Dickensians! discussion
This topic is about
No Thoroughfare
Dramatic Dickens! Year
>
No Thoroughfare (hosted by Lee)
Bionic Jean wrote: 😊"Breakneck Stairs" is an actual place; I suspect Charles Dickens inserted the hyphen for emphasis. It is in Gree..."Thank you Jean for supplying another photo. I don't believe it is the same place Dickens was referencing, but who knows?
S U M M A R Y Sunday, July 21 "EXIT WILDING"
Wilding decides to visit the Foundling Hospital to uncover as much information as he can about the two orphans and the adoption of the 1st and true Walter Wilding. The Registrar confirms everything Sarah the Housekeeper has told him. Truly and to him tragically, he is an unknowing imposter.
The theme and title of the novel begins to reappear in the story. This is Wilding’s first “no thoroughfare” in trying to determine who adopted the original orphan. Next, he goes to the address listed in the Registrar’s records for the address of the adopting lady at Lime-Tree Lodge. He discovers the house no longer exists, which for him he considers his second “no thoroughfare”. Finally, he seeks the Reverend John Harker, listed as the lady’s pastor. The pastor is dead. This is Wildings third “No Thoroughfare”.
He decides to make his will immediately, in despair of finding the original Walter but feeling this is his only hope to make things right in the future: he will leave the entirety of his personal estate to the true Walter Wilding. Upon Wilding the merchant’s death, if the original man is not found, there will be a legacy to the Foundling Hospital. That very evening he invites the Obenreizer party, including Miss Marguerite and Vendale to dine with him.
Vendale is overcome with love for the young woman, yet there is a kind of dance going on with guardian Madame Dor’s broad back blocking his approach, and Obenreizer standing right at Vendale’s side to prevent him getting close to her. A romance is blooming!
Wilding and Vendale try to understand the motivations of Obenreizer who appears to be a very complicated person not entirely trustworthy. Here we have a triad of male characters to analyze: Vendale, Wilding and Obenreizer. Joey Ladle enters the circle of men surrounding Ward Marguerite. Again, Joey’s shares and superstitious ideas regarding the future. Joey says to Marguerite ”You’ll change the luck time about, Miss. . . It’s such as you in the place that can bring round the luck of the place.”
Meanwhile, we see poor Mr. Wilding’s health deteriorate rapidly, defeated as he is emotionally and spiritually by all the no thoroughfares. Is there another touch of the gothic here, as he is “haunted by twin ghosts”? The kind, loving and gentle Wilding despairs that the “lost” Walter Wilding will never be found. Months pass and he takes to his bed, depressed and confused. He slips back in his mind to his past where he had been a lonely orphan with his nurse Sally to attend him. Sarah Goldstraw the housekeeper and the original Sally merge in his mind. Here we have a new mistaken identity, as Sally and Mrs. Sarah Goldsmith become one.
What is the significance of his last dying and “favorite” sentence, spoken in loving tones to his vision of Nurse Sally? "I don't know how it may appear to you, Sally, but so it appears to me."
Dickens is so good at those kinds of characters (Ladle)...the ones that don't seem central to a story but are the catalyst for moving the plot forward. He also serves as a bit of comic relief, another thing I have come to admire in Dickens.
I'm glad you mentioned the final sentence, Lee, because it puzzled me that it was referred to as his "favorite" sentence. Did I miss something? I thought he was referring to the fact that he knew he was at his end, since he had asked Sally not to move him as "I think my time has come" was followed by this sentence.Again, a twist I was not expecting. His death was surprising and leaves the mystery of the real son in the hands of his partner and his attorney. (I admit this section has a very Collins feel to me).
So glad to be caught up!! I have to say Joey Ladle reminds me of the grumbling chef in The Frozen Deep. These two characters both say that they don’t grumble! Ha! I’m curious if Collins is channeling his older comic relief character in Joey? Anyhow, I couldn’t help noticing.Boy, things certainly went poorly for Walter quickly. I also found it very surprising after the build up of his ideas for his new “family” and the choir he would put together. All the things he was looking forward to organizing.
