LAST week’s An Evening with Charles Dickens, organised by the Charles Dickens (Malton) Society, was a sheer delight.

The members of the York Dickens Readers, wearing costumes of the era, gave us a fascinating series of episodes from the novels we all know. From David Copperfield we saw moving portrayals of the events before Copperfield was born, with Betsy Trotwood a daunting figure and the widowed Mrs Copperfield rather sad. The re-enactment of the scene with the famous phrase “Barkis in willing” was special.

From Little Dorrit there were several episodes. Mrs General was a powerful lady who believed that speaking words like “prunes” and “prisms” was “good for the lips”. She also expressed the view that “nothing disagreeable should be looked at”!

Later we saw Fanny Dorrit, described as “a little madam, capable of caprice and cruelty”, showing why the description fitted. In a scene set in Venice, Fanny displayed remarkable perceptive awareness of the nature of her father’s relationship with Mrs General.

Scenes from Oliver Twist, with Oliver’s arrival in London, and Fagin’s teaching him how to pick pockets (we all know the song) offered a colourful picture of low life as it then was.

This performance brought to life so many of the characters we grew up with. It also demonstrated what a talented writer Dickens was, able to portray with extraordinary sensitivity, colour and humour, how things were in his day.

The Charles Dickens (Malton) Society’s next event is a Dickens quiz evening on Tuesday, October 12, again at The Old Courthouse, Norton, at 7.30pm.

- John Collins