Showing posts with label Charles Dickens. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Charles Dickens. Show all posts

Saturday, January 2, 2016

Old-Fashioned Charm's 2016 Period Drama Challenge!


It's hard to believe that it's been three years since I posted the first Period Drama Challenge in January of 2013. Now in this new year of 2016 and I want to issue another challenge to watch and review a certain number of period dramas over the next six months! 

A few years ago a period drama website I followed (which has since disappeared) hosted a Period Drama Challenge - watch a certain number of period dramas in a year and review each one. That challenge is what got me started reviewing films. Now I'd like to issue a similar challenge to all of you! 

This Period Drama Challenge is given in the hopes that it will inspire you to not only watch new and interesting period films but also share a love for these films by reviewing them! 

This challenge won't be difficult for many of my readers because you review more films than I do now! Hopefully this challenge will also help me to be more consistent about reviewing film.



To Participate: 
  • Choose a number of period films to watch (see levels below). 
  • Leave me a comment to let me know you are going to participate and post on your blog or website that you're going to join in.
  • Watch the number of films you choose between January 2nd - July 2nd, 2016.
  • When you watch a period film review it on your blog or website. 
  • When you review a film leave a comment here with the link to your review. 
  • Each month I'll be posting links to the reviews posted during that month. 
  • Each month I'm also planning to post some tag questions for participants to answer just for fun. 

How Many Period Dramas Will You Choose To Watch?
Choose a number of films from the list below. You can change the number of films you watch and review as you go along. You don't have to tell me which films you're going to watch and review - part of the fun is finding new things to watch. You can choose to re-watch a film you've seen before, but just make sure it's one you've never reviewed before. Pick however many films you think you can reasonably watch and review in six months.

Choose one of these amounts:
  • 5 Films - Period Film Admirer 
  • 8 Films - Period Film Lover 
  • 10 Films - Period Film Devotee 
  • 12 to 15 Films - Period Film Fanatic  

What Makes A Period Drama?
A television costume drama, big screen film or TV series set in a historical era. They could be adaptations of classic novels, based upon historically set books, stories of historical events or even biographical flicks. For what eras are eligible I'd say anything from Ancient times up to the 1940's (like World War II). Also eligible are films that travel back in time or start in one era and moves to another (such as Lost In Austen, From Time To Time, Somewhere In Time or The Love Letter).

Here's a list of historical eras to help you out:
  • The Ancient Era (Biblical times, 4000 B.C.-476 A.D.) 
  • The Medieval Era (476-1450) 
  • The Renaissance Era (1450-1600) & Elizabethan Era (1558-1603) 
  • The Baroque Era (1600-1750) 
  • The Georgian/Colonial Era  (1714-1811) 
  • The Regency Era (1812-1830, also known as the Jane Austen era) 
  • The Victorian Era (1837-1901) 
  • The Edwardian Era (1901-1919. and World War I)
  • The 1920's 
  • The 1930's
  • The 1940's (World War II films)

Having a hard time choosing something to watch? Check out my Period Films page and also this handy list with synopsis, trailers and links to reviews of each film.

What Should You Include In Your Reviews?
Firstly, the films you choose should preferably be family friendly, but if they do have questionable scenes please note this somewhere in your review. Other than that the style of review is up to you! Your review can be fairly short (one or two paragraphs) or ramble on at length - but, if you usually write very short reviews I encourage you to go into more detail. It's a good idea to talk about things like the music, scenery, story, actors, costumes & hairstyles. And if it's based on a book or historical era, you might mention how accurate it is to the book and time period. And don't forget to tell how much you liked or disliked it the film and whether you'd recommend it. Consider including film clips, quotes, photos or soundtrack clips in your review too. Overall, just have fun with them!


Will you help spread the news about this Period Drama Challenge? Please post on Twitter, Facebook pages, Instagram, Tumblr or on your blog! Feel free to use the image above or use one of these buttons:

Old-Fashioned Charm


Old-Fashioned Charm



Will you join in?

How many period dramas will you be watching and reviewing?




P.S. Because I will be traveling the day this is posted, I may not be able to respond to comments right away. Thanks for your patients!

Tuesday, April 1, 2014

A Tale Of Two Cities (2015) [or just my dream cast post]


Note: This was my April Fool's joke for 2014. Sorry for any confusion or false hopes this post may have caused! It was fun writing about my dream cast though! :)

In 2012 I had the joy of reading Charles Dicken's A Tale Of Two Cities for the first time and really loved it! (Read my thoughts in this guest post.) My dear friend Melody was reading the book at the same time and we had such fun not only discussing the book but also dreaming about what a great TV miniseries it would make and who we would cast in the main roles. Now to my surprise and extreme delight I heard a rumor that there is indeed a new adaptation in the works! They are filming now in France and England!

And to top that they have announced some of the cast!!! 

Kimberley Nixon as Lucie Manette
She made such a sweet Sophy Hutton in Cranford and I'm convinced she is the perfect choice for the angelic Lucie!

Tom Hiddleston as Sydney Carton
He's proved he can play villains and heroes with the same amount of incredible skill and I am so excited at the prospect of him playing the amazing man that is Sydney Carton! He'll also do Carton's comedic side justice. Hope they make his hair dark for this role. And as much I love him I am kinda disappointed that they didn't choose Benedict Cumberbatch

J.J. Feild as Charles Darnay
Well, he does resemble Tom Hiddleston quite a bit and has a charming easy manner. I think he could be quite believable as the kind and honorable tudor who is in love with sweet Lucie.