Sara wrote: "I'm glad you mentioned the final sentence, Lee, because it puzzled me that it was referred to as his "favorite" sentence. Did I miss something? ."Good observation, Sara. The sentence "I don't know how it may appear to you . . . but so it appears to me . . . " appears for the first time in the very first chapter of the book! We see it first in ACT I, "The Curtain Rises". At that point, Wilding is feeling emotional and grateful. He is talking to his lawyer Mr. Bintrey about how fortunate he is at age twenty-five, to have his own successful business.
On page 6 of my Kindle, and about five pages into "The Curtain Rises", the phrase occurs for the first time. Yes, Sara, I think we all have missed something important here. There is an entire speech at this point by Mr. Wilding, the gentle and loving patriarch of Wilding & Co., which gives a deep insight into his character.
It begins, No occasion, no occasion. . . . And one and all forming a kind of family! Continue reading the paragraph here as a spoiler to save space. (view spoiler)
It is repeated 4 more times: Kindle page 6, page 13 and twice on our last page 54 of "Exit Wilding".
What do YOU think is the significance of Wilding's favorite sentence, I don't know how it may appear to you..... but so it appears to me."
FINAL READING SCHEDULE, PART IIIVENDALE MAKES ❤️ LOVE (7 1/2 pages)
Wednesday, July 24 (7.5 pages).
Begin chapter and read through to the words "In the moment of silence that followed. . . ".
Suspense mounts with a love 🌹story, a mystery villain ❓ and GRAND CLIMAX as the main characters cross the Swiss Alps! The reading sections are longer because the momentum is building. 😳
ACT II, "VENDALE MAKES LOVEWednesday, July 24 Read from beginning of chapter to: "In the moment of silence that followed the sound of the opening and closing . . ." (7.5 pages).
Thursday, July 25 Begin with the sentence "In the moment of silence that followed" to end of chapter. (8 pages).
Friday, July 26 VENDALE MAKES MISCHIEF
Read from beginning of chapter to: "The time passed - the happy evenings . . . " (6.5 pages).
Saturday, July 26Begin at paragraph "The time passed -- the happy evenings with Marguerite . . . " to the end of chapter. (5 pages)
S U M M A R Y: Act II Vendale Makes Love part 1
Half a year has passed, and the holidays have arrived. The will is legal, but no lawful heir has been found. The Wilding will provided that his estate would hold in place for two entire years while all attempts to find the heir were exhausted. At that point, the estate would pass in full to the Foundling Hospital. Bintrey and George Vendale are under great pressure to execute the decedent’s wishes.
George Vendale continues his visits to the agent Obenreizer’s home in the shady part of London, Soho-Square. There he continues to encounter Obenreizer’s niece and ward, Marguerite as well as her dutiful guardian Madame Dor. Vendale becomes enchanted by the young woman, yet he is not allowed a moment alone with her. Then, one day Obenreizer has an odd, silent guest appear. This man was apparently a “compatriot and friend” and a drunken one at that. Will this silent, unnamed friend appear later in the novel? What is his significance to the plot?
Meanwhile, Vendale presents Marguerite with a simple gift of jewelry for the holidays and finally Obenreizer and his silent friend are called away on an urgent errand. The long awaited moment has arrived, and Vendale declares his love to Marguerite. In this chapter, the irrepressible Mr. Dickens becomes visible, and in the midst of the love story Madame Dor is turned upside down and the humor refreshes the entire story.
There has been mention of a social disparity between the well-off Vendale, coming from a good family and a fortune, and the peasant ancestry and status of the Obenreizers. Here Dickens, I believe, introduces his common theme and challenge of mixing social classes.
The two young people declare their love for one another. At that moment, Obenreizer returns!
Thank you, Lee. I did, indeed, miss something significant. In both instances before his death, he seems to be laying out what his life entails, the essence of it. In the first instance, the pride of being in the unexpected position of owning this business; in the second, the desire to do something significant with his good fortune that will benefit others (his employees) and perhaps restore the loss of family he is feeling at the death of his mother. Of course, in the last instance, he is resigning himself to the fact that neither the business nor the family were really his at all. However others may view it, this is his view.
Beautifully stated, Sara. What seemed simple enough to ignore was really quite profound.
