Notice that title has no exclamation point. But the e-book of BLEAK HOUSE has indeed finally made its appearance on Amazon. As Dickens’s longest novel, my illustrated e-book version weighs in at over 1,000 pages and retails for $9.99.
The 40 illustrations, and the demands of placing the art adjacent to the proper text, was what made this project intimidating, but the real drawback was that I had been looking at nothing but BLEAK HOUSE for six years, give or take, and having someone, anyone (!) to do the work sounded pretty good. Anyway I found someone online who could design an e-book and they offered a few other bells and whistles that weren’t as important, and which in any case never happened!
Read more: The E-book Has LandedAt the very end of the process it was the oddest thing, but I ran into a title problem. I couldn’t call the e-book “Bleak House”! The woman managing the book design was vague about it, though she always seemed a little under informed and nervous, so I ran down the issue with a Google search:
BLEAK HOUSE is public domain, meaning it, along with all of Dickens’s work (and almost all published work up to and including well into the 20th Century), is not protected by copyright, and anyone can use or reprint his work in any way they wish.
It turns out that Amazon’s e-book marketplace is totally awash in endless e-book editions of tons and tons of public domain works, and in an effort to cope with this flood, they have rules about titling
e-book editions of public domain works. As an example, a search for “Bleak House” on Amazon returns about 281 entries.
So, approaching the finish line on a process that had gone on for more than six months, I was told I couldn’t name the e-book “Bleak House”.
So it is now “The Illustrated Bleak House” and you can download it here!
Dickens On The Boulevard
Coming up right here in Downtown Claremore, OK, is our local annual holiday street event, Dickens On The Boulevard, on Sunday, Nov. 22. Main Street takes on a Victorian air, and I will be participating in a book signing extravanganza at Boardinghouse Books at 300 W. Will Rogers Blvd.
I’ll be signing copies of BLEAK HOUSE, and I’ll have a few t-shirts and art prints for your viewing pleasure and holiday shopping!
I attended “Dickens On The Boulevard” once a few years ago and there were strollers in period outfits up and down Main Street, folks in costume sitting or posing in store windows, and holiday decor everywhere. It’s no “Dickens Universe” but really, what is?? It’s all great fun and worth a leisurely stroll up Main Street.
Speaking of T-shirts…
I still have several left of three designs, which are now available for $20, with postage of $15. Not all sizes, though.
If you’re interested, leave me a note below, or you can email me at dickens@mooneyart.com.
Dickens Universe Recap
I had a great de-briefing Zoom call on my experience at Dickens Universe with the program coordinator. Apparently everyone who took my linoleum-printing class absolutely raved about it! And so did I! It was way more fun than I can express.
It’s a valuable thing when I can clearly explain things and processes that I take for granted when I’m working in my studio. Having the opportunity to share this knowledge with a roomful of people who are eager to have it, made the experience genuinely unique and fulfilling.
I’m still trying to get some of the footage that was shot by the videographer in my class and I will post it here when it arrives. Even the coordinator asked about pictures, and I told her that their own video guy had some film on the class. She had some contact info for him, so now I’m just waiting to hear back.
Thanks again for stopping to visit. I’ll leave comments open below, so you can leave a comment or drop me an email.
