The Frozen Deep
Encyclopedia
The Frozen Deep was a play, originally staged as an amateur theatrical, written by Wilkie Collins
along with the substantial guidance of Charles Dickens
in 1856. Dickens's hand was so prominent -- beside acting in the play for several performances, he added a preface
, altered lines, and attended to most of the props and sets -- that the principal edition of the play is entitled "Under the Management of Charles Dickens". John C. Eckel wrote: "As usual with a play which passed into rehearsal under Dickens' auspices it came out improved. This was the case with The Frozen Deep. The changes were so numerous that the drama almost may be ascribed to Dickens". Dickens himself took the part of Richard Wardour and was stage-manager during its modest original staging in Dickens' home Tavistock House
. The play, however, grew in influence through a series of outside performances, including one before Queen Victoria
at the Royal Gallery of Illustration
, and a three-performance run at the Manchester Free Trade Hall
for the benefit of the Douglas Jerrold Fund to benefit the widow of Dickens's old friend Douglas Jerrold
. There, night after night, everyone -- including, by some accounts, the carpenters and the stage-hands -- was moved to tears by the play. It also brought Dickens together with Ellen Ternan
, an actress he hired to play one of the parts, and for whom he would leave his wife Catherine. The play remained unpublished until a private printing appeared sometime in 1866.
's Arctic expedition of 1845
, in which Dickens had taken a great interest. Specifically, in the fall of 1854, when the Hudson's Bay Company
surveyor Dr. John Rae
brought back
Inuit
reports of cannibalism
between Franklin's men, Dickens was so perturbed that he launched a debate with Rae in the pages of his own periodical, Household Words
. He also corresponded with Franklin's widow Jane, and gave a speech at a dinner organized to highlight the search for Franklin's men. By 1856, however, it became increasingly clear that there were no survivors, although Lady Jane Franklin
still hoped to launch a new expedition to resolve her husband's ultimate fate. It was in this context that, in the spring of 1856, Dickens and Collins conceived of a play set in the Arctic for the next round of their traditional winter theatricals at Tavistock House
. Eminent artists such as William Telbin and Clarkson Stanfield were engaged to paint the scenic backdrops, and Dickens went so far as to have a bay-window in the house's schoolroom punched out and an extension built to create space for the play's backdrops. The task of writing the play itself fell to Collins, since Dickens was still busily engaged with Little Dorritt, but nevertheless he found time to make numerous revisions to the eventual script.
at a dress rehearsal on January 5, 1857 for an informal audience of servants and tradespeople. Semi-public performances followed on January 6, 8, 12, and 14 for about 90 persons at each, including numerous friends of Dickens and Collins, among them members of Parliament
, judges, and ministers. Following the death of Jerrold
, Dickens planned benefit performances for the support of his widow and children. The first of these, on July 4, was a command performance at the Royal Gallery of Illustration
for Queen Victoria, Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, and their family; among the other guests were King Leopold I of Belgium
, Prince Frederick William of Prussia
, and his fiancée Princess Victoria
, along with literary lights William Thackeray and Hans Christian Andersen
. Additional performances at the same venue were given on July 11, 18, and 25. When Dickens realized that, despite expensive ticket prices, insufficient funds had been raised to sustain Mrs. Jerrold, he arranged for a series of much larger public performances at the Manchester Free Trade Hall
. It was for these that Dickens, convinced that his amateur actresses, including his daughters Kate
and Mary Dickens
, would not be able to project in such a large venue, replaced them with professionals, among them Ellen Ternan. These performances, given on August 21, 22, and 24 were attended by thousands, and earned Dickens and the cast unusually effusive reviews. To Miss Coutts, Dickens wrote of his pleasure at being able to affect "the crying of two thousand people", including the stage-hands, carpenters, and even the cast, with his final death scene in the role of Wardour.
's blessing in 1866, but was a relative flop, leaving Collins convinced that it should no longer be staged. Instead, he undertook a rewriting of the entire play as a novella
, which was published in book form and became a regular text for his successful public readings both in Britain
and the United States
. It's only other revival was in 2005 at the Edinburgh Festival
, when a completely new dramatic version, adapted in turn from Collins's prose version, was staged by the Ironduke company. Described as "dark and moody" by reviewers, it was not a particular success, although in the wake of its appearance Collins's novella came back into print for the first time in many decades.
