The Scandalous Life of Charles Dickens | Christmas Special | 1
British Scandal
Wondery
4.5 • 6.4K Ratings
🗓️ 18 December 2024
⏱️ 55 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Think Dickens was all jolly carols and festive cheer? Not so. Behind the snowy scenes and spirit of goodwill, the so-called “Father of Christmas” was hiding a scandalous love life. Matt and Alice dive into the details with co-hosts of Wondery’s Legacy podcast, writer Afua Hirsch and historian Peter Frankopan. Plus, did Britain's most famous novelist really "invent" Christmas? Afua and Peter weigh in.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Fokston to London |
| 0:02.0 | Fokston to London train, Kent, June the 9th, 1865. |
| 0:19.0 | 53-year-old Charles Dickens pulls his top hat over his eyes, |
| 0:23.6 | slips into the first-class carriage with a glass of sherry. |
| 0:27.6 | He's determined to enjoy the last few hours of his train journey. |
| 0:31.6 | He leans one arm on the wood-panelled wall to steady his feet |
| 0:35.6 | before he ducks into the discreet, |
| 0:39.6 | high-backed velvet seat in his compartment. |
| 0:42.4 | This is not of anti-West Coast. |
| 0:44.6 | This is the dream, isn't it? |
| 0:46.5 | You feel like you've had a good train journey now if the trolley still has twixes left. |
| 0:48.4 | And if you arrive within three hours |
| 0:50.5 | of the scheduled arrival time. |
| 0:52.7 | His eyes settle on the young woman already seated in the compartment, |
| 0:56.8 | sees her watching as he takes out his manuscript and lays it on the table. |
| 1:01.2 | He's due to submit his latest instalment of Our Mutual Friend in a day's time. |
| 1:06.4 | He should be making final edits. |
| 1:09.2 | Is that the great author's latest novel? |
| 1:11.7 | He takes in her slender frame, her pale complexion, her long dark hair. |
| 1:17.5 | Perhaps I can make you a character. |
| 1:20.4 | He sees her smile. |
| 1:22.8 | He's about to offer her a few pages to read, but before he can, he's rocked forward in his seat as a loud |
... |
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