Gerald Charles Dickens wrote and performs this fast-paced show about Charles Dickens’ early life and works. He portrays his ancestor, from a child in debtor’s prison to the world-famous author he became. Excerpts from Dickens’ novels show how his life affected what he wrote. Dickens’ response to invitations from Queen Victoria are humorously portrayed.
(See ticket information below)
As a 19th-century child in Maine, Kate Douglas Wiggin had loved reading Charles Dickens’ novels. She named her pets after Dickens’ characters. Though her mother had a ticket to Dickens’ 1868 Boston performance, regretfully Kate did not. But when Kate and her mother boarded the Portland to Boston train, Kate realized the opportunity to be near her “Adored One’, and rushed to sit by Charles Dickens. She told him her favorite parts of his novels, and Dickens took out his notebook and pen to make note of it.

Kate’s endearing reminiscence about that train journey was entitled A Child’s Journey with Dickens. Gerald Charles Dickens’ delightful one-man show is based on Kate’s book.

Kate later wrote Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm.
(See ticket information below)
Gerald Charles Dickens brings alive the 26 characters of A Christmas Carol with his facial expression, a distinctive voice, a way of standing and moving. A masterful storyteller, the young Dickens portrays Tiny Tim, Scrooge, Bob Cratchit, Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Yet to Come just as Charles Dickens did on his 1868 tour in Portland, Maine and Boston.

The New York Times called his performance “A once in a lifetime brush with literary history.” The Toronto Star said: “It’s not a reading or a dramatization, but the best of both. Dickens has the entire 75-minute script fully memorized, and he used his face and body with the verve of a skilled performer.”
(See ticket information below)
Adult Ticket: $20.00

Children under 12 Ticket: $15.00

Adult Combination Ticket
(all 3 performances): $50.00

Children under 12 Combination Ticket (all 3 performances): $35.00

 Make checks or money orders payable to:

Buxton-Hollis Historical Society
P.O. Box 277
Bar Mills, ME 04004

For ticket reservations or more information, call
Beverly Atkinson
207-929-6495
E-mail:RAtkin5850@aol.com
Note: Advance reservations are required due to limited seating. Your check when received will be acknowledged by phone or e-mail. Tickets will not be mailed to you but will be reserved in your name and available at the performances.

Click Here for a Printable Ticket Order Form »
Sales & Signing

Prior to and after the performances, Dickens books, gifts, collectibles offered by Jackson Enterprises, Inc. will be available for sale in the Brewster Barn, adjacent to the 1805 Royal Brewster Mansion. Both are across the street from Tory Hill Church. Mr. Dickens signs after each performance. Only these Dickens books, gifts, and collectibles purchased on site will be signed and personalized by Mr. Dickens.

Among books, gifts, and collectibles will be the beautifully illustrated hardcover book, A Christmas Carol; Gerald Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol performance on CD; The Life of Our Lord book; and "I'm Nuts about Dickens" fancy pecan halves.

A portion of the proceeds will benefit The Dorcas Society of Hollis and Buxton, Maine, Buxton-Hollis Historical Society, Salmon Falls Library, Tory Hill Church Building Restoration Fund, and South Buxton Cemetery Fund.
Additional information at www.buxtonrecreation.com

Other Places of Interest
Before or after Dickens' performances and Buxton's Annual Community Day's varied activities, visit these places. Each relates to Dickens' performances, i.e., railroads, Victorian era, and a 19th-century writer contemporary with Charles Dickens.

Maine Narrow Gauge Railroad & Museum
58 Fore Street, Portland, www.mngrr.org Historic Museum with two-foot cars, cabooses and railroad artifacts. Enjoy a train ride along scenic Casco Bay and the Portland waterfront.

Victoria Mansion
109 Danforth Street, Portland, www.victoriamansion.org. New England's Finest Historic House Museum of the Victorian Era. Fresco paintings, stained glass, Italianate architecture.

Wadsworth-Longfellow House at Maine Historical Society
487 Congress Street, Portland, www.hwlongfellow.org, www.mainehistory.org. Childhood home of poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. Built by the poet's grandfather, General Peleg Wadsworth, the house is one of the oldest brick structures on Portland's peninsula. Original furnishings and family memorabilia.