Wilkie Collins
William Wilkie Collins was an English novelist, playwright, and author of short stories. He was very popular during the Victorian era and wrote 30 novels, more than 60 short stories, 14 plays, and over 100 non-fiction pieces...
along with the substantial guidance of Charles Dickens
Charles Dickens
Charles John Huffam Dickens was an English novelist, generally considered the greatest of the Victorian period. Dickens enjoyed a wider popularity and fame than had any previous author during his lifetime, and he remains popular, having been responsible for some of English literature's most iconic...
in 1856. Dickens's hand was so prominent -- beside acting in the play for several performances, he added a preface
Preface
A preface is an introduction to a book or other literary work written by the work's author. An introductory essay written by a different person is a foreword and precedes an author's preface...
, altered lines, and attended to most of the props and sets -- that the principal edition of the play is entitled "Under the Management of Charles Dickens". John C. Eckel wrote: "As usual with a play which passed into rehearsal under Dickens' auspices it came out improved. This was the case with The Frozen Deep. The changes were so numerous that the drama almost may be ascribed to Dickens". Dickens himself took the part of Richard Wardour and was stage-manager during its modest original staging in Dickens' home Tavistock House
Tavistock House
Tavistock House was the London home of the noted British author Charles Dickens and his family from 1851 to 1860. At Tavistock House Dickens wrote Bleak House, Hard Times, Little Dorrit and A Tale of Two Cities. He also put on amateur theatricals there which are described in John Forster's Life of...
. The play, however, grew in influence through a series of outside performances, including one before Queen Victoria
Victoria of the United Kingdom
Victoria was the monarch of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death. From 1 May 1876, she used the additional title of Empress of India....
at the Royal Gallery of Illustration
Royal Gallery of Illustration
The Royal Gallery of Illustration was a performance venue located at 14 Regent Street near Waterloo Place in London, in what was formerly the home of John Nash, designer of Regent Street, Regent's Park, and other urban improvements undertaken at the commission of George IV.From 1855 to about 1876,...
, and a three-performance run at the Manchester Free Trade Hall
Free Trade Hall
The Free Trade Hall, Peter Street, Manchester, was a public hall constructed in 1853–6 on St Peter's Fields, the site of the Peterloo Massacre and is now a hotel. The hall was built to commemorate the repeal of the Corn Laws in 1846. The architect was Edward Walters The hall subsequently was...
for the benefit of the Douglas Jerrold Fund to benefit the widow of Dickens's old friend Douglas Jerrold
Douglas William Jerrold
Douglas William Jerrold was an English dramatist and writer.-Biography:Jerrold was born in London. His father, Samuel Jerrold, was an actor and lessee of the little theatre of Wilsby near Cranbrook in Kent. In 1807 Douglass moved to Sheerness, where he spent his childhood...
. There, night after night, everyone -- including, by some accounts, the carpenters and the stage-hands -- was moved to tears by the play. It also brought Dickens together with Ellen Ternan
Ellen Ternan
Ellen Lawless Ternan , also known as Nelly Ternan or Nelly Robinson, was an English actress who is mainly known as the woman for whom Charles Dickens separated from his wife Catherine.-Life:...
, an actress he hired to play one of the parts, and for whom he would leave his wife Catherine. The play remained unpublished until a private printing appeared sometime in 1866.
Origins of the play
The play was loosely inspired by the loss of Sir John FranklinJohn Franklin
Rear-Admiral Sir John Franklin KCH FRGS RN was a British Royal Navy officer and Arctic explorer. Franklin also served as governor of Tasmania for several years. In his last expedition, he disappeared while attempting to chart and navigate a section of the Northwest Passage in the Canadian Arctic...
's Arctic expedition of 1845
Franklin's lost expedition
Franklin's lost expedition was a doomed British voyage of Arctic exploration led by Captain Sir John Franklin that departed England in 1845. A Royal Navy officer and experienced explorer, Franklin had served on three previous Arctic expeditions, the latter two as commanding officer...