Jonathan Pryce as Dr. Manette
Not sure he is quite frail enough but he will probably make a good father for Lucie.

Imelda Staunton as Miss Pross
As has been said before, no period drama is quite complete without an Imelda Staunton! Not sure she is quite old enough but she could definitely be a fierce protector for her "Ladybird", Lucie Manette

Alun Armstrong as Jerry Cruncher
No Charles Dickens adaptation is quite the same without Mr. Armstrong! This is delightful casting because I saw him in my mind while reading the book! He will be an amazing "master of the house"!

Andy Serkis as John Barsad
He was the perfect evil French villain in Little Dorrit and now ironically he is changing sides and taking on the role of the British scoundrel Barsad! I'm super excited by this casting!

David Suchet as Jarvis Lorry
He actually played John Barsad in A Tale Of Two Cities (1980) but I think he will be wonderful as the kind lawyer friend of Dr. Manette. I do wish he was playing one of the French characters though because his accents are a dream!

Brendan Coyle as Ernest Defarge
Wow! Bet you never expected he'd be cast in this role, especially as a Frenchman! Not sure he will be quite right but I always enjoy his roles.

Alex Kingston as Madame Defarge
Wow, she will be so fierce as Madame Defarge! And just imagine all those curls under a red cap! I wonder if she knows how to knit?

Charles Dance as Marquis St. Evermond
No Dickens film is quite the same without him either, he is so good in the villain roles! Perfectly aristocratic and evil!

And rumor is that Andrew Davies who did such an excellent job with Little Dorrit and Bleak House wrote the screenplay for this new miniseries. I approve but am a bit worried about some of the flashback scenes with the Marquis and Madame Defarge's family. 

Overall I'm just very excited about this upcoming miniseries!!!


Have you read A Tale Of Two Cities?
Do you approve of these cast choices?
What actors would be in your dream cast?

And by the way, Happy April Fools Day! ;)



Saturday, February 8, 2014

Charles Dickens Quote Quiz - Answers


A belated Happy 202nd Birthday to Charles Dickens!
And here are the answers to the Charles Dickens Quote Quiz that I posted last week.
You all did a fantastic job guessing and quite a few of you guessed all 16 novels correctly!


Charles Dickens Quotes Answers:

Quote Set #1
First Line: "There once lived, in a sequestered part of the county of Devonshire, one Mr Godfrey --------: a worthy gentleman, who, taking it into his head rather late in life that he must get married, and not being young enough or rich enough to aspire to the hand of a lady of fortune, had wedded an old flame out of mere attachment, who in her turn had taken him for the same reason. Thus two people who cannot afford to play cards for money, sometimes sit down to a quiet game for love."
Last Line: "The grass was green above the dead boy's grave, and trodden by feet so small and light, that not a daisy drooped its head beneath their pressure. Through all the spring and summertime, garlands of fresh flowers, wreathed by infant hands, rested on the stone; and, when the children came to change them lest they should wither and be pleasant to him no longer, their eyes filled with tears, and they spoke low and softly of their poor dead cousin."

Answer: Nicholas Nickleby

~*~

Quote Set #2
First Line: "LONDON. Michaelmas Term lately over, and the Lord Chancellor sitting in Lincoln’s Inn Hall. Implacable November weather. As much mud in the streets as if the waters had but newly retired from the face of the earth, and it would not be wonderful to meet a Megalosaurus, forty feet long or so, waddling like an elephantine lizard up Holborn Hill."
Last Line: "‘And don’t you know that you are prettier than you ever were?’  ‘I did not know that; I am not certain that I know it now. But I know that my dearest little pets are very pretty, and that my darling is very beautiful, and that my husband is very handsome, and that my guardian has the brightest and most benevolent face that ever was seen; and that they can very well do without much beauty in me — even supposing—.'"

Answer: Bleak House

~*~

Quote Set #3
First Line: "M----- was dead: to begin with. There is no doubt whatever about that. The register of his burial was signed by the clergyman, the clerk, the undertaker, and the chief mourner. S------ signed it. And S------'s name was good upon 'Change, for anything he chose to put his hand to. Old M----- was as dead as a door-nail."
Last Line: "He had no further intercourse with Spirits, but lived upon the Total Abstinence Principle, ever afterwards; and it was always said of him, that he knew how to keep Christmas well, if any man alive possessed the knowledge. May that be truly said of us, and all of us! And so, as Tiny Tim observed, God Bless Us, Every One."

Answer: A Christmas Carol

~*~

Quote Set #4
First Line: "The first ray of light which illumines the gloom, and converts into a dazzling brilliancy that obscurity in which the earlier history of the public career of the immortal P------- would appear to be involved, is derived from the perusal of the following entry in the Transactions of the P------- Club, which the editor of these papers feels the highest pleasure in laying before his readers, as a proof of the careful attention, indefatigable assiduity, and nice discrimination, with which his search among the multifarious documents confided to him has been conducted."
Last Line: "He is known by all the poor people about, who never fail to take their hats off, as he passes, with great respect. The children idolise him, and so indeed does the whole neighbourhood. Every year he repairs to a large family merry-making at Mr. W-----'s; on this, as on all other occasions, he is invariably attended by the faithful S--, between whom and his master there exists a steady and reciprocal attachment which nothing but death will terminate."