I agree with you Lee, Sara has beautifully said it all. It is a strange story indeed: an orphan has reunited with his mother, and discovered that he was not her son. Mr Wilding emphasised his position as an "imposter" more than anything else and wants to restore the truth not as much for his own sake than for the real Walter Wilding's sake.
As all the leads that he has explored have led nowhere (hence the title), he is himself literally in a dead end and dies untimely after falling back to childhood in his very last moments.
He is wiping himself off the face of the earth (and off the plot) as if he wanted to make room for the real Walter Wilding to emerge.
Now we may expect the real Walter Wilding to turn up before the end of the story.
As to Mr Obenreizer, it sounds like a commonly structured Swiss, Austrian or Bavarian name. It doesn't sound at first sight as significant as some Dickensian names sound. Oben means above and Reizer means a stimulus, a teaser, even something irritating. His first name Jules is an old French name, recurrently fashionable at times (right now there are some more of them). Still it has a funny, now almost forgotten colloquial significance: "un Jules" is a lover or even a pimp, and the same word was colloquial in the old days for a chamber pot.
Claudia, thank you so much for the breakdown of the name. There is something sinister about Obenreizer and his relationship to his niece. The colloquialism might be telling.
Agreed, Claudia, that is really helpful! He’s a bit odd, always popping up at someone’s elbows! Ha! And Madame Dor always has her back in view almost acting like a “door” when it comes to Marguerite.I must say the “love” scene was the most descriptive I’ve read for Dickens or Collins.
Claudia wrote: "It is a strange story indeed: an orphan has reunited with his mother, and discovered that he was not her son. Mr Wilding emphasized his pos..."Thank you, Claudia, for analyzing the name Obenreizer for us. Soon this may become more significant, if we agree that Dickens gave every person a name with "intent".
S U M M A R Y - ACT II - VENDALE MAKES ❤️ LOVE, part 2 THURSDAY, July 25.Begin with the sentence "In the moment of silence that followed, the sound of the opening and closing of the house door came clear to them . . . " TO the end of the chapter.
The love scene between Vendale and Marguerite comes to an abrupt halt when Obenreizer’s loud footsteps are heard climbing the stairs. Madame Dor awakes with the words , and Mademoiselle swiftly disappears from the room. Vendale asks to speak to Obenreizer privately and the delightful Madame Dor adds a rare touch of humor.
Obenreizer mentions his visit to a pawn broker but gives no explanation and Vendale, encouraged by his private and loving moments with Marguerite, informs him that as Obenreizer is her guardian, he would like to request her “hand in marriage”. The scene chills with Obenreizer’s angry reaction and he slams his fist upon a table. He expresses his great objections by pointing out the social disparity between the two lovers: ”My niece is the daughter of a poor peasant, and you are the son of a gentleman.” Vendale, he exclaims, is “too poor” to marry his niece!
A fierce argument ensues over Vendale’s fitness to be her suitor and Obenreizer states his demands before any arrangement can be agreed upon. The terms strike Vendale as totally unreasonable, as he is fiscally on strong grounds and well able to support a wife. Nevertheless, Obenreizer states his terms. Vendale must “double his present income” before any engagement can be contemplated. Miss Obenreizer’s feelings are of no concern as she must obey her guardian’s demands and be guided by him. The irony of the situation is clear as Vendale and Obenreizer are the same age and Vendale in a much better position to support her that is her guardian.
Visitation rules are established under which Vendale’s visits are greatly constrained. The confrontation ends with Vendale’s heated protests, and he swears that they will be married within a year’s time.
Mod
Richard Pearson sees Vendale as a wholesome middle-class gentleman; a representation of the ideal man, typical of one of Wilkie Collins's heroes and much in the mould of Franklin Blake in The Moonstone or Walter Hartright in The Woman in White. He is contrasted with Wilding's confusion.
I think Lee asked us to talk about the play alongside if we like, so I'll add something non-spoilerish here. Richard Pearson maintains the authorship of both the story and the play was equally divided between Wilkie Collins and Charles Dickens, and because of events before and after, could be seen to represent Dickens handing over the baton to Collins.
