Video: A Tale of two Charleses and a Dickens of a quiz

LUMINARIES from the literature world joined the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall at Westminster Abbey yesterday to mark the 200th anniversary of the birth of Charles Dickens.

Prince Charles paid tribute to the author as “one of the greatest writers of the English language” during the service, where wreaths were laid at Dickens’s grave in Poets’ Corner.

An event was held simultaneously at Dickens’s birthplace in Portsmouth, Hampshire.

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In a message sent from Charles to that service, he said: “Despite the many years that have passed, Charles Dickens remains one of the greatest writers of the English language, who used his creative genius to campaign passionately for social justice.

“The word Dickensian instantly conjures up a vivid picture of Victorian life with all its contrasts and intrigue, and his characterisation is as fresh today as it was on the day it was written.”

The Prince laid a wreath of white roses and snowdrops on Dickens’s grave before two of the writer’s descendants, great-great-great-grandson Bob Dickens and great-great-great-great-granddaughter Rachel Dickens Green, made their own tribute on behalf of the family by laying two posies.

The congregation at the Abbey, where Dickens was buried in 1870, contained the largest ever gathering of descendants of the Victorian novelist, with nearly 200 of them present.

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Ralph Fiennes, who is to star as Magwitch in a new film adaptation of Great Expectations, read an extract from Bleak House during the ceremony, with other readings made by biographer Claire Tomalin and Mark Dickens, the writer’s great-great-grandson.

Other guests at the ceremony included writers David Nicholls and Armando Iannucci and X Files actress Gillian Anderson.

Dickens’s parents, John and Elizabeth, moved to Portsmouth when his father was transferred from London because of his work in the Navy Pay Office.

The writer was born on February 7 1812 and his family returned to London in 1814.

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The Very Rev John Hall, Dean of Westminster, gave thanks for Dickens’s life as he welcomed the congregation.

He added: “Charles Dickens’s passion and compassion, so powerfully influential in his day, continue to move and empower his worldwide audience through his stories and his books.”

Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams praised Dickens’s ability to get to the heart of the human condition and said: “It is difficult to tell the truth about human beings. Every novelist knows this in a special way, and when Dickens sets out to tell the truth about human beings, he does it outrageously by exaggeration, by caricature.

“The figures we remember most readily from his works are the great grotesques.

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“We think we have never met anyone like them – and then we think again.”

Speaking outside the Abbey, Mark Dickens said of the occasion: “The worldwide interest and fascination in Charles Dickens’s career has taken us completely by surprise – this is a fantastic day.

“Who would have thought that 200 years after the birth of an author that we would be so interested in his writing and that it would remain relevant today?”

Fiennes described it as “a great honour” to be invited to read at the ceremony and added: “Like Shakespeare, Dickens has a universal appeal. I think the spirit of the people that he creates is something we recognise today.”

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Before the Westminster Abbey ceremony, Charles and Camilla visited the Charles Dickens Museum, on the site of the author’s former home in Doughty Street, London.

After looking at some of Dickens’s original manuscripts with interest, Charles declared the writing to be “utterly indecipherable”.

Meanwhile, all members of the Cabinet were presented with copies of Dickens’s works by Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt yesterday.

Prime Minister David Cameron received copies of Hard Times and Great Expectations; Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg was given Oliver Twist and Chancellor George Osborne was presented with A Tale Of Two Cities.

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Mr Clegg said: “Oliver Twist is an absolute classic. It is funny, tragic, satirical and a vivid and disturbing snapshot of life in Victorian England – everything that is great about Dickens’s work.

“I always try to read fiction before bed and I can’t wait to rediscover this wonderful book.”

According to a poll held to mark the anniversary, Ebenezer Scrooge was voted the most popular Charles Dickens character.

Seven out of the top 10 characters chosen by Penguin readers were villains or some of Dickens’s darker creations, with Miss Havisham from Great Expectations coming second.