PODCAST · arts
Charles Dickens: A Brain on Fire! 🔥
by Dominic Gerrard
Actor Dominic Gerrard hosts an exciting new series that explores the Life and Times of Charles Dickens: his extraordinary novels, who he was as a person, his career as a performer, and his activism. 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! Along side these interviews there are special Dickens readings from across his works ... Thank you for listening 🔥
Episodes
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NO THOROUGHFARE 📚: with Emily Middleton
Dominic is joined by Dr Emily Middleton who returns to guide us through Dickens' final Christmas Number ... No Thoroughfare. Written in collobration with Wilkie Collins in the December of 1867 the story is preoccupied with pathways in life that are seemingly blocked or torn away from you: whether...
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The Plays of Charles Dickens: Joanna Hofer-Robinson & Pete Orford
Dominic is joined by the inimitable Dr. Joanna Hofer-Robinson and Dr. Pete Orford, for a lively discussion on their new publication The Plays of Charles Dickens . This is the first ever critical edition of Dickens’ plays which include the early farces of The Strange Gentleman, The Village...
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A TALE OF TWO CITIES 📚: with Céline Prest
Dominic is joined by the inimitable Dr. Céline Prest who guides today's discussion on A Tale of Two Cities - one of the most gripping, exciting and heart-rending stories that Dickens ever wrote. Céline completed her Phd at the Sorbonne University in 2016. Her doctoral research was awarded the…
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(Encore!) Copperfeld, Chuzzlewit ... Partridge? : with Armando Iannucci
Ahead of a new series this month Dominic re-shares his popular interview with the inimitable Armando Iannucci! Armando is one of the leading comedy writers and political satirists of our time - where we delve into his literary passions and influences. This lively conversation peels back the…
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NEW EPISODES for 2026 !!! 📚
Charles Dickens: A Brain on Fire! will return in the summer ... In the meantime there are nearly 100 Episodes to enjoy with guests such as: Stephen Fry, Miriam Margolyes, Armando Iannucci, Andrew Davies, Alice Loxton, Robert Douglas-Fairhurst, Lucinda Hawksley, John Bowen, John Mullan, Rosie…
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Look Closer: with Robert Douglas-Fairhurst
Dominic welcomes back one of the most celebrated guests of this series Professor Robert Douglas-Fairhurst ... Robert’s latest book Look Closer: How to get more out of reading (published by Penguin) is an invitation to all of us to go deeper into our reading, and find greater joy and meaning in…
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The Muppet Christmas Carol: with Meredith Braun
This Christmas Eve ... Dominic is joined by the inimitable Meredith Braun, who played Scrooge's love interest Belle - opposite Michael Caine (and Fozziwig!) - in Brian Henson's The Muppet Christmas Carol ... Meredith shares her memories of filming the role, whilst simultaneously playing Eponine…
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THE CRICKET ON THE HEARTH 📚 : with Lydia Craig
Dominic is joined again by the inimitable Dr. Lydia Craig where they dive into Dickens' third Christmas Book, with readings from the award-winning actress Penelope Rawlins The Cricket On The Hearth - published 180 years ago this year - explodes into life from the very start and hardly pauses for...
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Dickens' Carol Manuscript : with Philip Palmer
Dominic is joined by the inimitable Dr. Philip Palmer: Robert H. Taylor Curator & Department Head of Literary and Historical Manuscripts at the Morgan Library & Museum and custodian of Charles Dickens' one and only handwritten manuscript of A Christmas Carol ... Here Philip shares many of the...
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"Master Humphrey's Christmas": Read by Dominic Gerrard
Dominic reads a quietly enchanting festive episode from “Master Humphrey’s Clock” by Charles Dickens. Master Humphrey is wandering the snowy streets, one 25th December, and casually walks into a tavern. A decision that will change his life forever ... A MERRY CHRISTMAS to all you listeners,...
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What Matters in Jane Austen & Charles Dickens? : with John Mullan
Dominic is joined by returning guest, the inimitable Professor John Mullan: author of What Matters in Jane Austen? (now released in a 250th Birthday Edition) and The Artful Dickens - both published by Bloomsbury Press In a lively chat, John sheds light on the tricks, devices and styles of these…
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The Cock Lane Ghost: with Emma Clery
Dominic is joined by the inimitable Prof. Emma Clery - author of The Rise of Supernatural Fiction 1762-1800 and Professor of English Literature at Uppsala University, Sweden. They continue this month’s theme of the supernatural, taking you on a journey into the heart of an event that caused a...
