, mid-rehearsal, for London Tide - an exciting new adaptation of Our Mutual Friend, co-written by Ben Power and PJ Harvey.Previous series guests include: Stephen Fry, Miriam Margolyes, Armando Iannucci, Lucinda Hawksley, Andrew Davies, Robert Douglas-Fairhurst, Alice Loxton, John Mullan and many many more …Support the Show.If you ...

Our final festive extract comes from Dickens’ last Christmas Book The Haunted Man and The Ghost’s Bargain - read today by the fantastic actor Tom AndrewsTom’s screen credits include: This England (for Revolution films & Sky Atlantic), Netflix’s The Strays, Feelgood & Afterlife; HBO’S I Hate Susie and the BBC’s Show Trial … His stage work includes the Royal National Theatre production of Major Barbara and The Accidental Death of an Anarchist in London’s West EndIn the following s...

Happy 6th Day of Christmas! Today’s guest is the wonderful Rebecca Tanwen reading for us the opening pages of Dickens’ 4th Christmas book The Battle of Life …The story opens with a wide shot of an ancient battle ground, where the traces of the fight have lingered through the centuries, not only in the earth but in the minds of the generations that have lived afterwards. The narrative works its way through a kind of time-lapse describing the changing seasons over many decades before settling o...