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The Chimes
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Petra wrote: "Dickens reading The Chimes to his friendsThis is a pencil drawing done by Daniel Maclise on the evening when Dickens read The Chimes to his friends, just before publication ..."
Kathleen and Jean, I hadn’t noticed the two faces in the picture by Daniel Maclise posted by Petra! I would say that they are reflections in a mirror, but there is nobody in that group that match with the image of the two people in the mirror. Weird :)
The more I think about it, the more I like your idea that they might be servants, Jean. That was my first thought, because you had just said in a previous post that you would have loved to be a servant peeping around the corner. Then I thought ghosts. I agree with Milena that it looks like people in a mirror. But then I thought maybe they stood for the audience Dickens was writing to in his mind. This brought me around to servants again. I don't believe the folks he is reading to are in Trotty's social class. Maybe he kept some like Trotty in mind as he read?
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The clearer one in the front could be a bust, but none of them are depicted as plainly as the 3 friends in the foreground. Here's the whole sketch again:
What wonderful speculations on those figures in the sketch! I just took it to be a painting on the wall, partially sketched in to fill the space behind Forster but I love the idea of them being the goblins of the story being in the room with the listeners. It brings the story to a life beyond the pages.
Milena wrote: "What a beautiful illustration by George Alfred Williams, Jean. It really reminds me when the Bells say to Trotty: “Follow her to desperation.” in the third quarter...."I also really like the two illustrations by George Alfred Williams that we found for this story. He's a wonderful illustrator.
His works are rather gothic and add an atmosphere to what he is drawing.
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I noticed those odd figures, too. I thought they looked like goblins from the story. Looking at the whole picture again, Maclise is looking at the wall/mirror/painting/something where these goblins are. I wonder if he sketched what he saw in his mind as he listened to Dickens read the story. Maybe he thought it would be fun to include some goblins amongst the listeners that night? A playful touch, maybe.
Wasn't Maclise one of the illustrators for The Chimes? I can't remember if the illustrations were ready when Dickens did this reading or if he had only the text.
Wasn't Maclise one of the illustrators for The Chimes? I can't remember if the illustrations were ready when Dickens did this reading or if he had only the text.
I finished it yesterday. I did like it but Lord it was depressing! So glad the end few pages were happy or I think I'd have dissolved!!I don't have any comments to make because at times I was a bit confused by the language and what Dickens was saying. I really enjoyed reading all the comments here. It explained a lot of things to me. Petra's summation was excellent and I got a lot from them.
Fascinating about the ghostly faces - I really want them to be the goblins!
Bionic Jean wrote: "You found them both Petra :) I hadn't heard of George Alfred Williams, but will be on the lookout for him now!"I couldn't have posted them without you, Jean, as I couldn't re-find them on the internet. LOL. This was a team effort.
Teresa wrote: "I finished it yesterday. I did like it but Lord it was depressing! So glad the end few pages were happy or I think I'd have dissolved!!I don't have any comments to make because at times I was a bi..."
Teresa, I'm glad you finished it and enjoyed it in the end. It is an uplifting story and one comes away with a good feeling about people and the changes we could make, together.
I'm happy that my summaries helped. Thank you.
I wondered if there had been any film adaptations of The Chimes. There were two silent films made in 1914, but sadly they are both lost films. In 1999, there was a clay animation released with a voiceover by Derek Jacobi, which is on YouTube! I've just watched this and I think it starts off very well, adapting the start of the story quite faithfully, but then rushes through the later sections with only a couple of minutes devoted to Trotty's visions, so that the whole thing doesn't really make sense.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GpbmI...
Thank you for all the commentary and images. It has helped me better understand the story. I also enjoyed the claymation even with Trotty's vision/dream shortened.I had never read this story before and struggled how dark it was in the middle, but really enjoyed the last quarter and how it ended.
Sandy wrote: "Thank you for all the commentary and images. It has helped me better understand the story. I also enjoyed the claymation even with Trotty's vision/dream shortened.I had never read this story befo..."
I agree Sandy. The darkness nearly made me stop reading. It was certainly depressing.
Judy, thank you for the claymation video. I had posted it earlier but it got lost in the wonderful comments we had here. It's a cute animation, even with the shortened ending. I hope others give it a watch. Sandy, it's great to hear that you finished and enjoyed the ending. One can count on Charles Dickens to give us a happy ending in his Christmas stories (at least, in the first two....I haven't read the others)
A Christmas Carol is a major part of my life. I've loved it since my youth. It has deep meaning to me.
Curt, Christmas wouldn't be the same without A Christmas Carol in one form or another. I watch the movie every year and read the book almost as often. It really has become a true part of the Christmas season for so many.
Petra wrote: "Judy, thank you for the claymation video. I had posted it earlier but it got lost in the wonderful comments we had here. It's a cute animation, even with the shortened ending. I hope others give it..."Sorry Petra, I must have missed your post, but as you say there have been so many great comments!
No, I thank you, Judy! The video is a fun element, despite the rushed ending. It's good to post the link again. Thank you for bringing this back to our attention. It's a wonderful way to end this read.
I love this sketch. I had not heard of it until now. I'm so thankful Maclise wanted to "doodle" while he listened. what a treasure to have now 150 years later.The ghostly figures to the left look like goblins of the bells to me. That would make sense that Maclise would draw them into the scene while he was listening.
