To understand what it is to be a Dickensian (certainly a Dickensian in New York City) one needs to look no further than at the “Life and Adventures” of Morton and Anna Jacober. The members of The Dickens Fellowship of New York know Morton as Vice-President Emeritus and Poet Laureate (more about that later) and Anna as Corresponding Secretary. But beyond the official titles and functions, Fellowship members recognize that through their warmth, generosity, and belief in Dickensian ideals, the Jacobers embody the true Dickensian spirit.

Morton Jacober, a true native New Yorker, has lived in Queens, The Bronx, and since 1950, in Manhattan. As a graduate of the NYU School of Education (Bachelor and Masters Degrees) he spent almost 35 years making the world safe from ignorance as an English teacher and Assistant Principal at a Manhattan junior high school. During that time he amassed a considerable fortune, namely his beloved wife and fellow Dickensian, Anna, as well as three wonderful and completely individualistic children. Anna Jacober worked as a school secretary for 20 years at John F. Kennedy High School. She worked for 11 chairpeople at the same time but loved it! Anna and Morton were both very active in their local Parent Teacher Association (PTA) with Morton having served as president of the organization.

Over 40 years ago Morty and Anna began collecting all forms of Dickensiana. The Jacober household (library/museum) is now filled with many hundreds of objects (books, pictures, figurines, postcards, teapots, decorative plates and so much more) related to Dickens and his works. Their large collection of antiques also contains many non-Dickensian items.

The love of Dickens came early, motivated at first by the wonderful film versions of David Copperfield, A Tale of Two Cities, Great Expectations and A Christmas Carol. These led to actually reading the books and that did it! Then in the early 1980’s the Royal Shakespeare Company presented its landmark production of Nicholas Nickleby. An ad in the New York Times beckoned those who wanted to participate in more Dickens events. This led to the discovery of and membership in The Dickens Fellowship of New York.

The Fellowship fell on “Hard Times” in the mid 1990’s and had virtually disappeared when at President Rose Roberts’s invitation the Jacobers attended a reorganizational meeting. They quickly joined and became absorbed in readings and discussions of Hard Times. When the next book, Our Mutual Friend, came along Rose asked Morty if he would summarize the chapters to be read and discussed at the monthly meeting. This was the start of something big as his rhymed summaries and insightful discussion leadership became mainstays for the study of several more novels in subsequent years.

In early 1998 Rose dubbed Morty our Poet Laureate since in addition to leading the monthly meetings, Morty also wrote satirical skits for entertainment at the Fellowship social functions. Somehow the name stuck and despite an initial aversion, he accepted the title and enjoys it in a humorous way.

In spite of a recent illness Morton, with Anna, continues to attend Fellowship meetings and social events and has been able to maintain his huge stamp collection. It is a very important part of his life.

Morton and Anna have travelled all through the USA, Canada, and Europe. They also had subscriptions to the New York City Opera, New York City Ballet, and American Ballet Theatre.

No description of the Jacobers could be complete without mentioning their undying love of baseball. Fans of the New York Baseball Giants for many years, they continued to be Giants followers when the team moved to San Francisco but switched allegiance to the New York Mets when the legendary Willie Mays joined the New York team.