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TO BE READ AT DUSK 📚: with Emily Middleton
The ghostly episodes continue as Dominic welcomes back the inimitable Dr. Emily Middleton who helps piece together the scattered psychological fragments that create Dickens' To Be Read at Dusk ... Five couriers sit high up watching the sun set over snowy peaks of the St Bernard's Pass, their…
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Headless Horsemen & Morphean Space: with Kirstin Mills
Dominic is joined by the inimitable Dr. Kirstin Mills Senior Lecturer and Director of the Master of Research & Graduate Diploma of Research in the Faculty of Arts, at Macquarie University. Kirstin's recent articles include the chapter "Morphean Space and the Metaphysics of Nightmare ..."…
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The Lawyer and The Ghost: Read by Jonathan Broadbent
This Halloween ... actor Jonathan Broadbent reads one of the interpolated ghost stories, from The Pickwick Papers In The Lawyer and The Ghost a somewhat disreputable young Lawyer has retired to his meagre lodgings one night and is forced to debate with something not of this world ... Support the...
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THE BLACK VEIL 📚: with Andrew Smith
This Halloween Dominic is joined by the inimitable Prof. Andrew Smith who guides us through Dickens' The Black Veil and his latest book Dickens and the Gothic (for Cambridge University Press) Perhaps calling to mind Susan Hill’s The Woman In Black … The Black Veil begins with a young man sitting…
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HAPPY HALLOWEEN !!! 🎃
Dominic announces a new series of Charles Dickens: A Brain on Fire!🔥 and share some personal stories of haunting ... Support the show If you'd like to make a donation to support the costs of producing this series you can buy 'coffees' right here https://www.buymeacoffee.com/dominicgerrard Thank...
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The War of the Worlds: with Jeff Wayne
Dominic now to Jeff Wayne about the creation of his masterpiece The Musical Version of The War of the Worlds ... At time of recording this multiplatinum album has sold over 16 million copies worldwide and is currently running as an Immersive Experience in London. It features searing performances...
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Two Cities: with Jeff Wayne
Dominic speaks to the award-winning composer Jeff Wayne about Two Cities (his Musical adaptation of A Tale of Two Cities) that opened at the Palace Theatre, in London's West End, on 27th February 1969 Despite a run of just 44 performances, Two Cities was Nominated for Best Musical at the Evening...
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PICTURES FROM ITALY 📚: with Pete Orford
In the July of 1844 Dickens, his wife Catherine, their five children, his sister-in-law Georgina - plus three servants and their dog Timber - left London for Italy. What followed was an extraordinary adventure for them all. Returning to the series to talk to Dominic about his new Oxford…
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The Manuscript at Staplehurst: with Leon Litvack
Bonus Episode! In which Dr. Leon Litvack recounts Dickens' dramatic retrieval of Part 16 of the Manuscript of Our Mutual Friend from the swaying carriage at Staplehurst; and reveals, here for the first time, a key discovery he has made; plus the cut sections he has restored in his new Oxford...
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OUR MUTUAL FRIEND 📚: with Leon Litvack
Dominic is joined by Dr. Leon Litvack whose new edition of Our Mutual Friend for Oxford University Press will be published in November Leon is a reader at Queen’s University Belfast, and is an expert analyst of Dickens’ letters, manuscripts & handwriting. As well as being the Principal Editor of...
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Vincent Van Gogh: with Carol Jacobi
Vincent Van Gogh was an avid reader of Dickens. Throughout his life Dickens' works provided not only a mental 'scaffold' that helped him to believe in his own mission as an artist, but also pull himself out of deep depressions ... Here to talk to Dominic today about the powerful connection…
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The Verse of Charles Dickens: with Lydia Craig & Emily Middleton
Dickens' genius as a novelist is acknowledged the world over ... but what was he like as a poet? Joining Dominic today to find out are the inimitable Dr. Lydia Craig & Dr. Emily Middleton who have just co-authored The Verse of Charles Dickens (Edinburgh University Press) Support the show If you'd...
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(Encore!) BLEAK HOUSE 📚: with Stephen Fry
Ahead of a new series Dominic re-shares the most popular episode of this show so far! Bleak House with the inimitable Stephen Fry who takes the listener on an intricate journey through the fog and mystery of Dickens' thrilling masterpiece. And reading extracts from Esther's narrative is the...
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GEORGE SILVERMAN'S EXPLANATION 📚: with Emily Middleton
Hot on the heels of Dominic's audiobook of George Silverman's Explanation comes the discussion with Dr. Emily Middleton (formerly Bell) … who we’ve met before in the episodes on Oliver Twist and The Lazy Tour of Two Idle Apprentices … Emily is working on George Silverman, and other rarer Dickens...
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George Silverman's Explanation (Audiobook): Read by Dominic Gerrard
Dominic reads George Silverman's Explanation - one of Dickens' rarer short stories - ahead of an upcoming discussion with Dr. Emily Middleton ... Support the show If you'd like to make a donation to support the costs of producing this series you can buy 'coffees' right here...