Answer: The Pickwick Papers

~*~

Quote Set #5
First Line: "Among other public buildings in a certain town, which for many reasons it will be prudent to refrain from mentioning, and to which I will assign no fictitious name, there is one anciently common to most towns, great or small: to wit, a workhouse; and in this workhouse was born; on a day and date which I need not trouble myself to repeat, inasmuch as it can be of no possible consequence to the reader, in this stage of the business at all events; the item of mortality whose name is prefixed to the head of this chapter."
Last Line: "Within the altar of the old village church there stands a white marble tablet, which bears as yet but one word: "A----." There is no coffin in that tomb; and may it be many, many years, before another name is placed above it! But, if the spirits of the Dead ever come back to earth, to visit spots hallowed by the love- the love beyond the grave- of those whom they knew in life, I believe that the shade of A---- sometimes hovers round that solemn nook. I believe it none the less because that nook is in a Church, and she was weak and erring."

Answer: Oliver Twist

~*~

Quote Set #6
First Line: "In these times of ours, though concerning the exact year there is no need to be precise, a boat of dirty and disreputable appearance, with two figures in it, floated on the Thames, between Southwark bridge which is of iron, and London Bridge which is of stone, as an autumn evening was closing in."
Last Line: "When the company disperse—by which time Mr and Mrs V-------- have had quite as much as they want of the honour, and the guests have had quite as much as THEY want of the other honour—M------- sees T------ home, shakes hands with him cordially at parting, and fares to the Temple, gaily."

Answer: Our Mutual Friend

~*~

Quote Set #7
First Line: "Thirty years ago, Marseilles lay burning in the sun, one day.  A blazing sun upon a fierce August day was no greater rarity in southern France then, than at any other time, before or since. Everything in Marseilles, and about Marseilles, had stared at the fervid sky, and been stared at in return, until a staring habit had become universal there. Strangers were stared out of countenance by staring white houses, staring white walls, staring white streets, staring tracts of arid road, staring hills from which verdure was burnt away. The only things to be seen not fixedly staring and glaring were the vines drooping under their load of grapes. These did occasionally wink a little, as the hot air barely moved their faint leaves."
Last Line: "They went quietly down into the roaring streets, inseparable and blessed; and as they passed along in sunshine and shade, the noisy and the eager, and the arrogant and the froward and the vain, fretted and chafed, and made their usual uproar."

Answer: Little Dorrit

~*~

Quote Set #8
First Line: "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way— in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only."
Last Line: "It is a far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done; it is a far, far better rest that I go to than I have ever known."

Answer: A Tale Of Two Cities

~*~

Quote Set #9
First Line: "In the year 1775, there stood upon the borders of Epping Forest, at a distance of about twelve miles from London—measuring from the Standard in Cornhill,' or rather from the spot on or near to which the Standard used to be in days of yore—a house of public entertainment called the Maypole; which fact was demonstrated to all such travellers as could neither read nor write (and at that time a vast number both of travellers and stay-at-homes were in this condition) by the emblem reared on the roadside over against the house, which, if not of those goodly proportions that Maypoles were wont to present in olden times, was a fair young ash, thirty feet in height, and straight as any arrow that ever English yeoman drew."
Last Line: "From that period (although he was supposed to be much affected by the death of Mr W----- senior), he constantly practised and improved himself in the vulgar tongue; and, as he was a mere infant for a raven when B----- was grey, he has very probably gone on talking to the present time."

Answer: Barnaby Rudge

~*~

Quote Set #10
First Line: "My father's family name being P-----, and my Christian name P-----, my infant tongue could make of both names nothing longer or more explicit than P--. So, I called myself P--, and came to be called P--."
Last Line: "I took her hand in mine, and we went out of the ruined place; and, as the morning mists had risen long ago when I first left the forge, so the evening mists were rising now, and in all the broad expanse of tranquil light they showed to me, I saw no shadow of another parting from her."

Answer: Great Expectations

~*~

Quote Set #11
First Line: "Whether I shall turn out to be the hero of my own life, or whether that station will be held by anybody else, these pages must show. To begin my life with the beginning of my life, I record that I was born (as I have been informed and believe) on a Friday, at twelve o'clock at night. It was remarked that the clock began to strike, and I began to cry, simultaneously."
Last Line: "My lamp burns low, and I have written far into the night; but the dear presence, without which I were nothing, bears me company.  O A----, O my soul, so may thy face be by me when I close my life indeed; so may I, when realities are melting from me, like the shadows which I now dismiss, still find thee near me, pointing upward!"

Answer: David Copperfield

~*~

Quote Set #12
First Line: "D----- sat in the corner of the darkened room in the great arm-chair by the bedside, and Son lay tucked up warm in a little basket bedstead, carefully disposed on a low settee immediately in front of the fire and close to it, as if his constitution were analogous to that of a muffin, and it was essential to toast him brown while he was very new."
Last Line: "Never from the mighty sea may voices rise too late, to come between us and the unseen region on the other shore! Better, far better, that they whispered of that region in our childish ears, and the swift river hurried us away!"

