'The Reluctant Reader’s Guide to Charles Dickens' by Emily Devane

• Charles Dickens was a famous author, apparently.
• He wrote a lot of books. Some of them are very long – his last book, Edwin Drood, was so long he died of writing.
• Actually, there are some interesting things about him, like the fact that he had a pet raven called Grip, who could speak. I wonder if it could read, too. Dickens liked his pet so much he became a character in one of his books. I haven’t read the book, in case you’re wondering.
• It’s possible he had epilepsy, where the electrical signals in the brain become scrambled. Some brains just come out scrambled from the start, like my brother Tony’s. I don’t think Tony will be writing A Christmas Carol any time soon. He told me he does like The Muppets version, even the guy with the pointy finger, who hangs around in graveyards.
• Dickens used the pseudonym Boz, while his wife was Lady Clutterbuck. Tony thinks I made that up.
• He was forced to work at a young age, before phonics were invented.
• He had a secret room in his house, where he kept a bat costume. Imagine if Dickens had come up with the idea for Batman? It could be like Leonardo da Vinci and helicopters. I mean, it’s improbable but not impossible. This is Tony’s favourite fact.
• Charles Dickens’ first inspiration was Little Red Riding Hood, which is hard to believe. I mean, who gets eaten by a wolf and stays in one piece? Also, that wolf looks ridiculous in a nightdress.
• I think that’s it. But one more thing: Tiny Tim is too sad for words. Tony and I fast forward that part in the film. At least in real life, people don’t die for the sake of the narrative.

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Emily Devane is a writer, editor, teacher and bookseller based in Ilkley, West Yorkshire. Her short fiction has since been widely published in journals and anthologies including Smokelong Quarterly (third place, Grand Micro Contest 2021), Best Microfictions Anthology (2021), New Flash Fiction Review, Lost Balloon, Ellipsis, New Flash Fiction Review, Janus Literary, Ambit and others. In 2022 she was shortlisted for The Mogford Prize for Food and Drink Writing, and she won second place in the Bath Short Story Award the same year. Emily has won the Bath Flash Fiction Award, a Northern Writers' Award and a Word Factory Apprenticeship. She is a founding editor at FlashBack Fiction and also judged the October 2022 round of the Bath Flash Fiction Award. Emily facilitates writing groups and spoken word nights in Ilkley, and teaches creative writing.