Charles Dickens: A Brain on Fire! 🔥
Guests include: Stephen Fry, Miriam Margolyes, Armando Iannucci, Alice Loxton, Robert Douglas-Fairhurst, Lucinda Hawksley, John Mullan, Pen Vogler, Andrew Davies, Rosie Holt, Bernard Cornwell .... and many more academics, writers, actors, directors and descendants of the great man himself!Â
Along side these interviews there are special Dickens readings from across his works ...
Thank you for listening 🔥Â
- Update frequency
- every 10 days
- Average duration
- 39 minutes
- Episodes
- 85
- Years Active
- 2021 - 2025
THE LAZY TOUR OF TWO IDLE APPRENTICES 📚: with Dr. Emily Bell
Dominic is joined by the inimitable Dr. Emily Bell who guides the listener through the rollercoaster that is Charles Dickens & Wilkie Collins' Lazy Tour of Two Idle Apprentices - a unique blend of t…
The Shorthand Mysteries: with Dr. Claire Wood & Prof. Hugo Bowles
Are you an unsung codebreaker? Does your knowledge and feel for Dickens mean that you could be the next person to crack some of the hieroglyphic mystery of the shorthand system that Dickens created f…
Copperfield, Chuzzlewit ... Partridge? : with Armando Iannucci
Welcome to this special one-on-one chat with Armando Iannucci - one of the leading comedy writers and political satirists of our time - where we delve into his literary passions and influences.
This…
Dickens, Bergson & Time Travel: with Céleste Callen
What does it mean to experience time? Is it a linear journey from past to present, or is it a complex and intricate web of memories, feelings, and experiences?
Our guest today is the inimitable Céles…
THE MYSTERY OF EDWIN DROOD 📚: with Pete Orford
Welcome to a new series of Charles Dickens: A Brain on Fire!🔥
Today we take a deep dive into Dickens’ final, unfinished novel, The Mystery of Edwin Drood …
Joining us to talk about this extraordinary …
Dickens' Handwriting: with Emma Bache
What if their scribbles on paper could reveal intimate details about a person’s character, personality, and even their health? Charles Dickens, one of the greatest authors in the annals of literature…
Paul Dombey's Wallpaper: with J.M. Varese
What do luxurious wallpapers, deadly poison, and supernatural elements have in common? Join host Dominic Gerrard for a captivating conversation with novelist and literary historian Jon Michael Varese…
The Mega Dickens Readalong: with Katie Lumsden
Dominic welcomes the brilliant writer Katie Lumsden back to the podcast.
Katie's debut novel The Secrets of Hartwood Hall, published by Penguin's Random House, is now out in the shops (both sides of …
Bleak Health: with Nicholas Cambridge
Dominic is joined by Dr. Nicholas Cambridge who is an Honorary Research Fellow in Humanities at the University of Buckingham and a visiting scholar in Medical Humanities at Nova Scotia’s Dalhousie Un…
Biddy: with Laurie Ogden
Dominic is joined by the brilliant actress, poet & playwright Laurie Ogden. Together they talk about her experience filming her TV debut as Biddy in FX's Great Expectations ...
Laurie's poetry collect…
OLIVER TWIST 📚: with Emily Bell
Dominic is joined by the brilliant Dr. Emily Bell who digs deep into Dickens’ second novel: Oliver Twist; or, the Parish Boy’s Progress …
Emily is a Lecturer in Digital Humanities & Digital Skills at …
Dickens Re-imagined: with Steven Knight
Dominic is joined by the inimitable Steven Knight who's exciting and daring screenplays include Peaky Blinders, Taboo and SAS Rogue Heroes.
Steven also adapted the dark and thrilling FX A Christmas C…
"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times ..." A Tale of Two Cities (Chapter One): Read by Dominic Gerrard
Host Dominic Gerrard reads the opening chapter of A Tale of Two Cities ...
If you'd like to make a donation to support the costs of producing this series you can buy 'coffees' right h…
Great Adaptations: with Harry Lloyd
Dominic is joined by the inimitable actor and Dickens descendant Harry Lloyd. Together they discuss their first impressions of FX’s new Great Expectations and Harry's experience of playing Dickens c…
UPROAR! with Alice Loxton
Dominic is joined by the inimitable broadcaster & historian Alice Loxton who takes us on a journey into the frenzied and scandalous world of London society in the Georgian Period ...
Alice is a celebr…
THE BATTLE OF LIFE 📚: with Katie Lumsden
It's the 10th Day of Christmas ... and Dominic is joined by the brilliant writer Katie Lumsden where they attempt to examine, with fresh eyes, Dickens' long forgotten Christmas Book The Battle of Lif…
Pip's Christmas Dinner: Read by Dominic Gerrard
Dominic reads a Christmas Day excerpt from Chapter IV of Great Expectations where Pip has to sit through the ordeal of a Christmas Dinner with a heavy conscience ...
HAPPY CHRISTMAS!Â
"Come in! and know me better man!" A Christmas Carol (Excerpt): Read by Dominic Gerrard
It's Christmas Eve! And Dominic reads an excerpt from Stave III of A Christmas Carol ...
If you'd like to make a donation to support the costs of producing this series you can buy 'co…
THE GOBLINS WHO STOLE A SEXTON 📚(Then Wrote a Carol & Rang A New Year In!) with Claire Wood
Dominic is joined by the wonderful Dr. Claire Wood again for a special Christmas episode on Charles Dickens' The Story of the Goblins who Stole a Sexton; A Christmas Carol and The Chimes ...
Reading e…
A CHRISTMAS CAROL & Other Christmas Books📚: with Robert Douglas Fairhurst
Dominic is joined again by the inimitable Robert Douglas Fairhurst who returns to this series to explore Dickens' five iconic Christmas Books: A Christmas Carol, The Chimes, The Cricket on the Hearth…