Charles Dickens: A Brain on Fire! 🔥

Dominic is joined by the inimitable Prof. Hugo Bowles who is currently working the OUP edition of The Pickwick Papers   to guide us through this riot of a novel - if it is a novel ?  Hugo is an alumnus of both Oxford and Cambridge where he read English, Classics and Applied Linguistics. For over three decades he lectured at four Italian Universities and is the author of Dickens and Stenographic Mi...

Today’s episode is A Tale of Two Podcasts where Dominic teams up with Jordan Evans-Hill : creator and host of the Charles Dickens Museum’s Inimitable podcast. Here Jordan takes the listener on a tour inside number 48 Doughty St - the house where Dickens lived and worked as he completed Pickwick, wrote the entirety of Oliver Twist & Nicholas Nickleby and began Barnaby Rudge … Jordan is a former...

Dominic has helped create a sister podcast to mark the 250th Anniversary of Jane Austen's birth! A Jane Austen Year   is told by the people that work at Jane Austen’s House - the idyllic Hampshire cottage, in the south of England, where Jane Austen wrote her world famous novels. On the first of every month a new episode of letters, scenes from the novels, recipes & talks about the objects...

Welcome to Part Two of Dominic and John Bowen's journey through A Christmas Carol ... With readings again from Hollie Hales and violin parts performed by Alexis Bennett . HAPPY CHRISTMAS !!! This episode was first broadcast on December 28, 2024 Support the show If you'd like to make a donation to support the costs of producing this series you can buy 'coffees' right here  https...

It’s Christmas Eve, and Dominic takes a deep dive with you all through A Christmas Carol . Returning to the series is the inimitable Prof. John Bowen (who recently worked on David Edgar’s Carol adaptation for the RSC) and who like many of us, re-reads this ghostly little book every Christmas and has pondered its power and meaning for decades. The Carol Philosophy that Dickens expresses so generous...

*This episode focuses on the theme of domestic violence* Dominic shares a bonus fragment from his last interview with Dr. Lydia Craig on The Haunted Man and The Ghost's Bargain ... It is a moment in the story where Redlaw comes across ‘a woman sitting on the stairs, either asleep or forlorn’ and ‘whose head’ is ‘bent down on her hands and knees.’ Redlaw sees that her arms are ‘black, her face...

Today’s episode is on Dickens’ final Christmas Book The Haunted Man and the Ghost’s Bargain . A deeply powerful story, where the chemist, Stephen Redlaw is offered the chance to forget all his painful memories by a Phantom who is a ghastly copy of himself drawn from the shadows in his study. Redlaw accepts the ghost’s bargain … but then faces a desperate struggle to have this spell lifted again, w...

This episode marks the 3rd birthday of Charles Dickens: A Brain on Fire! 🔥    In this first Christmas episode for 2024 Dominic is joined again by the critically acclaimed author, broadcaster, and art-historian Lucinda Hawksley . And as they return to Dickens’ Christmas books their focus this time is on the illustrations found in each of them. Many of you will of course be familiar with the name o...

Dominic is joined today by the inimitable Professor Ian Haywood , of the Centre for Inclusive Humanities at the University of Roehampton . Together they delve into the astonishing 'Riots of Eighty' that gripped London for a week and were brought thrillingly to life in Dickens' Barnaby Rudge ... Ian is a specialist in the radical politics and visual culture of the period of 1750-1850...

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...

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...

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 Harvey Ben 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...

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 Andrews Tom’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...

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 wa...

Happy 5th Day of Christmas! The fantastic actor Tom Bennett reads an excerpt from Dickens’ third Christmas book The Cricket on the Hearth … Caleb Plummer and his daughter Bertha are poor toymakers in the service of the cruel, miserly Tackleton. As the scene unfolds we learn that Caleb’s daughter Bertha is blind, and that her father is constantly trying to shield her from the hardship and poverty o...

The wonderful actress Carlyss Peer returns to the series to read an excerpt from Dickens' second Christmas Book The Chimes You'll be transported to Trotty's humble abode, feeling the chill of the London streets and the welcoming embrace of his heart as he opens his home to strangers, reminding us of the transformative power of kindness and community. Support the show If you'd l...

Dominic is joined by the inimitable Harry Christophers CBE , founder and conductor of The Sixteen , one of the worlds most revered choral ensembles. With thanks to CORO for these stunning Christmas excerpts: Carol of the Bells   Apple / Spotify Pilgrim Jesus  Apple / Spotify Of a Rose  Apple / Spotify   This Have I Done ... Apple / Spotify Lo, How a Rose e'er Blooming  Apple / Spotify O Radix...

Dominic is joined by the wonderful award winning food historian Pen Vogler who returns to the podcast to talk about Dickensian Christmas Dinners ... Focusing on Dickens' five Christmas books - A Christmas Carol, The Chimes, The Cricket on the Hearth, The Battle of Life  and The Haunted Man  -  Pen explores what the characters eat and why. From the Cratchit children 'basking in luxurious...

The wonderful actor Chris Nayak reads the from the First Branch of The Holly-Tree Inn - one of Dickens' rarer Christmas stories …  Packed with self-deprecating humour, a fantastic snowy atmosphere, this a very pleasing festive narrative.  Chris’ stage credits include King Duncan in Macbeth at the Globe this year, and previously the RSC and West End. His screen work includes Coronation Street...

Dominic’s guest today is the inimitable Emma Rutherford who recalls her time working on the rediscovery of a lost portrait of Dickens, painted by Margaret Gillies in 1843, and lost for over a century until its serendipitous reappearance at a South African auction. A pivotal snapshot of Dickens' life, the portrait's story hints at the profound bond between Gillies and Dickens, a bond that...

Light up your holiday season with the enchanting narration of our guest, the brilliant Gina Beck as she transports us to the charm and warmth of a festive journey from Charles Dickens' Pickwick Papers in a way that is sure to stir the Christmas spirit in you. Gina has been a star of London’s West End for nearly two decades playing the leads in Matlida, The Phantom of the Opera, Wicked & L...

The award-winning actor and writer Patterson Joseph   takes the listener on a  fascinating journey into the captivating life of Charles Ignatius Sancho , an African man who found favour among the highest reaches of 18th-century British society,  and who had a front-row seat to the infamous Gordon Riots of 1780 ... Sharing the inspiration behind his thrilling novel - The Secret Diaries of Charles I...

Celeste Callen returns to share her insights on how Henri  Bergson's theories of the 'superficial self' and the 'mechanical man' permeate through Dickens' novels such as The Signal-Man ,  Bleak House ,  Hard Times , The Chimes ,  and Master Humphrey's Clock Celeste Callen holds a BA (Hons) in English Language and Literature from King's College London and an...

Dominic is joined by the inimitable James Swanton   who is performing A Christmas Carol, The Chimes and Haunted Man in person this year at the Dickens Museum. And for those of you listening outside the UK you can watch a live stream of his Haunted Man - filmed inside number 48 Doughty Street - on the 11th December. James read English at Selwyn College Cambridge. Since graduating his acting credits...

Dominic is joined by the award-winning author and food historian Pen Vogler who offers insightful reflections on how Charles Dickens used food as complex metaphors in his novels, that reflect the psychological and societal shifts during the Victorian era. The richly detailed food descriptions in works like A Christmas Carol and Little Dorrit reflect not just the era's celebrated dining etique...