Answer: Dombey and Son

~*~

Quote Set #13
First Line: "Night is generally my time for walking. In the summer I often leave home early in the morning, and roam about fields and lanes all day, or even escape for days or weeks together; but, saving in the country, I seldom go out until after dark, though, Heaven be thanked, I love its light and feel the cheerfulness it sheds upon the earth, as much as any creature living."
Last Line: "Such are the changes which a few years bring about, and so do things pass away, like a tale that is told!"

Answer: The Old Curiosity Shop

~*~

Quote Set #14
First Line: "As no lady or gentleman, with any claims to polite breeding, can possibly sympathize with the C--------- Family without being first assured of the extreme antiquity of the race, it is a great satisfaction to know that it undoubtedly descended in a direct line from Adam and Eve; and was, in the very earliest times, closely connected with the agricultural interest. If it should ever be urged by grudging and malicious persons, that a C---------, in any period of the family history, displayed an overweening amount of family pride, surely the weakness will be considered not only pardonable but laudable, when the immense superiority of the house to the rest of mankind, in respect of this its ancient origin, is taken into account."
Last Line: "And coming from a garden, T--, bestrewn with flowers by children's hands, thy sister, little R---, as light of foot and heart as in old days, sits down beside thee. From the Present, and the Past, with which she is so tenderly entwined in all thy thoughts, thy strain soars onward to the Future. As it resounds within thee and without, the noble music, rolling round ye both, shuts out the grosser prospect of an earthly parting, and uplifts ye both to Heaven!"

Answer: Martin Chuzzlewit

~*~

Quote Set #15
First Line: "‘Now, what I want is, Facts.  Teach these boys and girls nothing but Facts.  Facts alone are wanted in life.  Plant nothing else, and root out everything else.  You can only form the minds of reasoning animals upon Facts: nothing else will ever be of any service to them.  This is the principle on which I bring up my own children, and this is the principle on which I bring up these children.  Stick to Facts, sir!’"
Last Line: "Dear reader!  It rests with you and me, whether, in our two fields of action, similar things shall be or not.  Let them be!  We shall sit with lighter bosoms on the hearth, to see the ashes of our fires turn gray and cold."

Answer: Hard Times

~*~

Quote Set #16
First Line: "An ancient English Cathedral Tower?  How can the ancient English Cathedral tower be here!  The well-known massive gray square tower of its old Cathedral?  How can that be here!  There is no spike of rusty iron in the air, between the eye and it, from any point of the real prospect.  What is the spike that intervenes, and who has set it up?"
Last Line: “Or,” pursued P----, in a kind of despondent rapture, “or if I was to deny that I came to this town to see and hear you, sir, what would it avail me?  Or if I was to deny—”

Answer: The Mystery Of Edwin Drood

~*~

Players Scores:
Christine - 160 points
Kiri Liz - 160 points
Miss Sneyd - 160 points
Melody - 110 points
Mizzie-Me - 110 points
Birdie - 100 points
Samantha - 80 points
Emma Jane - 70 points
Livia Rachelle - 70 points
Ginny (Anonymous) - 40 points


Which Dickens novels have you read? 
Which is your favorite?



Saturday, February 1, 2014

Charles Dickens Quote Quiz


Friday, February 7th will be Charles Dickens's 202nd birthday! In honor of this great author the game this week is all about his clever stories. Below are pairs of First Lines and Last Lines from each of his major works and you get to guess which title goes with each set. I'm leaving you a list of Charles Dickens works to choose from so you can match them up more easily. 

To Play: Read each set of quotes below and leave a comment guessing which Charles Dickens Work each set comes from. Guess without looking up the answers. I'll respond with your score. 

Scoring: Ten points for each correctly guessed quote set. A high score of 160 points can be earned.

Charles Dickens Works: A Christmas Carol, A Tale of Two Cities, Bleak House, Barnaby Rudge, David Copperfield, Dombey and Son, Great Expectations, Hard Times, Little Dorrit Martin Chuzzlewit, Nicholas Nickleby, Oliver Twist, Our Mutual Friend, Pickwick Papers, The Mystery of Edwin Drood, The Old Curiosity Shop


Charles Dickens Quotes:

Quote Set #1
First Line: "There once lived, in a sequestered part of the county of Devonshire, one Mr Godfrey --------: a worthy gentleman, who, taking it into his head rather late in life that he must get married, and not being young enough or rich enough to aspire to the hand of a lady of fortune, had wedded an old flame out of mere attachment, who in her turn had taken him for the same reason. Thus two people who cannot afford to play cards for money, sometimes sit down to a quiet game for love."
Last Line: "The grass was green above the dead boy's grave, and trodden by feet so small and light, that not a daisy drooped its head beneath their pressure. Through all the spring and summertime, garlands of fresh flowers, wreathed by infant hands, rested on the stone; and, when the children came to change them lest they should wither and be pleasant to him no longer, their eyes filled with tears, and they spoke low and softly of their poor dead cousin."

Quote Set #2
First Line: "LONDON. Michaelmas Term lately over, and the Lord Chancellor sitting in Lincoln’s Inn Hall. Implacable November weather. As much mud in the streets as if the waters had but newly retired from the face of the earth, and it would not be wonderful to meet a Megalosaurus, forty feet long or so, waddling like an elephantine lizard up Holborn Hill."
Last Line: "‘And don’t you know that you are prettier than you ever were?’  ‘I did not know that; I am not certain that I know it now. But I know that my dearest little pets are very pretty, and that my darling is very beautiful, and that my husband is very handsome, and that my guardian has the brightest and most benevolent face that ever was seen; and that they can very well do without much beauty in me — even supposing—.'"

