Dickens

20021h

Production

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Dickens is a 2002 three-part docudrama presented by Peter Ackroyd, on whose biography of Dickens it was based. An unorthodox style is taken: actors play various individuals in Dickens' life (as well as Dickens himself), interviewed as if appearing in a contemporary documentary. Their words are from actual letters and journals of the individuals involved, and serve to illuminate the hardships and successes in Dickens' life, and the way his experiences found their way into his works.

Seasons

3 Episodes • Premiered 2002

An unorthodox look at the life of Charles Dickens: actors play various individuals in his life (as well as the man himself), interviewed as if appearing in a contemporary documentary. Their words are from actual letters and journals of the individuals involved, and serve to illuminate the hardships and successes in Dickens' life, and the way his experiences found their way into his works.

Still image for Dickens season 1 episode 1: Secrets

1. Secrets

An exploration of how the writer's early years shaped his life and work.

Still image for Dickens season 1 episode 2: Blazing Away

2. Blazing Away

Amid the brutality of industrialised England, Dickens used his fame to change society. But his private life was troubled.

Still image for Dickens season 1 episode 3: Terror to the End

3. Terror to the End

Dickens creates his greatest works in the last decade of his life. But success comes at a price as he embarks on a complex double life.

Cast

Photo of Anton Lesser

Anton Lesser

Charles Dickens

Photo of Miriam Margolyes

Miriam Margolyes

Catherine Dickens

Photo of Kenneth Cranham

Kenneth Cranham

John Forster

Photo of Helen McCrory

Helen McCrory

Kate Dickens

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