By 2014, all of Charles Dickens' works had entered the public domain, but the lack of royalties didn't stop three of the late novelist's great-great-great grandchildren--Tom, Lydia, and Oliver--from getting a selfie taken with a then-newly unveiled statue in Portsmouth, England, the city of his birth. If talent runs in the family, these kids should have great expectations all their own.
Aww adorable!
ReplyDeleteSure, JM, but Dicken might be a bad influence on those adorable children. After all, this was a man whose characters regularly ended up in prison!
DeleteWhat a sweet little post
ReplyDeleteI try to fight sweetness, Andrew, but occasionally I succumb.
DeleteWell, aren't they all just rosy-cheeked little urchins!
ReplyDeleteThey just had their gruel, Debra.
DeleteHi, Kirk! I hope you had a nice weekend, good buddy. I remember reading in the paper that Charles Dickens died, but I see that this post of yours isn't about that. Instead, it marks the date of his birth. Happy 210th birthday in heaven to Charles Dickens. (He doesn't look a day over 199.) It would be fun to trace the lives and careers of those three great-great-great grandchildren. By this time, they should all be in their twenties, I reckon, and it would make an interesting story if one or more of them became a successful novelist. (A page is more likely, me thinks.) It would be quite an Oliver Twist if one of them were booked for nicking Pickwick Papers from an Old Curiosity Shop. With those three young Dickens descendants having their way with his bust, laughing, taking selfies and all, I wish I could find a way to work "Child's Play: Seed of Chucky" into my comment, but that would be reaching. Have a wonderful week, good buddy Kirk!
ReplyDeleteRegarding your own blog, Shady, any chance of showing a Uriah Heep or Boz Scaggs video?
DeleteIt will be interesting to see what comes from them, I'd admit.
DeleteIt's the 21st century, Maddie. One of them can serialize a novel on Twitter.
DeleteWhat a fun photo.
ReplyDeleteMitchell, who needs a playground when you got a statue to keep the kids occupied?
DeleteHello Kirk, Apparently Dickens' wife and family at the time had much less reason to smile. Dickens' novels tend to be drawn-out, preachy (the nerve of him!) and episodic (due to the original serial publishing schedule), but I still tackle one now and then. --Jim
ReplyDeleteYou left out the coincidences, Jim. That's always been one of the chief criticisms against Dickens. Though for some odd reason to me, the coincidences always made the stories seem more, and not less, believable. Maybe because they come at such regular intervals you can't help but accept them after a while. It's different when a novel has just one, glaring coincidence, THEN it unsuspends my suspension of disbelief. As for Dickens having been a bad husband and father, I had never heard that before, but I guess I should have. After reading your comment I googled "Dickens as husband" and "Dickens as father" and what came up was less than complimentary.
DeleteI just dropped by to see if you had posted anything new. And the title of your post, just made me sing "The Best of Times" by Styx out loud. What a great song.
ReplyDeleteJM, maybe Dennis DeYoung will someday get his own statue.
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