On the 22nd January, for the price of just one penny, The British Library, in association with The Reader Organisation and Vintage, opened its doors to enthusiastic book lovers, for a revival of Dickens’s Penny Readings.
From 1840s onwards Dickens would travel around the country to give adoring crowds readings of his books, so that enthusiastic audiences from all backgrounds could attend.
The Reader Organisation, whose aim is to bring about a reading revolution, revived the Penny Readings in Liverpool eight years ago, in a bid to encourage shared reading. This was the first time the event had taken place in London and was the perfect opportunity to celebrate the beginning of Dickens’s bicentennial year.
The host for the afternoon was Christopher Green who was suitably dressed in a sparkly waistcoat, cravat and top hat. He introduced us first to Jane Davis, the founder and director of The Reader Organisation, who promptly asked what our expectations of the day were. Amongst the answers were ‘catharsis’, ‘entertainment’ and the inevitable ‘great expectations…’ I believe all were achieved and that it was an incredibly successful and wonderful afternoon. The readings and performances were enjoyed by all.
The guest readers read an excerpt from their chosen Dickens novel. The afternoon began with Angela Macmillan, whose convincing character voices made her reading of David Copperfield particularly enjoyable. She was followed by Lucinda Dickens- Hawksley, writer, and great-great-great-granddaughter of Dickens, who read from A Tale of Two Cities - a Dickens novel I haven’t had the pleasure to read yet but am eager to after her performance.
The absolutely fantastic Romany ‘Diva of Magic’, graced the stage next and dazzled the audience with her incredible ‘sleight of hand’ tricks. She was up twice in the afternoon and in her second appearance had the audience in hysterics when she enticed two male helpers to the stage, including Arthur Smith’s, father in law. She was definitely one of the highlights and brought a lot of laughter.
AS Byatt, read the opening passages of Great Expectations and did so beautifully. It is possibly my favourite of Dickens’s titles and one that I never tire of. She described how she first read it as a young girl at a similar age to Pip when we first meet him as a shivering wreck on the marshes.
Patricia Hammond, a singer, accompanied by the pianist Andrea Kmecova, overwhelmed us with her renditions of popular songs from the Victorian period, such as Handel’s ‘Ombra Mai Fu’ which, though written in 1738 was rediscovered in the 19th century and became one of Handel’s best known pieces. She had a wonderful voice and really engaged the audiences. It was particularly nice that she provided a brief history of the songs that she sang.
Our MC for the second half of the afternoon was Ida Barr, ‘music hall legend and hip hop extraordinaire’. Again, suitably dressed in full Victorian attire, she wore a long dusty pink dress with ostrich feathers in her hair. She entertained the audience with a music hall/ hip hop remix of Rhianna ‘Only Girl’ (2010) and ‘If You Were The Only Girl (In The World)’, written in 1916 by Nat D. Ayer and Clifford Grey.
This unexpected remix was followed by Louis de Bernieres, who remarked, ‘I have chosen exactly the wrong reading to follow that…’ and then began to read little Nell’s death from The Old Curiosity Shop. The contrast was indeed stark and made the audience chuckle. He also quoted Oscar Wilde who is famous for saying ‘One would have to have a heart of stone to read the death of little Nell without dissolving into tears… of laughter’. If I’m honest, I’d have to agree with Wilde though Louis de Bernieres read the excerpt unfailingly and to an eager audience.
Arthur Smith presented us with a harrowing depiction of London as witnessed in the opening chapter of Bleak House. Arthur Smith’s booming London accent fit the excerpt he was reading perfectly. He then contrasted this passage with his own depiction, taken from one of his books. He ended his performance with the recital of a poem on London.
Dickens is famous for his love of Christmas and this is perfectly encapsulated inA Christmas Carol . Possibly my favourite performance of the night was Phil Davis who read from A Christmas Carol beginning at the ghost of Christmas present as he shows Scrooge the scene of the Cratchit’s Christmas dinner and their fantastic Christmas pudding.
Patricia Hammond ended the afternoon with her rendition of ‘Till We Meet Again’ and the popular World War Two song ‘We’ll Meet Again’. It was particularly beautiful and moving when the audience joined in, and instantly had people teary eyed.
It was a wonderful day and the perfect way to begin the bicentennial year of Dickens. To top the afternoon off, all attendees received a free copy of a Dickens Vintage Classic. Perfect!
By Alice Palmer Brown, Marketing Assistant at Vintage Books.