#charles-dickens — Public Fediverse posts

It’s Weekend, Let’s Read: Who is the author with more works in the Guardian’s list of 100 greatest novels of all time?

The Guardian made a list of the 100 greatest novels of all time. You can see the list here, with links to how Guardian’s made it. First place of the list is George Eliot with Middlemarch, but I thought to check which authors had more works in this list. And it’s Virginia Woolf with five books!

Second place in the number of the novels in the list are Jane Austen and Charles Dickens, both with four books.

Best part? There all in public domain, so you want to start with any of these four authors, right here, right now, head to Project Gutenberg and let’s read!

Books by George Eliot – https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/90

Books by Virginia Woolf – https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/89

Books by Jane Austen – https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/68

Books by Charles Dickens – https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/37

Der Bahnwärter – Von Charles Dickens

“Hallo! Sie da unten!” – Da sind sie wieder, die Worte, die der Signalwärter Braxton schon in anderen Nächten von dem steilen Abhang her hörte. Ein Jahr zuvor sah er die Gestalt zum ersten Mal, die winkend zu ihm in die finstere Schlucht hinunterrief, während er seinen Dienst an den Gleisen versah. Sie liegen an einer Tunneleinfahrt, auf die mehrmals am Tag ein Schnellzug zurast. Wer oder was ist dieses “Gespenst”? Braxton weiß es nicht, doch eines steht fest: Ein jedes Mal, nachdem es ihn gerufen hatte, geschah ein furchtbares Unglück! Nun hört Braxton die warnenden Rufe erneut.

https://dn711204.ca.archive.org/0/items/der_bahnwaerter_1951/der_bahnwaerter.mp3

https://archive.org/details/der_bahnwaerter_1951

Writing my #Christmas #romance #novel has made me realize that all of my #MarySue #wishfulfillment #powerfantasy dreams involve having the luxury to offer #charity to those in need, strengthening #community bonds, and finding a #thirdplace for teenagers to hang out with in a nonjudgmental atmosphere. There's also #cyborgs and #catgirls, but we can't all be #CharlesDickens.

7. Book 1. The Bible (100-200 CE) Month 4 – April

So continue the reading challenge and now I’ve passed some of the traditional bible stories I know and I’ve been reading every day for three months it is starting to become a bit tedious. However not long into the fourth month I found myself shocked – I literally stopped in my tracks – to hear the words

“whoever has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. Whoever does not have an abundance what he has will be taken from him”

I had been following (or trying to as best I could) to follow the principles of “the secret” as written about by Rhona Byrne. During a time of despair and difficulty for my family I had picked this book up to try and change my outlook on life. This book talk about practicing gratitude and positive vibrations in the universe. The book promotes the ideas that feeling and showing gratitude can have a positive domino effect on  the rest of you life, and that you end up receiving what you desire. Since reading this book I have been practicing gratitude (albeit in peaks and troughs) for about 5 years. I hadn’t fully grasped – or subconsciously chosen to ignore – the fact that this was taken from the scripture in the Bible.

So the secret is just part of the bible then, while I was sure that it had come from the teaching of a learned man, perhaps a religious man, I hadn’t actually realised it was part of the Bible.  After reading this line in the bible my initial thoughts were confused. I thought that either Rhonda was naïve and didn’t realise this was from the Bible (could that actually be possible?). Or was she just using this as a vehicle to convert people to Christianity and teach “the word of god”?  Was the author just literal and had done no real research before writing the book or is this book  just another way to spread religious doctrine?

Initially I was annoyed that I had been following the secret for 5 years and I had actually been following teachings of the Bible all this time. As you may have gathered from my previous blogs I have been continually shocked, enraged and saddened by the mixed messaging – including the repentance required of the people, the immovability of “gods law” and a lack of forgiveness by “god”. There are many teachings encouraging intolerance, harsh punishment, violence, genocide, slavery, oppression of women, oppression of different groups of people  as well as the need to follow a range of, what seems to me ridiculous, instructions as “laws”.

I think part of the reason I was so annoyed was also due to the fact that “the secret” is presented as a newly discovered ideology and one which is free of religion and agenda. One that is more in line with my own feelings that there is energy in the universe that flows through us and that we can influence this energy through gratitude and positive thinking. The fact that it is in the Bible made me doubt all of the belief I had in gratitude and positive thinking. Had I been wasting my time in doing this and I had been foolish in promoting this to others?

