Gerald Charles Dickens, British actor and great-great grandson of world-famous novelist Charles Dickens, arrives on November 13, 2001 for his American Holiday Tour. Over the next 40 days, the 38-year-old Dickens will perform throughout the United States at historic hotels, museums and foundations, theaters, libraries, Dickens festivals and holiday galas. The energetic Dickens leaps, laughs, and sobs as he portrays the 26 voices of A Christmas Carol. His striking resemblance to his great-great-grandfather and his emotionally brilliant performances bring awe to adults and children alike. "History, literature, and biography spring to life when Gerald Dickens commands the stage," says Caroline Jackson, President of Jackson Enterprises, Inc., Dickens' management company. "He is powerful, energetic, and interactive. His spellbinding performance enthralls audiences! They respond to him with standing ovations and heartfelt affection." Charles Dickens wrote A Christmas Carol in 1843. This classic tale portrays the miserly Scrooge, transformed by the three Spirits' visits, becoming exuberant on Christmas morning, eager to help the crippled Tiny Tim and his family. "Charles Dickens performed the Carol in America in the 1800's," Jackson explains. "Gerald Charles Dickens' performances have become a holiday tradition in present-day America. Dickens' new show, The Republic of My Imagination, will premiere in 2002, celebrating his great-great-grandfather's first trip to America in 1842." Dickens has appeared on The History Channel, CBS This Morning, Good Morning America, and PBS stations throughout the United States. His performances have been featured on the front page of The New York Times. In England, Dickens was chosen this year to lay the ceremonial wreath in Westminster Abbey honoring Charles Dickens on the anniversary of his death. The 2001 American Holiday Tour brings Dickens to 16 states including Boston's Shubert Theatre; Thomasville, Georgia's Victorian Christmas; Riverside, California's Dickens Festival; Collierville, Tennessee's Dickens on the Square; Colonial Williamsburg; The Hotel Hershey; D56 retailer The Golden Goose; Mid-Continent Public Library; Delaware's Darley Society; San Antonio's Dickens by Candlelight Gala; Beaufort, South Carolina's Historic Foundation; St Paul Hotel's sold-out Teas; and Ojai Valley Inn's family-style dinner performance. "We're excited about bringing Mr. Dickens for the first time to audiences in Springfield, Illinois, Staten Island, New York, Laconia, New Hampshire, Mount Dora, Florida and Columbus, Indiana," Jackson says. For the Tour and performance details, visit the 2002 American Holiday Tour Schedule. Back home in England, Dickens is an actor, producer, and director. He performed his solo show Nicholas Nickleby at Rochester's summer Dickens festival in England. Another Dickens' show he wrote and performs is The Tale of Two Speeches and a dramatization of his Charles Dickens' ghost story, The Signalman. He, also, keeps busy with his production company, Mrs. Humphreys Productions. Dickens' acting career began at age nine in a school nativity play. He appeared wearing a bigger-than-life animal costume designed by his father, David Charles Dickens, past president of the worldwide Dickens Fellowship. Dickens, his wife and their three children live in the County of Kent, England. Following each American Holiday Tour performance, Dickens will sign and personalize Dickens books, gifts, and collectibles offered for sale by Jackson Enterprises, Inc. Two books will be of special interest to attendees: Christmas with Dickens and The Life of Our Lord, both hardcover collectibles. October 2001