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To begin with: justifying Marley in A Christmas Carol
by Pete Orford
The Dickensian, forthcoming
This article examines the purpose of Marley's ghost in Dickens's tale. Marley is a vital role within the context of... more
This article examines the purpose of Marley's ghost in Dickens's tale. Marley is a vital role within the context of the original, yet this has been minimised with the frequent appropriation of the Carol, so that popular memory of the play's structure and characters has been reduced to the fundamentals of Scrooge and the three spirits of Christmas past, present and yet to come.
The article first considers the role of Marley both as an agent of change alongside the other three spirits, which entails a consideration of Scrooge's experience as a paranormal course of cognitive behaviour therapy; the article then considers the narrative significance of Marley's ghost, in particular the depth of his relationship with Scrooge.
What are they? The pseudo-mystery stories of Fitz-James O'Brien
by Pete Orford
Clues: A Journal of Detection (forthcoming).
This article considers how Fitz-James O’Brien’s short stories “The Pot of Tulips” (1855) and “What Was It? A Mystery”... more This article considers how Fitz-James O’Brien’s short stories “The Pot of Tulips” (1855) and “What Was It? A Mystery” (1858) bear relevance to detective fiction. In doing so it consider the nature of the paranormal and detective fiction to consider whether a narrative can successfully meet the criteria of both, and what compromises need to be made. In particular it assesses how the hero of these stories, Harry Escott, both conforms and subverts the figure of the detective as presented by the bookending icons of Edgar Allen Poe’s Dupin and Arthur Conan Doyle’s Holmes.
An Italian Dream and a Castle in the Air: The Significance of Venice in Little Dorrit
by Pete Orford
Dickens and the City, ed. Jeremy Tambling, (Ashgate, 2012)
Dickens frequently drew on his knowledge of London to provide detailed backdrops that were as much a part of the plot... more
Dickens frequently drew on his knowledge of London to provide detailed backdrops that were as much a part of the plot and scene as the characters, and it is little surprise then the cities he visited abroad should also prove inspirations for his fiction.
In Little Dorrit, Dickens uses the mystery and wonder of Venice that so beguiled him to form a physical representation of the dreamstate which the Dorrit family, especially William Dorrit, inhabit after their miraculous change in fortune. This article argues that the undertones of illusion as suggested through the location of Venice allow us to read William's changing mental state not as a descent into madness, but as an ascent into self-realisation and self-acceptance.
This article previously appeared in The Dickensian.
A little bit of paradise; Allegories of Eden in The Diamond Lens
by Pete Orford
Leeds Centre Working Papers in Victorian Studies, Vol. 12, 2012
In The Diamond Lens Fitz-James O’Brien presents a lost paradise of infinitesimal size that exists within a single drop... more
In The Diamond Lens Fitz-James O’Brien presents a lost paradise of infinitesimal size that exists within a single drop of water, in which the perfect woman Animula lives a utopian life unaware of the horrors in the larger world outside her.
After a brief stint writing for the London journals, O’Brien moved to New York where he received great praise for his short stories and gothic tales; The Diamond Lens caused a literary stir on its first publication in 1858 and remains his most famous work. It details how the narrator becomes obsessed with fashioning the perfect microscope, resorting to contact with the dead through a medium, and the betrayal and murder of his friend to obtain the necessary diamond, before then becoming increasingly obsessed with the beautiful creature he discovers within the waterdrop. The story is celebrated today as a pioneering work of science fiction, and in so doing its spiritual nature is overlooked: here is a tale of the pursuit of Eden and the hellish methods one man will stoop to when trying to spy upon heaven.
This paper will explore the contrast of paradise and the real world within the story, linking this back in turn to O'Brien's own religious and moral outlook.
Rewriting History: Exploring the Individuality of Shakespeare's history plays
by Pete Orford
PhD Thesis, University of Birmingham, 2006
‘Rewriting History’ is a reappraisal of Shakespeare’s history cycle, exploring its origins, its popularity and its... more
‘Rewriting History’ is a reappraisal of Shakespeare’s history cycle, exploring its origins, its popularity and its effects before challenging its dominance on critical and theatrical perceptions of the history plays.
A critical history of the cycle shows how external factors such as patriotism, bardolatory, character-focused criticism and the editorial decision of the First Folio are responsible for the cycle, more so than any inherent aspects of the plays.
The performance history of the cycle charts the initial innovations made in the twentieth century which have affected our perception of characters and key scenes in the texts. I then argue how the cycle has become increasingly restrictive, lacking innovation and consequently undervaluing the potential of the histories.
Having accounted for the history of the cycle to date, the second part of my thesis looks at the consequent effects upon each history play, and details how each play can be performed and analysed individually.
I close my thesis with the suggestion that a compromise between individual and serial perceptions is warranted, where both ideas are acknowledged equally for their effects and defects. By broadening our ideas about these plays we can appreciate the dramatic potential locked within them.
To Be or Not to Be Sad?
I talk with Penny Bailey of the Wellcome Trust about my research into sadness in Shakespeare's plays and times.
