Re: To Charles Dickens

Charles Dickens (cdickens@RMPLC.CO.UK)
Mon, 8 Dec 1997 14:57:45 -0100 

My dear Mr Soriano,

  When you speak of a character based upon my "previous girlfriend," I
imagine you speak of Flora Finching in "Little Dorrit."  She is not, to be
sure, without some touches of Mrs Winter, Miss Beadnell as she was when I
first knew her, and cared for her more than was wise.  But Flora Finching is
not Mrs Winter, Mrs Winter not Flora Finching.  The one is a creature of
fiction, the other of flesh and blood.  Lest you still feel there is some
lack of gallantry to be detected, let me ask you to remember the good heart
Flora reveals at the end of the book.
  It is far from easy for me to convey to you the value of the British pound
in my day.  In "Pickwick Papers," Sam Weller accepts a salary of twelve
pounds a year (all found).  In the same novel, it costs a shilling (one
twentieth of a pound) to take a cab from St Martin le Grand to Charing
Cross, about two miles. The ratios are different from today's.  I can only
hope, these figures give you some idea.
  All my life, I loved to wander the streets of London.  In my younger days,
I saw cottages such as Wemmicks in Walworth, and in "Great Expectations" I
record only what I remember.


Faithfully yours,


Charles Dickens
________________________________________________________________________________
>To a most distinguished Mr. Dickens,
>>         Your delightfully charming novels have greatly inspired our
>> small and igsignificant class here at Keith School. Your fantastic
>> novels have opened our minds to endless possibilities and superb ideas.
>> We have ingeniously come to the conclusion that your creative mind and
>> increasing genious will aide you in answering our pitiful, yet
>> inquisitive questions. My first question to you, Mr. Dickens, is this:
>> In your most excellent book, Little Droit, you  repeatedly insult and
>> abuse your previous girlfriend. Could you explain your reasons for doing
>> so? Also, in our favorite novel of yours, Great Expectations, you talk
>> about British Pounds and how they mattered a lot in Pip's financial
>> future. Could you please enlighten us as to the value of a pound at that
>> time period? We have one more questio to ask you about your amazing
>> novel, Great Expectations. We thuroughly enjoyed your description of Mr.
>> Wemmick's "home" and we were curious to know if his home was related to
>> any experience or oject during your yonger years.
>>         My Dear Mr. Dickens, Please do not feel obligated to answer all
>> of our questions, but it would be most enjoyable and pleasing if you
>> could answer some of the more interesting questions that you recieve.
>>
>>                   Your most humble and dedicated servant,
>>                                 Jason Soriano
>
>

======================
Charles Dickens
charles_dickens@rmplc.co.uk
Author