Lee has already told us that the celebrated actor Charles Fechter took the role of Obenreizer, and apparently he amplified it considerably from the part he has in this original story. He was the centre of all the reviews - and what's more, there are several alternative endings. Richard Pearson writes that it is impossible to determine which was the original, and which had been created by Fechter. This is because several editions of the story had also been released, none by the authors themselves! More on that later though, and more on the characters in Dickens Richard Pearson can see with similarities to Obenreizer.
Richard Pearson believes the entire text of No Thoroughfare to be symbolic, and says it "reflects an anxiety about the authorial identity of the writer ..." This relates to Victorian authors' position, whereby they were attracted by the idea of raising their public image by appearing as playwrights as well as novelists or poets, but concerned with their reputation if they became "tainted" by being associated with illegitimate theatre. So they were caught in a labyrinth, where there was No Thoroughfare: i.e. no way through the mess.
The end of his sentence is that "... on the stage it introduced a third author: Charles Fechter, the lead actor."
Thanks for all your excellent information, Jean. I came across some photos of Fechter in costume as Obenreizer in "No Thoroughfare." The photos are from the University of Washington Libraries digital collection of 19th Century Actors Carte de Visite Photographs. Carte de Visite photographs were mounted on card stock so they were the about the size of a calling card.Part of the story takes place in the mountains so Fechter is wearing an Alpine hat. Obenreizer is from Switzerland.
For historical information about the Carte de Visite Photographs:
https://archiveswest.orbiscascade.org...
Napoleon Sarony, New York (photographer)
S U M M A R Y - ACT II - VENDALE MAKES MISCHIEF, part 1 Friday, July 26 (6.5 pages).
We begin this chapter the morning after Vendale has asked for and been denied Marguerite’s hand in marriage. Joel Ladle the Cellarmaster appears at Master Vendale’s door with some news. He reminds Vendale of his prophetic ideas about bad luck hanging over the establishment from the moment the name was changed to Wilding and Co., Wine Merchants from its original name of Pebbleson Nephew.
Joel Ladle hands Master Vendale a report showing a serious mistake or “irregularity” in the last consignment received in London from the firm of Defresnier and Co. in Neuchatel, Switzerland. Six cases of wine had been received by Wilding and Co. instead of the champagne they had ordered. Joel points out that mistakes of this kind were unheard of during his entire time with the wine merchant. The error is in the large amount of five hundred pounds, which is how much Wilding and Co. has overpaid for the shipment.
George Vendale is not alarmed. He thinks only of the upcoming cheerful evenings to be spent with Marguerite as agreed upon. He writes Defresnier to inform them of their error and suggests ways in which the error can be easily corrected.
Connie wrote: "TI came across some photos of Fechter in costume as Obenreizer in "No Thoroughfare." The photos are from the University of Washington Libraries digit..."Thank you, Connie! It is interesting to compare the actor's appearance with Obenreizer's description which appeared in All the Year Round. When we met him then, he was "a black-haired young man of a dark complexion, through whose swarthy skin no red glow ever shone. . . He was robustly made, well proportioned, and had handsome features." He is indeed handsome and robust, however!
We see no "dark complexion" or "swarthy skin", which brings up the question again as to why such descriptors were even used!
An illustration by Boz!
A Few more important actorsWilding (played by M. Billington)
Henry Neville as George Vendale
Since questions are being raised early about the play, I thought you might enjoy some preliminary information. The last couple of days of this reading have been extended through August 3, through the gracious permission of Jean, and so I would like to refrain from discussion of the play until August 1. Our novel was given a new life by Wilkie Collins, with the cooperation of Charles Dickens.
https://www.wilkie-collins.info/play_...
Any comments on the first half of "Vendale Makes Mischief"? I myself wonder at the comical names of the last two chapters, implying that the story will become a farcical romance rather than a story of danger and intrigue, deceit and secrets that we might have been expecting.As Sam I believe pointed out at the beginning, this novel was written quite late in
Dicken's career. Shortly I will give a brief timeline of the events just 5 years prior to this collaboration with Collins and Dickens' early death.Where is ACT II leading us, and what new information have we received?
S U M M A R Y - ACT II - VENDALE MAKES MISCHIEF, part 2 July 26 (4 pages).From “The time passed—the happy evenings with Marguerite came and went.” to the end of the chapter.