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Pickwick's Legacy ...
Here are two fragments that didn't make the cut in the previous episode on THE PICKWICK PAPERS ... Prof. Hugo Bowles talks about the afterlife of Pickwick & Gina Beck reads an extract where Pickwick is observed from a window by a Scientific Gentleman! Original cover headshot of Hugo Bowles © Luca...
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THE PICKWICK PAPERS 📚 : with Hugo Bowles
Dominic is joined by the inimitable Prof. Hugo Bowles who is currently working the OUP edition of The Pickwick Papers to guide us through this riot of a novel - if it is a novel? Hugo is an alumnus of both Oxford and Cambridge where he read English, Classics and Applied Linguistics. For over…
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A Tour of 48 Doughty Street: with Jordan Evans-Hill
Today’s episode is A Tale of Two Podcasts where Dominic teams up with Jordan Evans-Hill: creator and host of the Charles Dickens Museum’s Inimitable podcast. Here Jordan takes the listener on a tour inside number 48 Doughty St - the house where Dickens lived and worked as he completed Pickwick,...
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A Jane Austen Year ...
Dominic has helped create a sister podcast to mark the 250th Anniversary of Jane Austen's birth! A Jane Austen Year is told by the people that work at Jane Austen’s House - the idyllic Hampshire cottage, in the south of England, where Jane Austen wrote her world famous novels. On the first of…
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A CHRISTMAS CAROL (Part Two) 📚 : with John Bowen
Welcome to Part Two of Dominic and John Bowen's journey through A Christmas Carol ... With readings again from Hollie Hales and violin parts performed by Alexis Bennett. HAPPY CHRISTMAS !!! This episode was first broadcast on December 28, 2024 Original cover headshot of John Bowen © Paul Shields…
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A CHRISTMAS CAROL (Part One) 📚 : with John Bowen
It’s Christmas Eve, and Dominic takes a deep dive with you all through A Christmas Carol. Returning to the series is the inimitable Prof. John Bowen (who recently worked on David Edgar’s Carol adaptation for the RSC) and who like many of us, re-reads this ghostly little book every Christmas and…
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‘What Brutal Hand …?': with Lydia Craig
*This episode focuses on the theme of domestic violence* Dominic shares a bonus fragment from his last interview with Dr. Lydia Craig on The Haunted Man and The Ghost's Bargain ... It is a moment in the story where Redlaw comes across ‘a woman sitting on the stairs, either asleep or forlorn’ and...
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THE HAUNTED MAN AND THE GHOST'S BARGAIN 📚 : with Lydia Craig
Today’s episode is on Dickens’ final Christmas Book The Haunted Man and the Ghost’s Bargain. A deeply powerful story, where the chemist, Stephen Redlaw is offered the chance to forget all his painful memories by a Phantom who is a ghastly copy of himself drawn from the shadows in his study.…
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The Christmas Illustrations: with Lucinda Hawksley
This episode marks the 3rd birthday of Charles Dickens: A Brain on Fire! 🔥 In this first Christmas episode for 2024 Dominic is joined again by the critically acclaimed author, broadcaster, and art-historian Lucinda Hawksley. And as they return to Dickens’ Christmas books their focus this time is...
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The Gordon Riots: with Ian Haywood
Dominic is joined today by the inimitable Professor Ian Haywood, of the Centre for Inclusive Humanities at the University of Roehampton. Together they delve into the astonishing 'Riots of Eighty' that gripped London for a week and were brought thrillingly to life in Dickens' Barnaby Rudge ... Ian...
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DROOD ...📚 And Our Endless Attempts To End It: with Pete Orford
Dominic is joined again by the inimitable Dr. Pete Orford for Part II of his examination of The Mystery of Edwin Drood ... Pete’s book Edwin Drood: Charles Dickens’ Unfinished Novel And Our Endless Attempts To End It … (Pen & Sword books) is our guide throughout. It is a hugely entertaining read...
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Mrs Dickens: with Emily Howes
Dominic is joined by the inimitable Emily Howes, author of The Painters Daughters, who is currently writing her second book, Mrs Dickens, all about the life of Catherine Hogarth and her marriage to Charles Dickens … Emily is an alumna of Cambridge University, where she was a member of the famous...
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London Tide: with Ben Power
Dominic meets Ben Power backstage at London’s National Theatre who takes a break from rehearsals to talk about London Tide - an exciting new staging of Our Mutual Friend - which he has adapted with songs composed by the award-winning PJ Harvey Ben is a Tony Award winning, and a BAFTA & Olivier...