The Lady's Percy: Challenging Expectations of Structure and Gender in Henry the Fourth
by Pete Orford
This paper focuses on an all-female production of Henry the Fourth Part One performed in Hull and York in 2008. It... more This paper focuses on an all-female production of Henry the Fourth Part One performed in Hull and York in 2008. It uses the production and the author's previous work to explore the issue of how a history play can be performed successfully on its own without incurring anticipation of Part Two. It looks at how the director Simon Benson tackled the theoretical arguments of the author in a practical scenario, and how in particular his decision to make the cast all-female enlightened the play, allowed a freer approach to structure and provided new (and forgotten) readings of the characters.
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Download (.pdf) The Show Queen (concerning PR and Princes)
by Pete Orford
Published in "Journal of Victorian Culture Online", 14 May 2011
This article is a short comparison of the recent royal wedding with Queen Victoria's wedding in 1840. It identifies... more This article is a short comparison of the recent royal wedding with Queen Victoria's wedding in 1840. It identifies how Victoria's wedding itself was staged as a grand event for public view, and how elements of the ceremony continue to influence wedding today (both royal and otherwise).
Scrooge in Space; updating A Christmas Carol for the twenty-first century and beyond
by Pete Orford
Published in 'Journal of Victorian Culture Online' 23 April 2011
The recent adaptation of Dickens' festive tale for the Doctor Who Christmas special involved two major elements - 1:... more The recent adaptation of Dickens' festive tale for the Doctor Who Christmas special involved two major elements - 1: the introduction of science fiction elements into Dickens' ghost story, and 2: the alteration of pace to suit a moden television audience. This article briefly looks at these changes and their impact.
'Capable, but uninspired': Evaluating Frank Benson's hesitant/heroic history cycle
by Pete Orford
Shakespeare Bulletin, Vol. 29, No. 2, Summer 2011
Frank Benson led his company to great success in Stratford-upon-Avon from 1889 to 1913, yet he is condemned to... more
Frank Benson led his company to great success in Stratford-upon-Avon from 1889 to 1913, yet he is condemned to receiving lukewarm praise as someone who made good productions, but not great ones. His lasting legacy in theatre history is the first presentation of Shakespeare's history cycle on the English stage, though his productions were quite unlike any seen since.
This article investigates the circumstances surrounding the three cycles Benson produced in 1901, 1905 and 1906, reporting on their reception and analysing the productions' direction and value. In doing so it also grapples with the controversy surrounding Benson who was upheld by the Stratford audience as a leading exponent of the bard, while simultaneously being criticised by the London and national press for uninspiring performances.
In Our Time - The Anatomy of Melancholy
Archived recording of a programme on Radio 4 devoted to Robert Burton's Anatomy of Melancholy. Presented by Melvyn... more Archived recording of a programme on Radio 4 devoted to Robert Burton's Anatomy of Melancholy. Presented by Melvyn Bragg and featuring Julie Sanders, Mary Ann Lund, and Erin Sullivan.
Anti-Bardolatry through the Ages – or, why Voltaire, Tolstoy, Shaw and Wittgenstein Didn’t Like Shakespeare
An article for Opticon1826 on the reasons why four famous readers of Shakespeare objected to his writing. An article for Opticon1826 on the reasons why four famous readers of Shakespeare objected to his writing.
Melancholy, Medicine, and the Arts
A short piece for The Lancet on the history of melancholy, particularly in Renaissance Europe. Includes discussion of... more A short piece for The Lancet on the history of melancholy, particularly in Renaissance Europe. Includes discussion of Albrect Durer, Shakespeare, and Romantic poetry.
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An Italian Dream and a Castle in the Air: The Significance of Venice in Little Dorrit
by Pete Orford
published in The Dickensian, 103 (2007), 157-165
Dickens' travels through Italy provided source material for Little Dorrit; this paper examines the extraordinary... more Dickens' travels through Italy provided source material for Little Dorrit; this paper examines the extraordinary reaction of Dickens to Venice, his dream-like descriptions of it, and how this in turn recommended the city as a vital backdrop to the glittering new world in which the Dorrit family find themselves after their change of fortune.
Dickens and Science Fiction: A Study of Artificial Intelligence in Great Expectations
by Pete Orford
published in 19: Interdisciplinary Studies in the Long Nineteenth Century, No. 10 (2010).
Dickens didn’t write science fiction - or did he? More to the point, why on earth wouldn’t Dickens write science... more Dickens didn’t write science fiction - or did he? More to the point, why on earth wouldn’t Dickens write science fiction? In an era when writers were experimenting more and more with the fusion of science and the unknown in their fiction writing, the apparent absence of such a work by Dickens appears conspicuous. This paper addresses this issue by exploring the confused beginnings of science fiction how problematic searches for early science fiction can be, and how the consideration of Dickens exposes, exacerbates and addresses this problem. Having argued the right to search for themes relevant to SF in Dickens’ works, the paper then capitalises on this with a detailed study of robotics in Great Expectations, seeking out ways in which Dickens’ novel resonates with early robot fiction of the nineteenth century, in particular through the inhumanity of Estella, and the way in which both she and Pip are ’made’ by Miss Havisham and Magwitch respectively. Ultimately the paper aims to show that all pre-twentieth century writing, including Dickens, does indeed have a place in the study of science fiction, by breaking down the idea of isolated science fiction writers and replacing it with that of a literary context in which science fiction was bubbling under a diverse range of works.