There is a serious problem. Ten days have passed since Vendale cheerfully had written the champagne makers assuming the problem could easily be straightened out. Defresnier & Company writes again under the name of M. ROLLAND to inform Vendale that no payment had ever been received for the champagne - making it impossible for them to credit Wilding and Co. for the six missing cases. They wrote “The affair is a most serious one for you and for us.” What seemed a simple mistake has turned into a potential major loss of five hundred pounds for George Vendale.
All indications are that the theft was made in a calculated and clever fashion which was designed never to have been discovered. Vendale is shocked and alarmed. Rolland’s letter raises grave suspicions that the theft was an inside job perpetrated by a person of trust.
Obenreizer appears in his office and is distressed to hear the bad news. Together they try to work out the problem and Obenreizer reviews the receipt: his only proof of payment. Obenreizer determines to go himself to Neuchatel, Switzerland and set straight what must be a mistake in records. Vendale is impressed at the urgency which the other man is treating the difficulty and begins to think he was too hasty in thinking ill of Obenreizer.
The chapter ends with serious suspicions rising and pointing at one individual. But the matter IS urgent. Should Obenreizer take the receipt of proof and travel to Switzerland directly to talk to his people or should Vendale go? The travel will be arduous and difficult over the Swiss Alps, and Obenreizer is markedly the strongest and most able.
What seemed a simple error has now turned into a matter of international intrigue and dangerous travel. In the end, Vendale decides that he and Obenreizer should travel together.
Dickens in 1867, the year No Thoroughfare and No Thoroughfare: A Drama in Four Acts were conceived, published and performed.
ONE MORE THING: Please share your comments as we conclude ACT II and enter the dramatic and suspenseful ACT III Saturday, July 27.
Thank you Lee for your work and illustrations!
S U M M A R Y - ACT III: "In The Valley"
Travels begin for Vendale and Obenreizer in the middle of winter. They arrive in Strasbourg, Germany from London and find most travelers have turned back due to the winter storm. Travel on the railroads has become interrupted, particularly to Basel, Switzerland, where they were headed. All travelers to Switzerland are turning back.
What began as a relationship of cautious trust has turned to jealousy and suspicion. The receipt carried by Vendale is of vital importance in finding the thief and Obenreizer resolves to steal it if he must. His thoughts are revealed to be vicious and murderous. The inn where they spend the night is deserted, and the Rhine River, flowing below their room is “rapid and deep, swollen and loud.” Vendale is alarmingly trusting. Obenreizer, aware that Vendale is also seeking the lost Walter Wilding, alludes to his own mysterious parentage in Switzerland. Vendale wonders: could his man be the one M. Wilding had been so desperately seeking?
The omniscient narrator shares the inner thoughts of Vendale and Obenreizer simultaneously, making the reader unsure of who to believe. There are two mysteries: who is the real Walter Windale of Switzerland, and who has stolen funds from the winery. Solving both mysteries is taking on ominous overtones. Placing two men in an isolated inn on a deserted road to Switzerland sets up a Gothic sense of imminent danger, especially as Obenreizer confirms that Vendale is a heavy sleeper and never locks his door at night. Goodnight, they say to one another. “Adieu!”
[Diversion: The mood now reminds this reader of [author:Edgar Allen Poe|43845733]'s The Tell-Tale Heart.
The American gothic horror tale had been written in 1843, and it describes a homicidal madman intent on murder, standing behind a closed door with the victim sleeping within. Remembering Poe’s use of fearful and confused awareness in a dark night setting, review this first night Vendale and Obenreizer spend In the Valley. What transpires next is eerily like Poe’s tale. Vendale “ . . . saw the latch slowly and softly rise. . . . The door opened a very little, and came to again, as though only the air had moved it.” But in reality, it is Obenreizer standing behind the door!Dickens had met Poe in Philadelphia during his 1842 tour. Their acquaintance remained steady through correspondence. As friendships go, the men were not close, but Dickens learned of Poe’s death in 1849. True to his character, Dickens provided generous support to Poe’s mother-in-law as she was left destitute. It is possible Dickens was influenced by Poe’s story.]