Quote Set #3
First Line: "M----- was dead: to begin with. There is no doubt whatever about that. The register of his burial was signed by the clergyman, the clerk, the undertaker, and the chief mourner. S------ signed it. And S------'s name was good upon 'Change, for anything he chose to put his hand to. Old M----- was as dead as a door-nail."
Last Line: "He had no further intercourse with Spirits, but lived upon the Total Abstinence Principle, ever afterwards; and it was always said of him, that he knew how to keep Christmas well, if any man alive possessed the knowledge. May that be truly said of us, and all of us! And so, as Tiny Tim observed, God Bless Us, Every One."

Quote Set #4
First Line: "The first ray of light which illumines the gloom, and converts into a dazzling brilliancy that obscurity in which the earlier history of the public career of the immortal P------- would appear to be involved, is derived from the perusal of the following entry in the Transactions of the P------- Club, which the editor of these papers feels the highest pleasure in laying before his readers, as a proof of the careful attention, indefatigable assiduity, and nice discrimination, with which his search among the multifarious documents confided to him has been conducted."
Last Line: "He is known by all the poor people about, who never fail to take their hats off, as he passes, with great respect. The children idolise him, and so indeed does the whole neighbourhood. Every year he repairs to a large family merry-making at Mr. W-----'s; on this, as on all other occasions, he is invariably attended by the faithful S--, between whom and his master there exists a steady and reciprocal attachment which nothing but death will terminate."

Quote Set #5
First Line: "Among other public buildings in a certain town, which for many reasons it will be prudent to refrain from mentioning, and to which I will assign no fictitious name, there is one anciently common to most towns, great or small: to wit, a workhouse; and in this workhouse was born; on a day and date which I need not trouble myself to repeat, inasmuch as it can be of no possible consequence to the reader, in this stage of the business at all events; the item of mortality whose name is prefixed to the head of this chapter."
Last Line: "Within the altar of the old village church there stands a white marble tablet, which bears as yet but one word: "A----." There is no coffin in that tomb; and may it be many, many years, before another name is placed above it! But, if the spirits of the Dead ever come back to earth, to visit spots hallowed by the love- the love beyond the grave- of those whom they knew in life, I believe that the shade of A---- sometimes hovers round that solemn nook. I believe it none the less because that nook is in a Church, and she was weak and erring."

Quote Set #6
First Line: "In these times of ours, though concerning the exact year there is no need to be precise, a boat of dirty and disreputable appearance, with two figures in it, floated on the Thames, between Southwark bridge which is of iron, and London Bridge which is of stone, as an autumn evening was closing in."
Last Line: "When the company disperse—by which time Mr and Mrs V-------- have had quite as much as they want of the honour, and the guests have had quite as much as THEY want of the other honour—M------- sees T------ home, shakes hands with him cordially at parting, and fares to the Temple, gaily."

Quote Set #7
First Line: "Thirty years ago, Marseilles lay burning in the sun, one day.  A blazing sun upon a fierce August day was no greater rarity in southern France then, than at any other time, before or since. Everything in Marseilles, and about Marseilles, had stared at the fervid sky, and been stared at in return, until a staring habit had become universal there. Strangers were stared out of countenance by staring white houses, staring white walls, staring white streets, staring tracts of arid road, staring hills from which verdure was burnt away. The only things to be seen not fixedly staring and glaring were the vines drooping under their load of grapes. These did occasionally wink a little, as the hot air barely moved their faint leaves."
Last Line: "They went quietly down into the roaring streets, inseparable and blessed; and as they passed along in sunshine and shade, the noisy and the eager, and the arrogant and the froward and the vain, fretted and chafed, and made their usual uproar."

Quote Set #8
First Line: "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way— in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only."
Last Line: "It is a far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done; it is a far, far better rest that I go to than I have ever known."

Quote Set #9
First Line: "In the year 1775, there stood upon the borders of Epping Forest, at a distance of about twelve miles from London—measuring from the Standard in Cornhill,' or rather from the spot on or near to which the Standard used to be in days of yore—a house of public entertainment called the Maypole; which fact was demonstrated to all such travellers as could neither read nor write (and at that time a vast number both of travellers and stay-at-homes were in this condition) by the emblem reared on the roadside over against the house, which, if not of those goodly proportions that Maypoles were wont to present in olden times, was a fair young ash, thirty feet in height, and straight as any arrow that ever English yeoman drew."
Last Line: "From that period (although he was supposed to be much affected by the death of Mr W----- senior), he constantly practised and improved himself in the vulgar tongue; and, as he was a mere infant for a raven when B----- was grey, he has very probably gone on talking to the present time."

Quote Set #10
First Line: "My father's family name being P-----, and my Christian name P-----, my infant tongue could make of both names nothing longer or more explicit than P--. So, I called myself P--, and came to be called P--."
Last Line: "I took her hand in mine, and we went out of the ruined place; and, as the morning mists had risen long ago when I first left the forge, so the evening mists were rising now, and in all the broad expanse of tranquil light they showed to me, I saw no shadow of another parting from her."

