Charles Dickens: A Brain on Fire! 🔥

Dominic is joined by the brilliant Dr. Anna Mckay who is a social and cultural historian who specialises in both 18th & 19th Century British Maritime history and the methods of confinement that were practised throughout that period. Anna's research has taken her to historic prisoner of war depots and penal colonies across the world. She has also undertaken archival research in the UK, Aus...

Dominic is joined by the inimitable Andrew Davies whose iconic screen adaptations include  Bleak House, Pride & Prejudice, War & Peace, Les Miserablés, Middlemarch, Vanity Fair ... and many more! It all begins in 1976 with his iconic retelling of The Signalman ... Support the show If you'd like to make a donation to support the costs of producing this series you can buy 'coffees&...

In this bumper episode Dominic is joined by the brilliant Prof. Hugo Bowles from Italy's University of Foggia and welcomes back to the series the inimitable Dr. Claire Wood . Together they take the listener on journey inside THE DICKENS CODE : a project that seeks to crack the code of Dickens' unique form of shorthand, and decipher the author's hidden messages from 150 years ago ......

Dominic is joined by the brilliant Dr. Emily Dunbar , curator at the Charles Dickens Museum in London . Today the museum launches its new exhibition To Be Read at Dusk: Dickens, Ghosts and the Supernatural  ...   Emily is here to guide us through what visitors can expect to encounter as they pass through the famous red door and cross the threshold of number 48 Doughty Street, London. Dominic'...

Dominic is joined by the fantastic historian Adam Zamoyski   who shares his insight into the origins of both Revolutionary thought and action in the last quarter of the 18th Century: what Dickens famously calls 'The Period' in his A Tale of Two Cities ... Adam's celebrated titles on the Age of Revolution and the Napoleonic Wars include: Holy Madness , 1812. Napoleon’s Fatal March on...

Dominic is Joined by the brilliant Dr. Claire Wood , who is a lecturer in Victorian Literature at the University of Leicester and a former research associate at the University of York. Claire’s writing on Dickens includes: Dickens and the Business of Death , published by Cambridge University Press. Claire is also a founder of the Dickens Code   which seeks to crack the mysteries of Dickens’ unique...

It's summer ... the perfect time to talk about Dickens' travels abroad. Dominic is joined again by the brilliant Lucinda Hawskley who returns to talk about her new book Dickens and Travel ... A perfect addition to your holiday reading! Mentioned also in the episode are two portraits which you can view here: Daniel Maclise's "Charles Dickens" ('Nickleby Portrait) 1839...

Dominic is joined by the inimitable Stephen Fry who takes the listener on an intricate journey through the fog and mystery of Dickens' thrilling masterpiece: Bleak House Reading extracts from Esther's narrative also is the brilliant Sally Scott And here is a link to Miriam Margolyes' unabridged audiobook of Bleak House mentioned in the episode If you'd like to make a small dona...

Host Dominic Gerrard reads the opening chapter of Great Expectations ... 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://www.buymeacoffee.com/dominicgerrard Thank you so much! Host: Dominic Gerrard Series Artwork: Léna Gibert Original Music: Dominic Gerrard Thank you for listening!

On the 207th anniversary of the Battle of Waterloo Dominic is joined by the inimitable Bernard Cornwell OBE. Author of the hugely successful Sharpe series which takes the reader through the Napoleonic Wars, Bernard's latest novel Sharpe's Assassin   is now available in paperback and follows the events of the occupation of Paris immediately after Napoleon's defeat. Bernard has also w...

Dominic is joined by  Marzia Dati : Professor of English Literature at  Liceo Marconi High School and founder of the first Italian Branch of the International Dickens Fellowship, in her home town of Carrara.  Marzia’s new book A Sentimental Journey through Carrara is a visitor’s guide to this remarkable town that sits at the foot of the Apuan Alps, as they slope their way down to the Sea …   These...

Dominic is joined by Ravenmaster Christopher Skaife for a special episode on Grip. Chris looks after the world famous ravens at the Tower of London, and tells hilarious anecdotes about his Ravens and how ingenious Dickens' descriptions of these rare and wonderful creatures are in Barnaby Rudge ... This episode also includes special readings from curator of Jane Austen's House Sophie Reyn...

Dominic is joined by Professor Robert Douglas-Fairhurst to discuss his extraordinary biography of Dickens The Turning Point: A Year That Changed Dickens and the World ... The year is 1851 and London's Hyde Park is centre stage with the opening of The Great Exhibition. It is also the year that Dickens sits down to write his masterpiece: Bleak House ... Thank you for listening! To support this...

Dominic is joined by the brilliant  John Bowen :  Professor of 19th Century Literature at the University of York. He is the author of Other Dickens: Pickwick to Chuzzlewit a book which focuses on Dickens’ early novels. John’s work has brought him in to close collaboration with many of the UK’s leading cultural organisations: such as the BBC, British Library, and the V&A. He was also was an aca...

Dominic is joined by the celebrated Austen biographer Dr. Helena Kelly -  author of Jane Austen, The Secret Radical Helena has completed a new, soon to be published,  biography on Dickens and gives an exclusive interview about it here! 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://www.buymeac...

To mark Charles Dickens' 210th Birthday , Dominic reads the opening chapter of David Copperfield ... If you wish to make a small donation to this series - all coffees are hugely appreciated! Link here: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/dominicgerrard/c/2529502?uid=1728604 Support the show If you'd like to make a donation to support the costs of producing this series you can buy 'coffees&...

Dominic is joined by Dickens' Great-Great Grandson, Gerald Dickens . They talk in detail about the Staplehurst Rail Crash of 1865 and Gerald's new book on the tragedy Dickens and Staplehurst   … How the trauma of this experience effected Dickens and led him to write The Signalman … They also explore Gerald's career as a celebrated performer of Dickens' works If you'd like...

Dominic is joined by the celebrated writer, broadcaster, journalist and literary critic: Professor John Mullan . They have a lively discussion on Great Expectations with a particular emphasis on some of the 'forgotten' characters - such as Biddy. John's celebrated book The Artful Dickens is a must read for anyone wanting to deepen their appreciation of Dickens' genius and influ...

It's Christmas Eve ... and Dominic's special guest is the brilliant actress, comedian and satirist, Rosie Holt and host of the NonCensored Podcast . This week, they have both re-read A Christmas Carol and are set to talk through what they found in each of the Staves. They also get massively sidetracked and talk about It’s A Wonderful Life, Scrooged and The Muppets … MERRY CHRISTMAS! Supp...

In this episode Dominic is joined by the inimitable Miriam Margolyes . With a career spanning six decades, this celebrated actress has been a life-long fan of Dickens throughout. Now in her 80th year she has recently published her autobiography This Much is True   ...  A candid, unflinching, and hugely entertaining story of her life and career. In this course of this interview, Miriam talks in gre...

In this Christmas episode Dominic is joined by the Tony Award winning director Tim Carroll. They share their love for Dickens and discuss the process of creating two very different stage adaptations of  A Christmas Carol . One a large ensemble production at The Shaw Festival Theatre , Ontario; the other a solo performance that has just been filmed inside the Charles Dickens Museum , London. This b...

In this first episode,  Dominic is joined by Dickens' Great-Great-Great Granddaughter, the Writer and Broadcaster,  Lucinda Hawksley .  On a cold December morning they talk through Lucinda's book Dickens and Christmas , which has just been published in paperback by Pen & Sword Books. It follows the story of Dickens' earliest Christmas as an infant, through to the five great fest...