In the Valley continues with various twists and turns as Vendale becomes more and more suspicious that Obenreizer wants the receipt. It is the evidence that will condemn the thief. Still, they continue together, Vendale determined to cross the Alps. The final words of Obenreizer as he looks back over his shoulder to the Valley are, “We shall be alone up yonder”.
Claudia wrote: "Thank you Lee for your work and illustrations!"Much appreciated, Claudia.
I've been enjoying some of the secondary characters that provide some comedy in this novella. Joel Ladle is very superstitious, but he's also loyal and someone the business can count on doing his job well.Madame Dor is also humorous with her broad back seeming to block out what she's seeing, but she's very aware of what's going on. "Dor" means golden in French so I'm curious what her role will be later in the story.
Thank you for your excellent summaries, Lee.
Excuse me Lee and everyone, I have fallen dreadfully behind with the heat and trying to juggle too many books and activities. I found an email Lee on an address I rarely use and will respond once I have fully read it and I see I am still have some reading before I finish Act II. I will hopefully get caught up tomorrow,
OK, I am screaming at Vendale...open your eyes. Obenreizer gives me the creeps, and he is so sneaky (the exam of the receipts and the fire). I cannot help harking back to Ladle's premonition in the cellar.
Sara wrote: "OK, I am screaming at Vendale...open your eyes. Obenreizer gives me the creeps, and he is so sneaky (the exam of the receipts and the fire). I cannot help harking back to Ladle's premonition in the..."Yes Sara I agree with you, Obenreizer is creepy and Mr Vendale a bit naive, he does not suspect that Obenreizer as Marguerite's uncle might do any harm to him or his business.
Indeed I too thought back of Ladle's warnings about changing the name of the firm. It sounds like a superstition but it is recurring so that I suppose that there must be something to it.
Sam wrote: "Excuse me Lee and everyone, I have fallen dreadfully behind with the heat and trying to juggle too many books and activities. I found an email Lee on an address I rarely use and will respond once I..." Hello, Sam. Inside my email should be a PDF for the article Jean and I had had difficulty posting a while back. You sent me a request asking "permission" to view the article. I have no idea how you managed to do it. Let me know if you still can't read that troublesome (but interesting) article.
Sam wrote: "I will hopefully get caught up tomorrow."Be careful not to read my summary until you read the pertinent section of the book. Once we reach ACT III, all the action speeds up, which is kind of shocking since the first half of the novel seemed quite slow to me.
I will post "On The Mountain" Sunday evening, US central time on July 28. Maybe that 24 hr delay will help everyone get caught up. I noticed there were other readings going on simultaneously with this one, so I'm sure that contributed to your feeling rushed. But we have till August 3 to finish, and I am leaving some extra time for everyone to make comments and to perhaps make some notes about the play.
Connie wrote: "I've been enjoying some of the secondary characters that provide some comedy in this novella."I agree, Connie. Whatever Wilkie Collins may have written, those 2 characters have to be the creation of Dickens!
Claudia wrote: "Sara wrote: "OK, I am screaming at Vendale...open your eyes. Obenreizer gives me the creeps, and he is so sneaky (the exam of the receipts and the fire). ."Good observations, Sara and Claudia. I am frankly puzzled as to why the writers chose an omniscient narrator. It exposes Obenreizer very early. I don't remember if this was also done in the play. Any thoughts?
I think the mystery is not about who did it but about what will happen now that Vendale is unsuspectingly in the grasp of our villain. I'm having flashbacks to Dombey and Son and Mr. Career.
ONE MORE THING Who actually wrote the novel No Thoroughfare? What does his biographer
John Forster say about No Thoroughfare and its composition? We have fragments of suggestion. To quote from THE LIFE, Forster says: "Christmas Number of All the Year Round, No Thoroughfare. To this Dickens contributed, with Mr. Wilkie Collins, in nearly equal portions." (From The Life of Charles Dickens, Vol. I-III, Complete
).In an article, Wilkie Collins's Recollections of Charles Fechter, Collins says
"I had the honor of writing the Christmas story called NO THOROUGHFARE in literary association with Charles Dickens. We invented the story at Gadshill, in the Swiss chalet which had been Fechter's [the actor] gift to Dickens. . . "Fechter [the actor] prepared a scenario or outline of a dramatic adaptation of the story, under Dickens's superintendence and approval."