However after talking to my husband and others and reflecting I began thinking about all the positives that have come from Christianity. Yes there have been many problems over the ages, however lots of good has been done. Even in the kind words and actions of people who genuinely use the bible teachings for good and help people. All the charitable foundations and good works of the church and those who acted for good. In the end I came to the conclusion that what I had learnt and been practicing in positivity and gratitude was right and it is actually in some form or another part of all religions. Practicing gratitude and positivity does  influence your life in a positive way. While this might not be in groundbreaking life changes or that it may not shield you from the challenges of life it has many benefits for health and wellbeing – particularly to help deal with negatively impactful situations and circumstances as well as guide you to more positive choices.

In fact it has reminded me that I haven’t been as grateful or a positive as I could have been of late. With a lot of work on and quite a few life and family challenges I have bene on more of a negative spiral the last few months. Husband on long term sick following a work accident, me needing to pick up more home tasks, son taken to hospital and diagnosed with diabetes, work overwhelming after taking on extra work, money worries and time taken off for stress. The negative situations all exacerbated by negative disposition and negative outlook and resolved through frustration depression, alcohol and overspending. I need to focus and think more positively about life again. So I’ll gloss over the trite and saccharin messages in Rhonda Byrnes “The Secret”  but embrace and believe in positivity, positive energy and gratitude. Turning her sugary interpretations into everyday actions and words which will at the very least give me a sense of peace and wellbeing.

So What have a read this month… from the Old Testament most of my reading this month has been Deuteronomy which apparently is also the last book of the Torah.

“Deuteronomy (“repetition of the Law”) serves as a reminder to God’s people about His covenant. The book is a “pause” before Joshua’s conquest begins and a reminder of what God required”

Ultimately this book is about Moses encouraging the children of the people who were lord in the wilderness – after having been cast out through sin – to come back to god. The book reinforces the 10 commandments as well as a range of laws and also some new laws such as

• If a women and man are  adulterous they will be stoned to death
• if a man sleeps with a virgin women in a town  and does she not scream for help they will be stoned to death.
• If in the country and she is not betrothed he has to pay the father and marry the women

While many of these laws in the book seem oppressive and archaic from a modern perspective, in truth we don’t know if they were actually real laws. I find myself considering whether this actually happened or was written to bring a society into line. The fact is, that it is difficult to judge these laws properly from a modern perspective without context from the time. I was appalled to read a number of these but I came to realise that if I can’t have a clear observation of the situation, I can’t judge these laws as I don’t know and understand the society of 2000 years ago or more. However I can see how these laws being taught over the centuries have shaped societies and been the basis for more modern laws we know as well as cultural beliefs and values which has led to an over zealous enforcement of “laws” which  reality more modern societies have evolved beyond.

I also read Joshua, which is about how god give land to the people as was promised for their obedience to god, but effectively is the Israelites being given permission to take and destroy all the cities and people in the way with no mercy. Total destruction of the civilisations that exited in these places. This is where the Israelites cross the River Jordan and there is the battle at Jerico lead by Joshua after Moses death. Land is taken and then divided amongst the twelve tribes. The theological interpretation is suggested to be that this is a lesson to follow the word of god and be faithful and obedient. The literal interpretation is that it is ok for you to destroy to take what you think is yours under the banner of religion. I am not a scholar – I’d like to think that I’m reasonably well educated, reflective and well read, but my initial reaction to reading this was that the bible, and therefore God, condones the use of violence in the name religion. To me this helps explains subsequent historical as well as more recent atrocities linked to religion and religious beliefs. To me religion is being used as an excuse for people to exercise their true desire to dominate and destroy.

From the New Testament I have read Luke  which is essentially a detailed, orderly account of Jesus Christ’s life, ministry, death, and resurrection, as written by Luke to show Jesus as the Savior for all people. It is written to emphasises Jesus’ compassion for the marginalised, the poor, and highlighting the role of the Holy Spirit, prayer, and “upside-down” Kingdom values. A repetition from previous stories but aims to show how Jesus is fulfilling of the story of God.

I have progressed through more of Psalms and Proverbs which just seem to wash over me. I haven’t covered these very much so far so thought I’d add some detail. After some research I can see that I have been reading an introduction to the psalms 1-2 earlier in the year and it suggests that in the introduction this Is being offered as a new torah?!? I am already confused between Christianity and Judaism. Essentially this section I am on Psalm 3-41 is the foundation of covenant faithfulness a series of psalms about faithfulness to god – which to be honest I struggle to understand given the content of the old and new testament I am reading. I have also reading Proverbs

My final note from this month is the Bible says if a women is married to a man and he is unhappy with her he can say she is not a virgin and if there is no proof she is not a virgin she will be stoned to death (Deuteronomy 22:13-21)  which I think summarises the attitude of many towards women throughout history……..