Quote Set #11
First Line: "Whether I shall turn out to be the hero of my own life, or whether that station will be held by anybody else, these pages must show. To begin my life with the beginning of my life, I record that I was born (as I have been informed and believe) on a Friday, at twelve o'clock at night. It was remarked that the clock began to strike, and I began to cry, simultaneously."
Last Line: "My lamp burns low, and I have written far into the night; but the dear presence, without which I were nothing, bears me company.  O A----, O my soul, so may thy face be by me when I close my life indeed; so may I, when realities are melting from me, like the shadows which I now dismiss, still find thee near me, pointing upward!"

Quote Set #12
First Line: "D----- sat in the corner of the darkened room in the great arm-chair by the bedside, and Son lay tucked up warm in a little basket bedstead, carefully disposed on a low settee immediately in front of the fire and close to it, as if his constitution were analogous to that of a muffin, and it was essential to toast him brown while he was very new."
Last Line: "Never from the mighty sea may voices rise too late, to come between us and the unseen region on the other shore! Better, far better, that they whispered of that region in our childish ears, and the swift river hurried us away!"

Quote Set #13
First Line: "Night is generally my time for walking. In the summer I often leave home early in the morning, and roam about fields and lanes all day, or even escape for days or weeks together; but, saving in the country, I seldom go out until after dark, though, Heaven be thanked, I love its light and feel the cheerfulness it sheds upon the earth, as much as any creature living."
Last Line: "Such are the changes which a few years bring about, and so do things pass away, like a tale that is told!"

Quote Set #14
First Line: "As no lady or gentleman, with any claims to polite breeding, can possibly sympathize with the C--------- Family without being first assured of the extreme antiquity of the race, it is a great satisfaction to know that it undoubtedly descended in a direct line from Adam and Eve; and was, in the very earliest times, closely connected with the agricultural interest. If it should ever be urged by grudging and malicious persons, that a C---------, in any period of the family history, displayed an overweening amount of family pride, surely the weakness will be considered not only pardonable but laudable, when the immense superiority of the house to the rest of mankind, in respect of this its ancient origin, is taken into account."
Last Line: "And coming from a garden, T--, bestrewn with flowers by children's hands, thy sister, little R---, as light of foot and heart as in old days, sits down beside thee. From the Present, and the Past, with which she is so tenderly entwined in all thy thoughts, thy strain soars onward to the Future. As it resounds within thee and without, the noble music, rolling round ye both, shuts out the grosser prospect of an earthly parting, and uplifts ye both to Heaven!"

Quote Set #15
First Line: "‘Now, what I want is, Facts.  Teach these boys and girls nothing but Facts.  Facts alone are wanted in life.  Plant nothing else, and root out everything else.  You can only form the minds of reasoning animals upon Facts: nothing else will ever be of any service to them.  This is the principle on which I bring up my own children, and this is the principle on which I bring up these children.  Stick to Facts, sir!’"
Last Line: "Dear reader!  It rests with you and me, whether, in our two fields of action, similar things shall be or not.  Let them be!  We shall sit with lighter bosoms on the hearth, to see the ashes of our fires turn gray and cold."

Quote Set #16
First Line: "An ancient English Cathedral Tower?  How can the ancient English Cathedral tower be here!  The well-known massive gray square tower of its old Cathedral?  How can that be here!  There is no spike of rusty iron in the air, between the eye and it, from any point of the real prospect.  What is the spike that intervenes, and who has set it up?"
Last Line: “Or,” pursued P----, in a kind of despondent rapture, “or if I was to deny that I came to this town to see and hear you, sir, what would it avail me?  Or if I was to deny—”

~*~

Happy guessing!




Saturday, June 29, 2013

Guess The Charles Dickens Novel Game - Answers!


These are the answers to the Guess The Charles Dickens Novel from last week. Thanks for playing everyone! :)


Guess The Charles Dickens Novel!

#1. Doyce, Meagles, Flintwich, Gowan - Little Dorrit
#2. Nancy, Rose, Bill, Brownlow - Oliver Twist
#3. Nicodemus, Mortimer, Sloppy, Rokesmith - Our Mutual Friend
#4. Flight, Boythorn, Ada, Woodcourt - Bleak House
#5. Belle, Marley, Dilber, Fred - A Christmas Carol
#6. Jerry, Pross, Lucie, Cruncher - A Tale Of Two Cities
#7. Landless, Jasper, Crisparkle, Rosa - The Mystery Of Edwin Drood
#8. Pumblechook, Herbert, Biddy, Wemmick - Great Expectations
#9. Winkle, Snodgrass, Sam, Jingle - The Pickwick Papers
#10. Squeers, Ralph, Cheeryble, Kate - Nicholas Nickleby
#11. Trotwood, Murdstone, Dora, Wilkins - David Copperfield
#12. Florence, Cuttle, Lucretia, Carker - Dombey and Son
#13. Josiah, Sissy, Gradgrind, Blackpool - Hard Times
#14. Kit, Quilp, Jarley, Trent - The Old Curiosity Shop
#15. Solomon, Varden, Dolly, Haredale - Barnaby Runge
#16. Graham, Pecksniff, Pinch, Charity - Martin Chuzzlewit


Players Scores:
Karen from Canada - 160 points
Miss Dashwood - 160 points
Mizzie-Me - 160 points
birdienl - 140 points
Elisabeth Grace Foley - 140 points
Essy Romaine - 140 points
Melody - 140 points
Anonymous - 120 points
Kiri Liz - 120 points
Emma Jane - 100 points
Sadie Ann - 90 points
Emily - 70 points
CreativityStartsHere - 50 points


Saturday, June 22, 2013

Guess The Charles Dickens Novel Game!