Multiple sources give various opinions as to exactly who wrote what. It is the reader's prerogative, if desired, to draw their own personal conclusions, paragraph by paragraph, concerning exactly who authored the original manuscript of No Thoroughfare
Further evidence that it was Dickens who primarily authored the novel, is from a letter from Dickens to an American publisher written Nov. 1, 1867. "I will bring you out the early proof of the Xmas No. We publish it here of the 12th of December. I am planning it out into a play for Wilkie Collins to manipulate after I sail, and have arranged for Fechter to go to the Adelphi Theatre and play a Swiss in it."
And One More ThingChronology of Dickens Last Years: 1864 – 1870
Adapted from: https://victorianweb.org/authors/dick...
DATE Events in Charles Dickens’s Life
1857 Met young actress Ellen Ternan. No written notes
about her from him exist, but she remains in his life until death.
1864 Our Mutual Friend begins serialization.
1865 Staplehurst Train disaster, 9 June 1865, with Ellen Ternan and her mother; 63 fatalities and 74 injured. Dickens badly shaken & shows signs that his health is beginning to fail. He has begun countless public readings of his novels which requires great energy and continuous travel.
1865 Completes Our Mutual Friend. Will repeat some of its themes in No Thoroughfare.
1866 Public readings in England, Scotland continue against doctor’s advice.
1867 1. Dickens is 55, almost 56 years old. (He was born Feb 7, 1812).
2. Collaboration begins with
after they spend time together at a chalet in the Swiss Alps. Dickens excited by the drama of the mountains and the thrill of traveling across dangerous mountain passes. 3. Together they plan that the novel will be quickly followed by a dramatic production, the novel appearing first in “All The Year Round”. This was a form of early merchandizing for writers.
4. The manuscript of NO THOROUGHFARE written quickly by Dickens with some contributions by Collins. It appears in the December '67 edition of “All the Year Round”.
5. Dickens turns his attention again to his fantastically popular readings in America. He set sail Nov 9, 1867, before the novel is published.
6. Dec ‘67 -2nd American tour will last through the winter till April 1868.
Dec ’67 Collins drafts the play with Dickens’s approval while Dickens is in America *****N T The drama premieres 26 December 1867 at the Adelphi Theater in London.
1868 Once he returns from America, it is apparent that Dickens’s health is seriously failing. He can barely stand, and his long walks are a thing of the past. He focuses on his publication “All the Year Round”.
FINAL YEAR
1869 1. Dickens returns to a schedule of continuous readings in England, Scotland, and Ireland. He is very fragile, yet he ignores the pleas of his physician and family to slow down.
2. Finally agrees to cancel all public readings. He begins writing his last novel, which would never be completed, The Mystery of Edwin Drood.
June 9, 1870.
Charles Dickens “the Inimitable” died by stroke at the age of 58. He was working in the garden at Gad’s Hill Place, his country home. His demise is barely two years & six months after the publication of No Thoroughfare
Thanks for the interesting information, Lee.Deborah A Thomas, in Dickens and the Short Story, lists the probable writers for the various sections of the Dickens' Christmas Issues in Appendix A. It seems to have been a joint effort of Dickens and Collins, and this is how she lists the various sections of the novel:
The Overture - Dickens
Act I - Dickens and Collins
Act II - Collins
Act III - Dickens
Act IV - Dickens and Collins
There is not much information about "No Thoroughfare" in Thomas' book, and I have no idea if this is accurate. She does not present any information backing this up. As with all the Christmas issues, Dickens came up with the ideas for the story, assigned the parts to his writers, and probably did some editing before it was published.
(I might have guessed the reverse--that Dickens wrote Act II and Collins wrote Act III--but I haven't read enough Collins to really have a feel for his writing. It's fun to pick out certain sections or characters that really have a Dickens feel to them.)
Coming Soon: Obeireizer & Vendale travel through the Swiss Alps.
Photo copied from: https://www.cntraveler.com/gallery/th...
