In Celebration: Charles Dickens' 200th Birthday!

Why celebrate Dickens bicentennial birthday here on this P&P Blog? Well, why ever not, four of our favorite P&P (2005) actors: Keira Knightley (Oliver Twist 1999), Matthew Macfadyen (Little Dorrit 2008), Carey Mulligan (Bleak House 2005), and (the upcoming The Mystery of Edwin Drood 2012) all had done Dickens based adaptations on television, that's why!

First of all, Charles Dickens was born on this day, February 7, 1812. Born
Charles John Huffam Dickens (7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English novelist, generally considered the greatest of the Victorian period.Dickens enjoyed a wider popularity and fame than had any previousauthor during his lifetime, and he remains popular, having beenresponsible for some of English literature's most iconic novels andcharacters. Read more about Dickens here on wikipedia!

Related Dickens links...

• See a Dickens doodle on Google here!
• Dickens Blog
• UK celebrates Charles Dickens' 200th birthday
• Video: Britain marks Charles Dickens bicentenary

So, yeah these P&P 05 actors had not only done one (or two) of our favorite Austen movies (Pride & Prejudice 2005, and Northanger Abbey 2007 with Carey Mulligan co-starring), they each did one of 4 of many Dickens adaptations too. Check out the following 4 Dickens adaptations with 4 P&P actors co-starring below...

Oliver Twist (1999) (TV Mini-series) - Keira Knightley as Rose Fleming (3 episodes)

Synopsis
Based on Charles Dickens' novel, this adaptation traces the childhoodof an orphan whose mother dies giving birth to him in an Englishwork-house in the 1820s...See full summary » (via IMDB)


Keira Knightley as Rose Fleming

(source: Star Warped)
View more KK Oliver Twist episode screen captures here!


Watch clips of Keira in Oliver Twist below...

 

(source: geligniteandlilies)
Watch more clips below...
Keira Knightley-Oliver Twist 1
Keira Knightley-Oliver Twist 2

Bleak House (2005) (TV mini-series) - Carey Mulligan as Ada Clare (15 episodes)

Synopsis
A suspenseful tale about the injustices of the 19th-century English legal system.

Carey Mulligan as Ada Clare

(source: BBC UK - Bleak House)
View more Bleak House stills here!

Watch Bleak House trailer

(source: ladyvignette)

Little Dorrit (2008) (TV mini-series) - Matthew Macfadyen as Arthur Clennam (14 episodes)

Synopsis
The series tells the story of Amy Dorrit, who spends her days earning money for the family and looking after her proud father...See full summary » (via IMDB)

Matthew Macfadyen as Arthur Clennam

(source: various sites via google)
View more Little Dorrit images here!

Watch Little Dorrit trailer
 
(source: PBS)

The Mystery of Edwin Drood (2012) (TV mini-series) -  as Rosa Bud (2 episodes)

Synopsis
An exploration of Charles Dicken's unfinished work in which the mystery of the murder of Edwin Drood is examined.

Recently aired on BBC Two Tuesday January 10th and Wednesday January 11th
Coming Soon: Premieres April 15, 2012 on PBS Masterpiece Classic

Tamzin Merchant as Rosa Bud

 

View more 'The Mystery of Edwin Drood' stills featuring Tamzin Merchant

Unfortunately, no trailer online yet for this one, but will update here as soon as it's available (perhaps sometime next month or in April when it airs on PBS Masterpiece Classic). For those of you who live in the UK, you may or may not have seen this version and for those who haven't, you can check out clips on BBC Two here.