, in which Dickens had taken a great interest. Specifically, in the fall of 1854, when the Hudson's Bay Company
Hudson's Bay Company
The Hudson's Bay Company , abbreviated HBC, or "The Bay" is the oldest commercial corporation in North America and one of the oldest in the world. A fur trading business for much of its existence, today Hudson's Bay Company owns and operates retail stores throughout Canada...
surveyor Dr. John Rae
John Rae (explorer)
John Rae was a Scottish doctor who explored Northern Canada, surveyed parts of the Northwest Passage and reported the fate of the Franklin Expedition....
brought back
Rae-Richardson Arctic Expedition
The Rae-Richardson Polar Expedition of 1848 was an early British effort to determine the fate of the lost Franklin Polar Expedition. Led overland by Sir John Richardson and John Rae, the team explored the accessible areas along Franklin's proposed route near the Mackenzie and Coppermine rivers...
Inuit
Inuit
The Inuit are a group of culturally similar indigenous peoples inhabiting the Arctic regions of Canada , Denmark , Russia and the United States . Inuit means “the people” in the Inuktitut language...
reports of cannibalism
Cannibalism
Cannibalism is the act or practice of humans eating the flesh of other human beings. It is also called anthropophagy...
between Franklin's men, Dickens was so perturbed that he launched a debate with Rae in the pages of his own periodical, Household Words
Household Words
Household Words was an English weekly magazine edited by Charles Dickens in the 1850s which took its name from the line from Shakespeare "Familiar in his mouth as household words" — Henry V.-History:...
. He also corresponded with Franklin's widow Jane, and gave a speech at a dinner organized to highlight the search for Franklin's men. By 1856, however, it became increasingly clear that there were no survivors, although Lady Jane Franklin
Jane Franklin
Jane, Lady Franklin was an early Tasmanian pioneer, traveller and second wife of the explorer John Franklin....
still hoped to launch a new expedition to resolve her husband's ultimate fate. It was in this context that, in the spring of 1856, Dickens and Collins conceived of a play set in the Arctic for the next round of their traditional winter theatricals at Tavistock House
Tavistock House
Tavistock House was the London home of the noted British author Charles Dickens and his family from 1851 to 1860. At Tavistock House Dickens wrote Bleak House, Hard Times, Little Dorrit and A Tale of Two Cities. He also put on amateur theatricals there which are described in John Forster's Life of...
. Eminent artists such as William Telbin and Clarkson Stanfield were engaged to paint the scenic backdrops, and Dickens went so far as to have a bay-window in the house's schoolroom punched out and an extension built to create space for the play's backdrops. The task of writing the play itself fell to Collins, since Dickens was still busily engaged with Little Dorritt, but nevertheless he found time to make numerous revisions to the eventual script.
Performances
The Frozen Deep was first performed at Tavistock HouseTavistock House
Tavistock House was the London home of the noted British author Charles Dickens and his family from 1851 to 1860. At Tavistock House Dickens wrote Bleak House, Hard Times, Little Dorrit and A Tale of Two Cities. He also put on amateur theatricals there which are described in John Forster's Life of...
at a dress rehearsal on January 5, 1857 for an informal audience of servants and tradespeople. Semi-public performances followed on January 6, 8, 12, and 14 for about 90 persons at each, including numerous friends of Dickens and Collins, among them members of Parliament
Parliament of the United Kingdom
The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom, British Crown dependencies and British overseas territories, located in London...
, judges, and ministers. Following the death of Jerrold
Douglas William Jerrold
Douglas William Jerrold was an English dramatist and writer.-Biography:Jerrold was born in London. His father, Samuel Jerrold, was an actor and lessee of the little theatre of Wilsby near Cranbrook in Kent. In 1807 Douglass moved to Sheerness, where he spent his childhood...
, Dickens planned benefit performances for the support of his widow and children. The first of these, on July 4, was a command performance at the Royal Gallery of Illustration
Royal Gallery of Illustration
The Royal Gallery of Illustration was a performance venue located at 14 Regent Street near Waterloo Place in London, in what was formerly the home of John Nash, designer of Regent Street, Regent's Park, and other urban improvements undertaken at the commission of George IV.From 1855 to about 1876,...
for Queen Victoria, Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, and their family; among the other guests were King Leopold I of Belgium
Leopold I of Belgium
Leopold I was from 21 July 1831 the first King of the Belgians, following Belgium's independence from the Netherlands. He was the founder of the Belgian line of the House of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha...
