I Have Endeavoured in This Ghostly Little Book, To
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Geva Theatre Center, Rochester NY A Christmas Carol 2013 “I have endeavoured in this Ghostly little book, to raise the Ghost of an Idea, which shall not put my readers out of humour with themselves, with each other, with the season, or with me. May it haunt their houses pleasantly. Their faithful Friend and Servant, Charles Dickens” A Christmas Carol December 1843 Geva Theatre Center, Rochester NY A Christmas Carol 2013 Charles Dickens: When Life Inspires Art Charles Dickens was born in Portsmouth, England in February of 1812. He shared a home with his father (a Navy pay office clerk), mother, and five siblings. Living with his large, bustling family as a young boy in Chatham, Dickens happily referred to this period in his life as “a time to be remembered like a happy dream.” Charles spent his childhood reading and acting since he suffered from seizures and had to spend much of his time indoors. But in 1823 these joyful years ended when Charles’ father, unable to pay his debts, was sent to debtor’s prison. At the age of 12, Charles was sent to live alone and work in a factory to make money to support his family, his sister Fanny was sent away to school, and his mother and the rest of his siblings were sent to live in the prison with his father. During this time, Charles experienced firsthand the pains and concerns of child labor and the deplorable conditions the poor of London lived in. When the family was released from debtor’s prison, Charles attended school and became a clerk at a legal firm and later a reporter for the courts, where he learned about the British legal system. He enjoyed journalism and, at the age of 21 (under the pen name Boz), saw his first short story published in a monthly magazine. Three years later, Charles starting penning his first novel, The Pickwick Papers. Dickens became somewhat of a celebrity in England, famous for his novels (which would appear in installments in monthly magazines) and for his persistent goodwill, championing for care and compassion for London’s most impoverished and unrepresented citizens – especially children, families, the sick, and the poor. In 1841 Charles and his wife moved to America, but Dickens was appalled by slavery and other rough American habits. They returned to England two years later in 1843, the same year that he wrote and published A Christmas Carol, which was an immediate success. In 1844 Dickens read aloud from one of his books for a few friends, a perfect union of acting and writing – two of his most well-loved hobbies. Dickens continued to perform public readings, for charity and enjoyment, for many years to come. In the late 1840s, Charles founded a theatre company whose performances also raised money for charity. Ten years later, he started his own literary magazine, where he published more of his novels. He continued to write, act, produce, give public readings, and advocate for the needs of others until his death in 1870 at the age of 58. Geva Theatre Center, Rochester NY A Christmas Carol 2013 Activity: For many artists (composers, playwrights, songwriters, painters, authors, choreographers, etc.), the art they create is inspired by their own life’s story or an affecting incident, idea, or thing that they cannot stop thinking about. Highlight above, notate below, or discuss any similarities you recognize between Dickens own life and the story and characters in A Christmas Carol. _______________________________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________________________ Where else might art come from? If you are an artist, what inspires your work? _______________________________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________________________ Research an artist you like. Is any of their work inspired by their own life’s story? _______________________________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________________________ If you were to create a piece of original art (visual, performance, written, etc.), would you use your own past as a springboard, or would you write about something that you cannot stop thinking about? _______________________________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________________________ Geva Theatre Center, Rochester NY A Christmas Carol 2013 A Victorian Christmas What we may consider a traditional Christmas did not really exist before Dickens’ time. Many of our most favorite ideas of what Christmas is or looks like – Santa Claus, Christmas trees, Christmas cards, presents, wreaths, a proper Christmas dinner, a family holiday - were not established or popularized until the 1800s. It is also interesting to note that the season’s emphasis on goodwill and charity toward children, elderly, sick, and the poor came, in large part, directly from Charles Dickens and his desire to help promote compassion and care for those in need. So, what was Christmas like in Victorian London then? That depended, in large part, on your social standing and income. Christmas trees, which became popular when Prince Albert married Victoria, were decorated with wax candles and featured at Windsor Castle. Mimicking royal example, English citizens who could afford a tree followed suit. The first Christmas cards, designed and produced the same year Dickens wrote A Christmas Carol, were very expensive to print and mail. It wasn’t until nearly three decades later, when color printing was more reasonably priced, that cards became somewhat more affordable to the masses. Christmas caroling, however, didn’t cost much or anything at all, and many Victorians with a love for music revived older medieval carols or composed new ones – both religious and secular – to share with others as they caroled on street corners or house to house. This was known as wassailing, a word derived from the Middle Ages when peasants would sing for food or drink. Most people also attending church on Christmas Day, and celebrated the holiday at home by singing songs and playing games with family and friends. Without many gifts to go around, time spent together was cherished. But the centerpiece of the Victorian Christmas celebration was the Christmas dinner feast. Because so many people had so little money and no gifts to give, a grand dinner of delicious food was the gift everyone looked forward to enjoying and sharing the most. Wealthier families enjoyed fine linens, the best china, and decorations of evergreen, holly and berries with their feast. Poorer families, like the Cratchit family in A Christmas Carol, were content to simply have a meal and a full day to share together. Of course, the contents of a family’s Christmas dinner all depended on what they could afford, but the traditional Victorian Christmas dinner usually consisted of a Christmas bird or some other meat (goose, chicken, turkey, roast beef, a boar’s head, ham, or wild game), dressing (stuffing), potatoes, sweet or savory pies (such as cranberry or mince meat), oranges, pears, apples or other fruit, a hot punch, and a traditional plum pudding. Geva Theatre Center, Rochester NY A Christmas Carol 2013 Plum Pudding When you hear the word pudding, what do you think of? Perhaps a sweet and gooey dessert served in a bowl and flavored with chocolate, banana, vanilla, or tapioca? A traditional English plum pudding was more cake-like in texture and both sweet and a little savory too. It was often made up of some combination of porridge, suet (beef or mutton fat), bread crumbs, raisins, prunes, currents, citron (lemon or orange peel), nuts, rum or brandy, sugar, butter, eggs, flour, milk, and spices such as nutmeg or ginger, and was cooked in a copper kettle over the fire. The making of a plum pudding was a highly anticipated family event. On a day several weeks prior to Christmas, known as Stir-Up Sunday, each family member would have a turn at stirring the pudding clockwise with a wooden spoon for good luck. A ring (symbolizing marriage), a coin (symbolizing wealth), and thimble (symbolizing a happy single life) were sometimes added to the pudding’s batter as well. Between Stir-Up Sunday and Christmas Day, the pudding was stored in a hanging bag. At Christmas it would be taken down, boiled in beef broth for a number of hours, dressed with a spring of holly, doused in brandy and lit on fire for presentation, and served by the head of the household with a blessing for all who would eat of it. It was intended to be shared merrily with friends and family. Here is an original plum pudding