Connie wrote: "Thanks for the interesting information, Lee.Deborah A Thomas, in Dickens and the Short Story, lists the probable writers for the various sections of the Dickens' Christmas Issues ..."
Interesting, Connie. Scholars can have fun speculating who wrote what. I tend to go with the first person information I have from the pens of Collins and Dickens themselves. Neither author took specific credit for actual chapters.
Thanks for researching information from Collins and Dickens' correspondence, Lee. I imagine the scholars are also looking at that as well as using their own experience in reading the two authors. Actually, it's commendable that the authors presented a unified effort that flows well and melded their styles together.The photo of the Alps is gorgeous! It's time for the Dickensians to take a field trip!
Mod
It is very evident that Dickens was so ill and fragile, and at the time of No Thoroughfare he was handing over the baton to Wilkie Collins. It was virtually Dickens's last completed work, but Wilkie Collins was to gain a lot of confidence with this one, and go on to stage many more plays afterwards.
If you haven't yet read John Forster's The Life of Charles Dickens - Three Volumes, I urge you to do so, and add your comments to our three threads. Many of us dip into this now and then; it's not the sort of thing you have to set a time limit on or read straight through at all.
That sounds another interesting book Connie, thanks. You find some treasures! 😊 However the question of attribution is impossible to be definite about, except for small parts, so these are best guesses by Deborah A. Thomas. As you both say, it is fun to try to work it out from their styles, but unless a dated undiscovered manuscript turns up, we will never have the definitive version of this work, nor solid facts about who wrote what. Collins even rewrote part as it was being staged at the Adelphi, and there are several "definitive versions" as well as pirated ones, and several different endings - as I said in my earlier post.
Richard Pearson details many of them in Victorian Writers and the Stage: The Plays of Dickens, Browning, Collins and Tennyson and says candidly:
"Several competing versions exist - even modern critics can be fooled ... the certainly of the text is doubtful .... there is no authoritative version."
Then there are all the different parts I mentioned where Charles Fechter had developed his role. If you have or can get this book, please read pages 137-145, it really is quite startling. Richard Pearson believes that this difficult of a standard text and attribution, as much as anything, is why No Thoroughfare is such a neglected work.
But we, with Lee steering our course through the Alps, are doing our best to redress the balance and read it properly 😊
I didn't realize how far behind I had fallen. : ( I am caught up through Act II, I have Act II of the play to read and the readings in Act III of the novella, which I will complete tomorrow. The comments have been interesting and I think I figured out what I did with Lee's email. Forgot I looked at it, I'll bet. The comments are great and sleepy-headed as I am, I have little to add. Lee, do you prefer any mentioning of the play version while we are reading the novella or afterwards?
On the physical and class characteristics of villainy. I read through quickly and may have missed something but the association of the above is hardly unique to Dickens in this period and far into the 20th century. I would say it the rule rather than exception.
The first two acts suggested that an impostor may come for Wilding's inheritance. This plot device reminded me a bit of the Tichborne case which coincidentally was just getting underway around the time of this work although it is difficult for me to determine whether Dickens or Collins had any knowledge. Link to Wiki article below:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tichbor...
Do any of you think or have information that may suggest the case as a source? If not, it certainly must have been a lucky coincidence! I did not know much of this case except that Zadie Smith sources it for her novel, The Fraud, which I recommend to the Victorian lovers in the group.
Notice I am wide awake and cocky today, but expect my enthusiasm to lessen when it heats up again, although I pray it won't be as debilitating as it was in July.
Thanks for all the great stuff you guys have posted on the selection.
Dickensians!
Books mentioned in this topic
No Thoroughfare (other topics)Barnaby Rudge (other topics)
No Thoroughfare (other topics)
No Thoroughfare: A Drama in Four Acts (other topics)
Oliver Twist (other topics)
More...
Authors mentioned in this topic
Charles Dickens (other topics)Walter Scott (other topics)
Charles Dickens (other topics)
John Forster (other topics)
Wilkie Collins (other topics)
More...
I managed to lift a copy of the building from Unknown London and post it here for anyone who could not see it otherwise. I was also unable to read the article, but thank you Lee and Jean for all ..."
Many thanks to you, Sara!!! Jean and I both tried to copy that photo but were unsuccessful.