, Prince Frederick William of Prussia
Frederick III, German Emperor
Frederick III was German Emperor and King of Prussia for 99 days in 1888, the Year of the Three Emperors. Friedrich Wilhelm Nikolaus Karl known informally as Fritz, was the only son of Emperor William I and was raised in his family's tradition of military service...
, and his fiancée Princess Victoria
Victoria, Princess Royal
The Princess Victoria, Princess Royal was the eldest child of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom and Prince Albert. She was created Princess Royal of the United Kingdom in 1841. She became German Empress and Queen of Prussia by marriage to German Emperor Frederick III...
, along with literary lights William Thackeray and Hans Christian Andersen
Hans Christian Andersen
Hans Christian Andersen was a Danish author, fairy tale writer, and poet noted for his children's stories. These include "The Steadfast Tin Soldier," "The Snow Queen," "The Little Mermaid," "Thumbelina," "The Little Match Girl," and "The Ugly Duckling."...
. Additional performances at the same venue were given on July 11, 18, and 25. When Dickens realized that, despite expensive ticket prices, insufficient funds had been raised to sustain Mrs. Jerrold, he arranged for a series of much larger public performances at the Manchester Free Trade Hall
Free Trade Hall
The Free Trade Hall, Peter Street, Manchester, was a public hall constructed in 1853–6 on St Peter's Fields, the site of the Peterloo Massacre and is now a hotel. The hall was built to commemorate the repeal of the Corn Laws in 1846. The architect was Edward Walters The hall subsequently was...
. It was for these that Dickens, convinced that his amateur actresses, including his daughters Kate
Kate Perugini
Kate Perugini was an English painter of the Victorian era and the daughter of Charles Dickens.-Biography:...
and Mary Dickens
Mary Dickens
Mary 'Mamie' Angela Dickens was the oldest daughter of English novelist Charles Dickens and his wife Catherine...
, would not be able to project in such a large venue, replaced them with professionals, among them Ellen Ternan. These performances, given on August 21, 22, and 24 were attended by thousands, and earned Dickens and the cast unusually effusive reviews. To Miss Coutts, Dickens wrote of his pleasure at being able to affect "the crying of two thousand people", including the stage-hands, carpenters, and even the cast, with his final death scene in the role of Wardour.
Revivals
The Frozen Deep was not again produced under the aegis of Dickens. It was briefly revived in a revised version with Wilkie CollinsWilkie Collins
William Wilkie Collins was an English novelist, playwright, and author of short stories. He was very popular during the Victorian era and wrote 30 novels, more than 60 short stories, 14 plays, and over 100 non-fiction pieces...
's blessing in 1866, but was a relative flop, leaving Collins convinced that it should no longer be staged. Instead, he undertook a rewriting of the entire play as a novella
Novella
A novella is a written, fictional, prose narrative usually longer than a novelette but shorter than a novel. The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America Nebula Awards for science fiction define the novella as having a word count between 17,500 and 40,000...
, which was published in book form and became a regular text for his successful public readings both in Britain
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was the formal name of the United Kingdom during the period when what is now the Republic of Ireland formed a part of it....
and the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. It's only other revival was in 2005 at the Edinburgh Festival
Edinburgh International Festival
The Edinburgh International Festival is a festival of performing arts that takes place in the city of Edinburgh, Scotland, over three weeks from around the middle of August. By invitation from the Festival Director, the International Festival brings top class performers of music , theatre, opera...
, when a completely new dramatic version, adapted in turn from Collins's prose version, was staged by the Ironduke company. Described as "dark and moody" by reviewers, it was not a particular success, although in the wake of its appearance Collins's novella came back into print for the first time in many decades.
External links
- Project Gutenberg e-Text of Wilkie Collins's novella based on "The Frozen Deep."
- The Frozen Deep, audio book of Wilkie Collins's novella at Librivox
- The Edinburgh Festival's listing of the revival of "The Frozen Deep."