February 2012 American Way Magazine - page 32

THE ULTIMATE STORYTELLER NOWYOUKNOW: TheCharlesDickensMuseum in
Londonhousesover 100,000 itemsofmemorabilia.
canbase entire vacations around the author andhis
works.Want touncover theback alleyways of the au-
thor’smainmuse?BookaspotononeofLondon’smany
Dickens-themedwalking tours. Interested inhisearly
life?Visitthememorabilia-filledCharlesDickensBirth-
placeMuseum inPortsmouth,Hampshire.AndtheU.K.
isnot alone inpromotinghis legacy. TheFreeLibrary
inPhiladelphia ishometooneof the largestcollections
ofDickens’works andpersonal itemsoutsideofGreat
Britain, and iteven includes thestu‡edcar-
cassofGrip,hispetraven.
But perhaps the author’s biggest con-
tribution to greater society iswhat hedid
forChristmas. Published in 1843, theDick-
ens novella AChristmas Carol — the tale
of anoldmiserwho rediscovers the spirit
of giving with assistance from a trio of
ghosts—helpedrevivethefledglingholiday,
popularizing phrases like “BahHumbug”
and “MerryChristmas,” inspiringholiday
carolers and festivemeals, and returning
theday’smain focus: familyand love. Cur-
rently therearedozens, ifnothundreds, of
Dickens-themedholiday festivals held an-
nuallyworldwide, includingSanFrancisco’s
GreatDickensChristmasFairandtheNeth-
erlands’DickensFestivalDeventer.
With all the hoopla his works have in-
spired, itmay come as a surprise that the
authorremainedhumblethroughouthislife,
eveninsistingthatnopublicmonumentever
be erected inhis honor
(only two life-sizeDick-
ens statuesexist—one
in Philadelphia’s Uni-
versityCityneighbor-
hoodand theother in
Sydney — with the
first-ever Dickens
statue in the U.K.
planned for Ports-
mouth this year).
Following years of
declining health,
including injuries
fromatraincrashfromwhichheneverfully
recovered, CharlesDickens died at age58
fromacerebralhemorrhageathishomenear
Rochester, Kent, onJune9, 1870. Though
theauthorrequestedaprivateand inexpen-
siveburial, he isentombed inWestminster
Abbey’sPoets’Corneralongsidesuchother
illustrious Brits as “the father of English
literature”Geo‡reyChaucer andactorSir
LaurenceOlivier.
Luckyforus,hiswordsandcreationswill
keephis legacyalive forever.
ForinformationonDickens
celebrationsintheU.S.andabroad,
goto AA.com/americanway
FROMTOP: SUZANNEPLUNKETT/BLOOMBERGVIAGETTY IMAGES;©MUSEUMOFLONDON
LAURAKINIRY, a regular contributor to AmericanWay,
lives inSanFrancisco,whereshewrites frequentlyabout
foodanddrink, thearts and travel.
32 FEBRUARY 01, 2012 AA.COM/AMERICANWAY
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