This game is like the Guess The Jane Austen Novel Game that I posted a few weeks ago. Below are groups of four names (first names and surnames)  each from a major work by Charles Dickens. The names I chose should make it a bit trickier to guess which novel each group refers to but not too hard.

To Play: Guess which Charles Dickens story the groups of four names below refer to. Leave your guesses in a comment. I'll respond with your score. Guess as many times as you wish. Answers will be posted next Saturday.

Helpful Hint: At the very bottom of this post is a list on the sixteen major works by Charles Dickens that will be the answers to the clues. You are welcome to use that list if you wish but you can try playing without looking at the list for ideas.

Scoring: 10 points for each correctly guessed novel or unfinished story. High score of 160 points can be earned!


Guess The Charles Dickens Novel!

#1. Doyce, Meagles, Flintwich, Gowan
#2. Nancy, Rose, Bill, Brownlow
#3. Nicodemus, Mortimer, Sloppy, Rokesmith
#4. Flight, Boythorn, Ada, Woodcourt
#5. Belle, Marley, Dilber, Fred
#6. Jerry, Pross, Lucie, Cruncher
#7. Landless, Jasper, Crisparkle, Rosa
#8. Pumblechook, Herbert, Biddy, Wemmick
#9. Winkle, Snodgrass, Sam, Jingle
#10. Squeers, Ralph, Cheeryble, Kate
#11. Trotwood, Murdstone, Dora, Wilkins
#12. Florence, Cuttle, Lucretia, Carker
#13. Josiah, Sissy, Gradgrind, Blackpool
#14. Kit, Quilp, Jarley, Trent
#15. Solomon, Varden, Dolly, Haredale
#16. Graham, Pecksniff, Pinch, Charity


Enjoy! ;)












Dickens Major Works: A Christmas Carol, A Tale of Two Cities, Barnaby Rudge, Bleak House, David Copperfield, Dombey and Son, Great Expectations, Hard Times, Little Dorrit, Martin Chuzzlewit, Nicholas Nickleby, Oliver Twist, Our Mutual Friend, The Mystery of Edwin Drood, The Old Curiosity Shop, The Pickwick Papers 

Saturday, February 23, 2013

Period Drama Caption Contest!

This past week I re-pinned a Bleak House screencap onto my Charles Dickens board on Pinterest and Miss Elizabeth Bennet commented on the photo mentioning that it would make a great photo to use in a Caption Contest. So the idea to use this photo wasn't originally mine but Miss Elizabeth gave her consent since she's a bit busy right now with her Villains Tournament.

Rules: Look at the screencap below and think up an interesting caption. You may enter up to three captions by leaving a comment. All captions must be family friendly, in other words I will not accept captions containing foul language or questionable themes.
On Thursday (February 28th) I'll put up a poll for ya'll to vote for your favorite captions. The winner with be announced next Saturday (March 2nd).
Captions can be something like a quote, lyrics from a song, something Mr. Tulkinghorn is thinking / saying or something someone else is saying to him. Go as silly or as serious as you wish! And it doesn't really matter if you've seen Bleak House or not, just have fun! :)

Need A Captions For This:




Can't wait to see what ya'll come up with!











P.S. You simple must check out Miss Elizabeth's Villain Tournament featuring all the worst villains for our favorite period dramas! Round 1 will start February 27th!!!

Period Drama Villains Tournament

Thursday, February 14, 2013

Valentine's Day Fun


"...Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee." - Jeremiah 31:3

Hope you're all eating scrumptious chocolate and taking the opportunity this holiday offers to tell remind family and friends how much you love them! Here's some Valentine's Day fun from me to you!


Last year I created a fun Valentine's Day video card for a dear friend that featured quotes of love by Charles Dickens couples. I know she won't mind me sharing this video with all of you this year. 



In the same style this year I put together a Valentine's Day video featuring quotes of love from Elizabeth Gaskell couples. This one is rather long because I ended up getting a bit carried away (how can you help it when there's so many photos of Mr. Thornton and William Bell to choose from?) but I hope you enjoy it!



And here's a fun little video from BoredShortsTV that shows the funny side of Valentine's Day! And also check out their fun "Proposal" video. :-)



Hope you have a very Happy Valentine's Day my friends! :-)


Which Dickens and Gaskell couples are you favorites?

Are you doing anything special for Valentine's Day?

What is you favorite kind of chocolate? (I like peanut butter and caramel filled!)

Saturday, January 19, 2013

Adventurous Gentlemen of Period Dramas Game - Answers!

Photo Bonus Question: Which period drama do these dashing soldiers appear in?
Answer: Pride and Prejudice (1995)
These are the answers to the Adventurous Gentlemen of Period Dramas Game from last week. Thanks for playing! Sorry if this game was more difficult for some. I try to vary the games and got rather carried away this time.