A 200-Year-Old London Restaurant Gets a Glow-Up

Jeremy King Revitalizes a 200-Year-Old RestaurantCourtesy Simpson’s in the Strand Above: Jeremy King worked with his longtime designer, Shayne Brady of…
#dining #cooking #diet #food #Frenchrestaurants #CharlesDickens #francais #france #French #FrenchRestaurants #JeremyKing #Londonrestaurants #oscarwilde #Restaurants #Simpson'sintheStrand #winstonchurchill
https://www.diningandcooking.com/2562766/a-200-year-old-london-restaurant-gets-a-glow-up/

A 200-Year-Old London Restaurant Gets a Glow-Up https://www.diningandcooking.com/2562766/a-200-year-old-london-restaurant-gets-a-glow-up/ #CharlesDickens #francais #france #French #FrenchRestaurants #JeremyKing #LondonRestaurants #OscarWilde #Restaurants #Simpson'sInTheStrand #WinstonChurchill

#HashtagGames
#BooksForExtroverts

A Dozen Christmas Carolers
#CharlesDickens

:stargif: 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒍𝒆𝒔 𝒅𝒊𝒄𝒌𝒆𝒏𝒔: 𝒈𝒆𝒏𝒊𝒐 𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒓𝒊𝒐 𝒚 𝒕𝒊𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒐 𝒅𝒐𝒎𝒆́𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒄𝒐 :stargif:

La imagen oficial es conocida: niño pobre, padre en la cárcel de deudores, fábrica de betún, superación, gloria literaria. Y sí, todo eso es cierto.
Pero quedarse ahí es quedarse a medias.

Charles Dickens fue un genio.
También fue un hombre profundamente obsesivo, controlador y, en su vida privada, capaz de una frialdad demoledora.

Tras veinte años de matrimonio y diez hijos, decidió que su esposa Catherine ya no encajaba en su vida.
Se enamoró de una actriz de 18 años, Ellen Ternan, cuando él tenía 45.
Y entonces empezó la operación de borrado.

Intentó convencer a un médico amigo suyo para que declarara a Catherine mentalmente inestable y poder internarla en un asilo.
El médico se negó tras examinarla.
No estaba loca.
Ante el fracaso, Dickens rompió con él y pasó al plan B: destruir su reputación.
Publicó un comunicado en prensa insinuando que su esposa era incompetente y emocionalmente inestable.
Después dividió la casa con un muro para no verla y terminó expulsándola.
Se quedó con casi todos los hijos.
Ella quedó aislada socialmente.

Mientras tanto, alquilaba casas bajo nombres falsos para ocultar a Ellen.
Viajaba con ella en secreto.
Incluso en el accidente ferroviario de Staplehurst en 1865 —donde murieron diez personas— su prioridad fue ponerla a salvo antes de que llegara la prensa, para que nadie supiera que estaban juntos.

Pero el control no era solo emocional.
Era estructural.

Dickens era extremadamente vanidoso y neurótico con su apariencia.
Se peinaba el cabello constantemente, a veces cientos de veces al día.
Tenía espejos estratégicamente colocados en su estudio y se detenía a mitad de una frase para comprobar que cada mechón estuviera en su sitio.

Su escritorio funcionaba como un ritual.
Necesitaba una hoja de papel verde perfectamente colocada —decía que ese color descansaba su vista—.
Encima, siempre los mismos objetos: dos sapos de bronce peleando con espadas, un conejo de bronce y un gran cortapapeles.
Si alguien movía un centímetro a los sapos, quedaba bloqueado.
No podía escribir.

Dormía orientando la cama hacia el norte magnético porque creía que eso alineaba sus energías creativas.
Caminaba hasta 30 o 40 kilómetros de noche por los barrios más peligrosos de Londres para calmar la mente.
Visitaba la morgue de París para observar cadáveres no reclamados.
Practicaba mesmerismo con mujeres cercanas, convencido de que podía curarlas con pases magnéticos.

Su obsesión por el orden era tal que entraba en habitaciones ajenas para recolocar objetos.
No soportaba un cuadro torcido ni un libro mal alineado.
Era un hombre brillante, sí.
Pero también dominado por la ansiedad y la necesidad constante de control.

En su testamento dejó instrucciones estrictas: nada de funeral ostentoso, nada de circo victoriano.
Quería un entierro sencillo en Rochester. No se respetó.
Fue enterrado con honores nacionales en la Abadía de Westminster.
Tampoco dejó monumentos… y hoy tiene estatuas por todas partes.

A su esposa le dejó una asignación fría.
A Ellen, una suma considerable de dinero.
A su cuñada Georgina, elogios afectuosos.
Incluso después de muerto, gestionó el relato.

