21st Century Relevance of Charles Dickens

In his last completed, under-appreciated novel, "Our Mutual Friend", (1864) Dickens has created a minor character, Jenny Wren. She is introduced thus;

Charley knocked at the door & heard a child's voice say 'Come in, I can't get up. My back is bad and my legs don't work." On entering, he found a girl with an elfin face and golden hair, who was sitting hunched & twisted in an armchair. There was a little worktable before her covered in cloth, wool & thread. She was no more than 13 years old but had sharp eyes. She said "I am Jenny Wren, dress maker for dolls. I must get on with my work." On an enquiry as to whether it is a good business, she replies "No, I work too long for my sore back & bent legs." Later, it is found that she has to work to support not only herself but her father & grandfather, both addicted to drink.

Though by mass producing Barbie dolls, the profession of "Doll's Dressmaker" has become redundant, concern for handicapped people, which is in the forefront now, was highlighted by Dickens 160 years ago. So is his anguish at child labour, necessitated by adult alcoholic addiction. Long working hours with poor remuneration is again rearing it's ugly head. Many of the questions raised by Dickens, are  still not satisfactorily answered.

Two difficult novels set in Alexandria

The first is Charles Kingsley's "Hypatia" (1853) which deals with the life & times of the female pagan philosopher, who lived & taught in Alexandria. There were many intolerant Catholics in the fifth century (like the ones conducting the later Spanish Inquisition) who finally lynched her. The book, though a best-seller when first published, makes heavy reading now in the 21st Century, because of the endless conflicts & discussions between the Pagans, Jews & Christians.

The second is Lawrence Durrell's "Alexandria Quartet" (1962) consisting of four novels, which the author says form a "word continuum", for which he adopted the "relativity proposition". So the first three novels deal with the three dimensions of the same events, seen through three different viewpoints & the fourth taking the story forward though time. This also, though a best seller, is a difficult read.

Memorable Movie Moments

The first is no doubt the Odessa steps sequence from Eisenstein's "The Battleship Potemkin", where a perambulator, hurtling down the steps uncontrollably, with a baby inside, climaxes the horror when a group of Cossaks charge a rebellious mob.

Hitchcock's "The Young & Innocent" (now available colorised) based on Josephine Tey's "A Shilling for Candles" featured an astonishing crane shot, tracking in from a distance of 145 feet across a crowded ballroom to within 4 inches of the twitching eye of a black-faced drummer.

Satyajit Ray's "Aparajito" featured a scene, where Apu's father, near death, gulps the holy water of the Ganges, fed by Apu, & drops down dead. Before his head touches the pillow, there is a sudden cut to the birds suddenly flying away from the banks of the Ganga. There was a spontaneous ovation from the audience at this point at the Venice Film Festival, where the film went on to win the Golden Lion.

In Stanley Kubrick's "2001 - A Space Odyssey", a group of primates, hunting, hurl a piece of bone into the air, where it dissolves into a spacecraft hurtling through space. This audacious dissolve condenses millions of years of human history into one sequence.

Literature, Music & Art: Three Seminal Books

Though there are umpteen number of books on these subjects, one in each brach can be picked out as exceptional. 

Books containing overviews of the best are many. But arguably the best one is "1000 Books to read before you die" by James Mustich. Apart from the thousand dealt with in detail, many thousands are also mentioned, making it the most authoritative & comprehensive volume to browse. (948 pages.) It is illustrated also, affording many hours of pleasure.

"The Illustrated Story of Art" published by DK books & compiled by a team of art historians is a large, sumptuous volume, magnificently illustrated with thousands of pictures, many in full page & centrespread also. (400 pages). As the subtitle says "The Great Art Movements & The Paintings That Inspired Them" are presented in a mind-boggling way.

Fortunately the above two are in print, but "Ragamala Paintings" by Klaus Ebeling is available only as a used copy from outside India. Though one of the first books on the subject, a fusion of Art & Music, the amazing research & painstaking presentation are truly path breaking. More than 300 pages of scholarly text, a plethora of black/white & colour plates and even "A Visual Dictionary" enhance this invaluable work.

Golden Age Detective Novels set in Female Educational Establishments

One of Agatha Christie's more intriguing novels is "Cat Among the Pigeons" set in a fictional prestigious girls' school, Meadowbank, whose headmistress is the legendary Miss  Bulstode & her co-founder Miss Chadwick. Miss Vansittart is a minor edition of Miss Bulstode. The milieu of a girls' boarding school is lovingly evoked until tragedy strikes with the murder of the games mistress. After another murder also takes place, in spite of police called in after the first, a little schoolgirl, Julia Upjohn, gets a clue, uses her brains & rushes off to see Poirot, whom she knows through her aunt. The scene where she unrolls her stockings & produces a cascade of diamonds, leaves even Poirot, speechless!

The other novel is Dorothy Sayers' last detective novel, "Gaudy Night." It is set in the fictional all-female College, Shrewsbury in Oxford. It is the alma mater of Harriet Vane, fiancee of Lord Peter Wimsey. No murder takes place in this book, which is quite long. But the atmosphere of a women's college is meticulously evoked. Though only some acts of vandalism take place, Harriet Vane, as a former alumni, is called in, because of her occupation as a mystery writer. But the mystery is finally solved only after the arrival of Lord Wimsey. The side-effects of women's education & employment also come into play.

The almost exclusive feminine cast of both these novels provide a refreshing change as both the authors are ladies!