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3 Episodes 2003 - 2003
Episode 1
Wed, Dec 17, 2003 60 mins
Dickens scholar Peter Ackroyd probes the psyche of the 19th century's most famous author in this intriguing three-part profile, which juxtaposes Ackroyd's commentary with the insights of the author himself (played by Anton Lesser) and people associated with him. Added to the mix: scenes from film adaptations of Dickens novels that relate to his life. Part 1 covers his childhood, which began well in Kent, but ended badly in London. Dickens emerged from it "with an appetite for success and fame as if it might remove [its] taint," and took to writing. Soon, "Dickens was starting to fill his work with the secrets of his own life," Ackroyd says. And when he published "The Pickwick Papers," at age 24, he became a celebrity.
Episode 2
Wed, Dec 17, 2003 60 mins
In Part 2, host Peter Ackroyd follows Dickens as he writes many of his celebrated novels---from "Oliver Twist" to "David Copperfield"---and explores how his social conscience was influenced by his "secret past" as a poor youth in London. The books made him "the most famous novelist in the world," Ackroyd says, but his marriage soured early, and while he would remain with his wife for 22 years, he felt "trapped" by her, and happiness eluded him. "There are some who were born for turbulence," sighs Dickens (played by Anton Lesser). "I believe fate always drives me toward it."
Episode 3
Wed, Dec 17, 2003 60 mins
Conclusion. Host Peter Ackroyd charts the final 12 years of Dickens' life, beginning in 1858, the "year of the great stink" in fetid, disease-ridden London. It's captured in such novels as "Bleak House." Dickens' personal life, his marriage in particular, was no less bleak, and he finally banished---but didn't divorce---his wife. He also began a "secret life" with a young actress named Ellen Ternan, and took refuge in the adulation he received at public readings of his works. But they took a physical toll, and as his health declined, he "pushed himself too hard, too far," Ternan (Natasha Little) says. And he died of a stroke on June 9, 1870. Anton Lesser plays Dickens.