¿Era un monstruo? No.
Era un hombre del siglo XIX con un poder descomunal y un ego frágil.
Un creador capaz de una empatía literaria inmensa y, al mismo tiempo, de una dureza íntima brutal.

El trauma de la fábrica lo hizo sensible a la pobreza.
Pero también lo convirtió en alguien que necesitaba dominar su entorno, su familia, su imagen y hasta la disposición milimétrica de dos sapos de bronce.

Genio indiscutible.
Buena ficha en lo personal… bastante menos. 🖋️

▣▣▣▣▣▣▣▣▣▣▣▣▣▣▣▣▣▣

#charlesdickens #historialiteraria #victoriana #biografiasoscuras #catherinedickens #ellenternan #literaturainglesa #escandalosvictorianos #genioycontradiccion #ecosdelpasado

"Elsewhere people are restless, worried, hurried about... Nothing of the kind here, sir. We have done with all that - we know the worst of it; we have got to the bottom, we can't fall, and what have we found? Peace." - Dr Haggard in Debtor's Prison, 'Little Dorrit' #BookWormSat #CharlesDickens

"No one is useless in this world who lightens the burdens of another." - Charles Dickens

#quotes #Saturday #CharlesDickens

Don’t let the 19thcentury pedigree fool you, #CharlesDickens knew what really defined class & had lessons for us today, if we have the sense to learn them: https://www.martinbihl.com/business-thinking/different-thinking-class #class #marketing #advertising #strategy #culture

Allen einen wunderschönen ersten Morgen des noch sehr jungen Jahres 2026 ☕️.

Wie haltet ihr es mit Vorsätzen? Ich nehm mir mittlerweile meist nur einen vor. Und ein Zitat von Charles Dickens drückt das für mich auch am besten aus:

"Ich werde Weihnachten in meinem Herzen ehren und versuchen, es das ganze Jahr hindurch aufzuheben."

In diesem Sinne. Love. Peace & Moin.

#NeujahrsVorsätze2026 #Zitat #CharlesDickens

Merry Christmas from the RGBots - they wanted to put on a holiday show for you all: https://www.rgbots.com/comic/you-will-be-visited-by-three-spirits/

#comic #webcomic #robots #christmas #charlesDickens

Zróbcie sobie dobrze w ten świąteczny wieczór i obejrzyjcie najlepszą adaptację „Opowieści wigilijnej” Dickensa w wykonaniu Towarzystwa Dramatycznego Politechniki w Cornley.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gpSDn-sDbrw

A jeżeli po tym wkręcicie się w poczucie humoru Mischief Theatre, to polecam gorąco całą playlistę z dwoma sezonami ich „The Goes Wrong Show”.

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLLQ4ckh9FIpbYCXPn_KwMSoQZvlfRcT-5

#MischiefTheatre #CornleyPolytechnicDramaSociety #ChristmasCarol #CharlesDickens #OpowieśćWigilijna

Until I picked it up yesterday, it had been ages since I last read A Christmas Carol.

Dickens' original story holds up well. The emphasis on kindness and charity and human connection makes it timeless, beyond the specifics of poverty in England during the early Industrial Revolution or 19th-century Christmas traditions.

Critically, it makes Scrooge's conversion work as a matter of character, not just because the theme demanded it. You see just enough glimmers of humanity in his past that it's believable there might be some left in there. Somewhere. Even if it takes ghost-induced trauma to shake it loose again.

https://kvibber.com/reviews/books/christmas-carol/

#AChristmasCarol #books #CharlesDickens

Where to stream Elf, Die Hard, Love Actually and more Christmas films in the UK

https://web.brid.gy/r/https://www.mirror.co.uk/film/where-to-stream-christmas-films-36450763

People only just learn reason why Brits love to eat turkey at Christmas

https://web.brid.gy/r/https://www.mirror.co.uk/lifestyle/food-drink/people-only-just-learn-reason-36258647

Aside from Gonzo and Rizzo, my favorite thing about A Muppet Christmas Carol is how Michael Caine plays Scrooge straight as an arrow. He's like "Puppets? What puppets?"

#muppets #muppetchristmascarol #achristmascarol #charlesdickens #michaelcaine

Zu Weihnachten darf natürlich auch diese Geschichte nicht fehlen. Ein bisschen was zum Nachdenken hat sicher jeder von uns.

Als Musical finde ich das toll gemacht 🤩

#CharlesDickens

In Which Marley Carries the Day

"Business? Mankind was my business!"

http://rustyring.blogspot.com/2019/12/in-which-marley-carries-day.html

#business, #capitalism, #AChristmasCarol, #CharlesDickens, #Christmas, #clearseeing, #England, #hermitpractice, #redemption, #scarcitymodel, #Zen