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"The Haunted Man" (Excerpt): Read by Tom Andrews
Our final festive extract comes from Dickens’ last Christmas Book The Haunted Man and The Ghost’s Bargain - read today by the fantastic actor Tom Andrews Tom’s screen credits include: This England (for Revolution films & Sky Atlantic), Netflix’s The Strays, Feelgood & Afterlife; HBO’S I Hate…
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“The Battle of Life” (Excerpt): Read by Rebecca Tanwen
Happy 6th Day of Christmas! Today’s guest is the wonderful Rebecca Tanwen reading for us the opening pages of Dickens’ 4th Christmas book The Battle of Life … The story opens with a wide shot of an ancient battle ground, where the traces of the fight have lingered through the centuries, not only…
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"The Cricket on the Hearth" (Excerpt): Read by Tom Bennett
Happy 5th Day of Christmas! The fantastic actor Tom Bennett reads an excerpt from Dickens’ third Christmas book The Cricket on the Hearth … Caleb Plummer and his daughter Bertha are poor toymakers in the service of the cruel, miserly Tackleton. As the scene unfolds we learn that Caleb’s daughter...
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"The Chimes" (Excerpt): Read by Carlyss Peer
The wonderful actress Carlyss Peer returns to the series to read an excerpt from Dickens' second Christmas Book The Chimes You'll be transported to Trotty's humble abode, feeling the chill of the London streets and the welcoming embrace of his heart as he opens his home to strangers, reminding us...
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Christmas Carols: with Harry Christophers & The Sixteen
Dominic is joined by the inimitable Harry Christophers CBE , founder and conductor of The Sixteen, one of the worlds most revered choral ensembles. With thanks to CORO for these stunning Christmas excerpts: Carol of the Bells Apple / Spotify Pilgrim Jesus Apple / Spotify Of a Rose Apple / Spotify...
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A Dickensian Christmas Dinner: with Pen Vogler
Dominic is joined by the wonderful award winning food historian Pen Vogler who returns to the podcast to talk about Dickensian Christmas Dinners ... Focusing on Dickens' five Christmas books - A Christmas Carol, The Chimes, The Cricket on the Hearth, The Battle of Life and The Haunted Man - Pen...
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"The Holly Tree" (Excerpt): Read by Chris Nayak
The wonderful actor Chris Nayak reads the from the First Branch of The Holly-Tree Inn - one of Dickens' rarer Christmas stories … Packed with self-deprecating humour, a fantastic snowy atmosphere, this a very pleasing festive narrative. Chris’ stage credits include King Duncan in Macbeth at the...
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The Lost Portrait: with Emma Rutherford
Dominic’s guest today is the inimitable Emma Rutherford who recalls her time working on the rediscovery of a lost portrait of Dickens, painted by Margaret Gillies in 1843, and lost for over a century until its serendipitous reappearance at a South African auction. A pivotal snapshot of Dickens'...
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"Christmas at Dingley Dell": Read by Gina Beck
Light up your holiday season with the enchanting narration of our guest, the brilliant Gina Beck as she transports us to the charm and warmth of a festive journey from Charles Dickens' Pickwick Papers in a way that is sure to stir the Christmas spirit in you. Gina has been a star of London’s West...
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Charles Ignatius Sancho: with Paterson Joseph
The award-winning actor and writer Patterson Joseph takes the listener on a fascinating journey into the captivating life of Charles Ignatius Sancho, an African man who found favour among the highest reaches of 18th-century British society, and who had a front-row seat to the infamous Gordon…
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
Actor Dominic Gerrard hosts an exciting new series that explores the Life and Times of Charles Dickens: his extraordinary novels, who he was as a person, his career as a performer, and his activism. 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! Along side these interviews there are special Dickens readings from across his works ... Thank you for listening 🔥
HOSTED BY
Dominic Gerrard
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does Charles Dickens: A Brain on Fire! 🔥 have?
Charles Dickens: A Brain on Fire! 🔥 currently has 100 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is Charles Dickens: A Brain on Fire! 🔥 about?
Actor Dominic Gerrard hosts an exciting new series that explores the Life and Times of Charles Dickens: his extraordinary novels, who he was as a person, his career as a performer, and his activism. Guests include: Stephen Fry, Miriam Margolyes, Armando Iannucci, Alice Loxton, Robert...
How often does Charles Dickens: A Brain on Fire! 🔥 release new episodes?
Charles Dickens: A Brain on Fire! 🔥 has 100 episodes. Check the episode list to see recent publication dates and frequency.
Where can I listen to Charles Dickens: A Brain on Fire! 🔥?
You can listen to Charles Dickens: A Brain on Fire! 🔥 on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts Charles Dickens: A Brain on Fire! 🔥?
Charles Dickens: A Brain on Fire! 🔥 is created and hosted by Dominic Gerrard.
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