Jim Regan -- Site Reviews
David Perdue's Charles Dickens Page
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'Tis the season for one of the most widely adapted stories of all time. Film versions of A Christmas Carol have ranged from the reasonably faithful to the highly 'interpretive', (remember 'Scrooge: The Musical') and the part of Scrooge has been played by actors from Henry Winkler, Tom Smothers and Bill Murray to George C.Scott, Michael Caine (playing opposite Muppets) and the class of the field, Alistair Sim. Add cartoons, sitcoms, dramadies and commercials, and, if you watch TV at all this holiday, you will see A Christmas Carol.
It seems only fitting then, that at this time of year we should learn a little more about the original author, and David Perdue's Charles Dickens Page is an effective introduction to the man who wrote the story that you will see again and again...and again.
An employee of the US Geological Survey by day, David Perdue has gathered an impressive collection of information about Dickens and presented it in an engaging site. While not containing the depth of detail required by a scholar, there is a great deal here for those of us with a casual interest and the shorter attention spans brought on by holiday distractions. (Another boon to those short on free time is the no frills -- read, no plug-ins -- design of the site, and while abundantly illustrated, the Dickens Page's images are generally small in size and monotone - and consequently load quickly.)
Navigation is via an Index that appears at the top left of every page, and begins with the Novels - offering individual pages for each of sixteen works, along with favourite quotes and an introduction to the manner in which Dickens' works were published. (Most were first released in serial form, and later in "Cheap Editions" - not unlike today's reissuing of hard cover books in paperback.)
Each book's page offers a plot synopsis, brief biographies of major characters, and recommended links (including e-text versions of the titles themselves). Characters are also accessible through their own page, (many bios include illustrations from the original publications) as are biographies of Dickens' illustrators, Timelines of the writer and his works, text and interactive map guides to Dickens' London and a short history of his travels in North America. (A major motivation of the transatlantic voyages was the promotion of the concept, 50 years ahead of its time, of international copyright - Dickens lost a fortune to the widespread pirating of his works.)
Of greatest interest at this particular time of year are the pages devoted to A Christmas Carol and Dickens and Christmas. In these two sections, visitors will find a short essay exploring Dickens' influence on the 'revival' of Christmas traditions, illustrations from A Christmas Carol's first edition, background on the writing of the Christmas classic, and a recipe for Plum Pudding - just in case you want to recreate the Cratchit's Christmas dinner.
Throughout the site, Perdue favors visitors with little touches, such as images and quotes relevant to each page's content, and a wealth of outside links to more information. A Dickens on the Web page also holds fifty or so 'general purpose' recommended links - including several sites of a more scholarly nature.
David Perdue's Charles Dickens Page can be found at http://www.fidnet.com/~dap1955/dickens/index.html.