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Bionic Jean, "Dickens Duchess"
(last edited Jan 18, 2022 08:45AM)
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So thanks to everyone for raising the profile on The Chimes on Goodreads. It's not a favourite by Charles Dickens, and quite a few readers are inclined to give up before the best bit! Hopefully now we know better :)
Thank you especially to Petra, for showing us the heart of this tale, and just what message Charles Dickens wanted us all to learn. And doing it in such an interesting way, with so many added treats. Your lead has been stellar, Petra! I think every single one of us will have gained a lot from this read, and learned something new :) Already l'm looking forward to the third Christmas book next year, The Cricket on the Hearth, as that one is delightful, and fun from the start :) But we'll have lots of other reads before that one.
I'll leave this thread in the "current reads" folder for a few days, just in case others want to comment, and then it will be in our novellas folder, but still open to new comments.
I've thoroughly enjoyed this discussion. Petra, you've shared such interesting information on The Chimes. Thanks for your time and effort, especially during the holidays. ☺️
Thank you! I had such a fun time leading this lively read. It's been a wonderful experience (I recommend leading a read) and a lot of fun to spend time with everyone. Your insights and comments gave this story so much significance. Thank you all for taking time out of your holidays to join in. See you next year for the next Dickens Christmas story.
Petra wrote: "Thank you! I had such a fun time leading this lively read. It's been a wonderful experience (I recommend leading a read) and a lot of fun to spend time with everyone. Your insights and comments gav..."Thank you for all of your hard work, Petra. This read has been so enjoyable with your leadership as well as Jean's, and all of the contributions by the members. And thank you for recommending John Forster's The Life of Charles Dickens: The Illustrated Edition. I purchased a used edition online for the incredible price of $5. It was defined as "Good", but it was in perfect condition. It is beautiful, and I can't wait to read it.
With all of the beautiful illustrations that have been posted... Petra and Jean, do you know if there is a book devoted to Charles Green's illustrations of Charles Dickens' novels? I love his style and would love all of his illustrations in one place.
Thank you, Shirley. It was a pleasure to lead this read. The input from everyone made this a special time for me. I think this edition might be what you are looking for:
The Chimes
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Bionic Jean, "Dickens Duchess"
(last edited Jan 21, 2022 08:50AM)
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But it's a beautiful book if you can find a copy, Shirley, quite large, with good quality, semi-glossy paper, and gold lettering on the cloth cover. That image is my actual book too, which I scanned and entered on the GR database a couple of years ago :) The pages haven't tanned at all, even though it was published over a hundred years ago! I do wonder how well most of our books will last today :/
I'd like to find one with the illustrations by George Alfred Williams which Petra discovered, but so far they are all in the USA, with ridiculous postage here :(
Shirley (stampartiste) wrote: "Petra wrote: "Thank you! I had such a fun time leading this lively read. It's been a wonderful experience (I recommend leading a read) and a lot of fun to spend time with everyone. Your insights an..."
It wasn't hard work. It was a tremendously enjoyable read. Thanks for the opportunity.
Jean, I had a look for a copy with the George Alfred Williams illustrations as well. The one reasonably priced copy I found stated that it had some missing illustrations. Maybe one day a reasonably priced copy will appear. If it does, I'll keep you posted.
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Petra and Jean... thank you for referencing the Charles Green illustrated edition of The Chimes. I have found several reasonably-priced ones here in the States that I can obtain for less than $20 delivered price. So I'm thrilled. Thank you.Jean, I did look up the George Alfred Williams illustrated edition on several online sites here in the U.S. The only one that quoted shipping to the UK was eBay. One very nice edition was only $10. Most of the shipping cost from various sellers on eBay was less than $20 (I don't know what that translates to in your currency). I wish you much success in finding a nice edition at a reasonable price.
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Petra wrote: "And we begin.....I hope everyone enjoys this story. Happy Reading!!"
Greetings, Petra from the future.....Christmas 2023!
I did not have these illustrations in my book. They are awesome. And Dickens tells us up front this is a story about "goblins" and not "spirits", so that must have informed his readers there was something new here.
Bionic Jean Is it correct for me to hit "reply" as I am doing here when reading a book in a past discussion? Alternative: scroll down to comments?
Lee, I'm glad you are commenting! It's great that these threads are never closed. Personally, I prefer the "reply" method because then I know what is being commented on. It's helpful to copy the particular comment you are commenting on into the italics of the "reply" post. When that is cut off, it's sometimes hard to put context to the reply.
(did that make sense?....it's weird wording. LOL)
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Isn't it funny how our notifications appear?!! Thanks, Jean and Lee.
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Dickensians!
Books mentioned in this topic
The Chimes (other topics)The Chimes (other topics)
The Life of Charles Dickens (other topics)
The Cricket on the Hearth (other topics)
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George Alfred Williams (other topics)Charles Dickens (other topics)
George Alfred Williams (other topics)
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What a beautiful illustration by George Alfred Williams, Jean. It really reminds me when the Bells say to Trotty: “Follow her to desperation.” in the third quarter. And in the fourth quarter, Trotty follows Meg to the river, “To that portal of eternity” , as Dickens calls it. I must say that I see something supernatural in the picture. Petra described it so well when she wrote: “Very intense and with a spooky aspect that brings power to them.” Then Trotty says that sentence: “I know that we must TRUST and HOPE” that breaks the spell of desperation, and the chimes begin to ring the joy peals for a happier New Year, and that dreary place vanish.