Jane Austen Characters
#1. CAIARVN HLEAPTIL (2 words) - Captain Harville (Persuasion)
#2. CTEROEL FOSLON  (2 words) - Colonel Foster (Pride and Prejudice)
#3. AARTLOF CDMIR  (2 words) - Admiral Croft (Persuasion)
#4. GLNALER TEYIEN  (2 words) - General Tilney (Northanger Abbey)
#5. WLICERI PAMLI  (2 words) - William Price (Mansfield Park)
#6. CNEYAIN FTCREDAPK TILERI  (3 words) - Captain Frederick Tilney (Northanger Abbey)
#7. SDI JLOR MNETIDHON  (3 words) - Sir John Middleton (Sense and Sensibility)
#8. CRTEAIN CRAPTA  (2 words) - Captain Carter (Pride and Prejudice)

Charles Dickens Characters
#9. CAWPTDA JAINA HMESON  (3 words) - Captain James Hawdon (Bleak House)
#10. JADN BOHARS  (2 words) - John Barsad (A Tale of Two Cities)
#11. CAUTTIN CPTALE  (2 words) - Captain Cuttle (Dombey and Son)
#12. GGUNCE RELOEOREWL  (2 words) - George Rouncewell (Bleak House)
#13. DORRTO ALOCT WLANCOUOD  (3 words) - Doctor Allan Woodcourt (Bleak House)

Robert Louis Stevenson Characters
#14. IANLDE HSSRA  (2 words) - Israel Hands (Treasure Island)
#15. JKI HNSAWMI  (2 words) - Jim Hawkins (Treasure Island)
#16. CAMOLLN SPTTAIET  (2 words) - Captain Smollett (Treasure Island)
#17. BONIL BSLYE  (2 words) - Billy Bones (Treasure Island)

Elizabeth Gaskell Characters
#18. CROWAPT BAINN  (2 words) - Captain Brown (Cranford)
#19. CTAINON LXAPEN  (2 words) - Captain Lennox (North and South)
#20. MDOAR GONORJ  (2 words) - Major Gordon (Cranford)
#21. FERICALEK HRED  (2 words) - Frederick Hale (North and South)



Trivia Questions:
#22. Which character in Emma served in the army before settling down in Highbury?  - Mr. Weston 
#23. What war is the Horatio Hornblower series set during? - Napoleonic War
#24. Which two characters in Little Women serve in the Army during the American Civil War? - Mr. March and John Brooke
#25. What war do the gentlemen in the Downton Abbey TV series serve in? - World War I


Players Scores:
Livia Rachelle - 77 points
Melody - 69 points
Issy - 60 points
birdienl - 59 points
BatZion - 57 points
Kiri Liz - 55 points
Miss Elizabeth Bennet - 49 points
Hamlette - 25 points
Marissa Stangl - 15 points



Saturday, January 12, 2013

Adventurous Gentlemen of Period Dramas Game

Photo Bonus Question: Which period drama do these dashing soldiers appear in?

Many of our favorite period dramas feature adventurous gentlemen that serve in the Navy or Army of their day or are even swashbuckling pirates! This game features scrambled names of adventurous gentlemen from various stories by Classic Literature authors. There are also four Trivia Questions and a Photo Bonus Question to answer for extra points!


To Play: Unscramble the characters' names below and leave a comment telling your guesses and which period drama / story each character is from. You can earn extra points by answering the four Trivia Questions below to the best of your ability - no looking up answers - and the Bonus Question above. I'll respond with your score. Guess as many times as you wish on the characters. The answers will be posted next Saturday.

Scoring: One point each for each correctly unscrambled word/name. One point for each correctly guessed period drama / story. Four points for correctly answering the Bonus Question above. Five points for each correctly answered Trivia Question. A total of 90 points can be earned!


Jane Austen Characters
#1. CAIARVN HLEAPTIL (2 words)
#2. CTEROEL FOSLON  (2 words)
#3. AARTLOF CDMIR  (2 words)
#4. GLNALER TEYIEN  (2 words)
#5. WLICERI PAMLI  (2 words)
#6. CNEYAIN FTCREDAPK TILERI  (3 words)
#7. SDI JLOR MNETIDHON  (3 words)
#8. CRTEAIN CRAPTA  (2 words)

Charles Dickens Characters
#9. CAWPTDA JAINA HMESON  (3 words)
#10. JADN BOHARS  (2 words)
#11. CAUTTIN CPTALE  (2 words)
#12. GGUNCE RELOEOREWL  (2 words)
#13. DORRTO ALOCT WLANCOUOD  (3 words)

Robert Louis Stevenson Characters
#14. IANLDE HSSRA  (2 words)
#15. JKI HNSAWMI  (2 words)
#16. CAMOLLN SPTTAIET  (2 words)
#17. BONIL BSLYE  (2 words)

Elizabeth Gaskell Characters
#18. CROWAPT BAINN  (2 words)
#19. CTAINON LXAPEN  (2 words)
#20. MDOAR GONORJ  (2 words)
#21. FERICALEK HRED  (2 words)



Trivia Questions:
#22. Which character in Emma served in the army before settling down in Highbury?
#23. What war is the Horatio Hornblower series set during?
#24. Which two characters in Little Women serve in the Army during the American Civil War?
#25. What war do the gentlemen in the Downton Abbey TV series serve in?


Don't forget the Photo Bonus Question and to list the Period Drama / story each character come from!

Have fun!



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