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A theme park based on the
life and work of author Charles Dickens is to be built in Kent, one of the
men behind "Dickensworld" says.
The 60 million pound project will recreate the Victorian era when young
children worked in sweatshops,
Britain ruled over a vast empire and Dickens penned classic works like
"Bleak House" and "The Pickwick Papers."
"We have great expectations," said backer Kevin Christie.
The roofed attraction is part of the regeneration of Chatham's old
docks, close to where the author lived as a child in the early 19th
century.
Characters like Ebenezer Scrooge and the Artful Dodger could be lining
up just yards from stylish bars and a new nine-screen cinema showing more
modern fables.
But will such a park cheapen the image of Dickens -- one of
Britain's best known authors?
Rivals in the Dickens heritage trade do not think so. Staff at the
Dickens Museum have even been involved in the operation.
"They were keen to get their Dickens right," General Secretary Tony
Williams told reporters.
The snuff box, dusty
portraits and cigar case on show at the museum would not be upstaged by the more racy
Dickensworld, staff there thought.
"I can not see it is going to be any competition. It is very different
to our institution," said director Andrew Xavier.
"We would not have been involved if we thought it would dumb down the
whole thing."
（Agencies) |
一位負責“狄更斯世界”的工作人員說他們將在英國東南部的肯特郡建造一座以英國作家查爾斯·狄更斯的生平和作品為基礎的主題公園。
這項耗資六千萬英鎊的工程將重現(xiàn)維多利亞時代，當時孩子們被迫在條件艱苦的血汗工廠里工作，不列顛還統(tǒng)治著一個巨大的帝國。也正是在那個時代，狄更斯創(chuàng)作了《荒涼山莊》和《匹克威克外傳》等巨著。
贊助人凱文·克里斯蒂說：“我們對這個項目抱有很高的期望。”
一個蓋有屋頂?shù)木包c是查塔姆老船塢重建后的一部分。十九世紀早期，少年時代的狄更斯就住在附近。
而在時尚的酒吧和有九個屏幕、放映更多現(xiàn)代故事的影院附近，擺放一些像埃比尼澤·斯克魯奇和小扒手道奇這樣的角色。
這樣的公園會不會有損狄更斯這位英國最著名的作家的形象呢？
同是經(jīng)營狄更斯遺產(chǎn)的競爭對手們并不這么認為。甚至連狄更斯博物館的員工們也參與了該項目。
秘書長托尼·威廉姆斯告訴記者說：“他們都想把狄更斯做好。”
雖然“狄更斯世界”生動活潑，但員工們認為它不會搶博物館里展覽的鼻煙壺，灰頭土臉的肖像以及煙盒的風頭。
安德魯·艾克查威爾主任說：“我不認為會有什么競爭。它和我們的協(xié)會非常不同。”
“如果我們覺得這樣會有損狄更斯的形象，我們根本就不會參與。”
（中國日報網(wǎng)站譯） |
Updated: 2005-04-11 10:14
