author & ghostwriter
We can't cover Dickens’ story with all its marvelous chapters in a blog post. Several biographies have been written about him, if you want to know more. However, in a blog post I can collect facts, adding color to the creator of Ebenezer Scrooge.
I blame all of the cartoon adaptations that have popped up over the years. These adaptations present children with a softened version of the story, so it is a surprise when one opens the long novel and discovers elements of darkness or sketchy behavior.
It takes a while to discover which authors you might call ‘favorites.’ I, for one, tend to bounce from book to book, rarely lingering on a single author unless they wrote classics. Charles Dickens has been a favorite author of mine from the start—I read A Christmas Carol every Christmas Eve!—but apart from him, I … Continue reading Your Favorite Author?
I have a confession to make: I almost did not leave England. I can’t tell you what I would have done should I have stayed, being utterly unprepared for a move to a different country. Still, I cried on the night before we were to fly out. It had been lovely to walk the streets, … Continue reading The Charles Dickens Museum
After one month in its pages, I have finished The Pickwick Papers. It is part of my 2019 Classic Novel Challenge, one of the longer ones on the list. I'm unable to critique writing by my favorite author. How can I nitpick the gripping prose, the humorous twists and turns, the delightful poetry? I cannot … Continue reading The Pickwick Papers by Charles Dickens
The first book I read for my 2019 reading challenge, The Mayor of Casterbridge, is compelling because of its characters. Though there are many, it focuses on a man named Michael Henchard, a man none of us would envy. It is the story of a mistake he made as a young man and how this mistake … Continue reading The Mayor of Casterbridge by Thomas Hardy
In my final reflection on David Copperfield (for now), I want to muse on a paragraph which appears to me as a living, direct link to the author and what he stood for. It is a reflection on the homeless of his time--and ours. In context: still a child, David Copperfield has escaped horrific months … Continue reading David Copperfield: The Call to Action
The Personal History, Adventures, Experience, and Observation of David Copperfield the Younger of Blunderstone Rookery. This is the original title of Charles Dickens' eighth novel, published in serial form in the year 1850. Now sold as a 700-page book, it was originally released in 19 monthly one-shilling installments. This makes for a delightfully long story … Continue reading David Copperfield: Intro
Merry Christmas! I hope you've had a blessed day! Every year at around this time, I read A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. It is my favorite book, because Scrooge's experiences with the Ghosts of Christmas make me reflect on my own life. The link between his story and our lives might be difficult to admit. … Continue reading A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
Mariella Hunt 