Charles Dickens

12 Stories

Competition Decodes Letter by Dickens

Meaning of 1859 page of symbols and scribbles had been a mystery

(Newser) - The works of Charles Dickens are widely read, but a single page had defied scholars for more than a century. The contents of the letter, written in 1859, remained a mystery because it consisted not of letters of any alphabet but of symbols, dots, and scribbles—a shorthand all Dickens'...

Letters Show Dickens Tried to Have Wife Committed

Researcher finds contemporary relevance in a painful tale

(Newser) - Newly discovered letters show a different side of Charles Dickens, and it's not pretty. His actions after starting an affair with a young actress included trying to get his wife, Catherine, committed to a mental asylum, a University of York professor who analyzed the 98 letters has found. "...

Scribble Remover May Reveal Lost Dickens Work

Gadget shows what's behind crossed-out words

(Newser) - We could soon have some "new" Charles Dickens to peruse. Researchers are preparing to pore through the manuscripts of Dickens' novels using a device that reveals what the author crossed out, the Independent reports. That allows scholars to experience the novelist "almost thinking aloud on to paper,"...

Heirs of Tolkien, Dickens Collaborate on Books

Michael Tolkien will write, Gerald Dickens will narrate

(Newser) - The descendants of literary royalty are coming together on two new children's fantasy books. JRR Tolkien's grandson, Michael Tolkien, will write the two novels—which will be based on stories Tolkien himself read to him when he was young—and Charles Dickens' great-great grandson, Gerald Dickens, will narrate...

10 Strangest Amusement Parks
 10 Strangest Amusement Parks 
Feb 19, 2012 7:12 AM CST

10 Strangest Amusement Parks

Try Napoleonland and Dickens World for starters

(Newser) - Roller coasters, water slides, and teacups are boring. Take a trip to one of these 10 strange amusement parks, compiled by Time .
  • Napoleonland: Opening in France in 2014, this park is dedicated to the French dictator and will feature a water show reenactment of the Battle of Trafalgar and a
...

How Charles Dickens Explains the 21st Century

 Do Yourself a 
 Favor: Read 
 Dickens 
OPINION
Nov 7, 2011 1:45 PM CST

Do Yourself a Favor: Read Dickens

As he nears 200, the novelist is more relevant than ever: Michael Levenson

(Newser) - Charles Dickens wrote in the 19th century, but at nearly 200 years old, he’s an expert on the 21st century as well. "For the mid-Victorians, government intervention was unthinkable, the market was king, only private philanthropy was tolerated," writes Michael Levenson for Slate . In other words, to...

Finally, the Cratchits Will Have Health Insurance

But why should Tiny Tim have to wait until 2014?

(Newser) - Paul Krugman, not always the president's biggest fan, finds something to celebrate this Christmas in the passage of health Care reform bills by the House and Senate: After 2014 Dickens' Tiny Tim will no longer be denied health care because his family can't afford it or an insurance company denies...

Motion-Capture Christmas Carol Hits Wrong Notes

Spirit's there, but critics split on wow-factor of evolving tech

(Newser) - Most critics express a hearty "humbug" for Robert Zemeckis' motion-capture version of A Christmas Carol, starring Jim Carrey. A sampling:
  • "It's a heartwarmer that doesn't have much of a heart itself," Michael O'Sullivan writes in the Washington Post, "populated by figures that are halfway between Wii
...

Holiday Classics Yule Love
 Holiday Classics Yule Love 
OPINION
Dec 25, 2008 6:42 AM CST

Holiday Classics Yule Love

Warm up the DVD player with It's a Wonderful Life , Home Alone , more

(Newser) - Rather stay home than risk more bad weather today? Make a quick trip to the video store so you can hunker down with the New York Daily News' favorite Yule flicks:
  1. It's a Wonderful Life (1946): Didn't see that one coming, did you? Jimmy Stewart. 'Nuff said.
  2. A Christmas Story
...

The Best All-Time Beards
 The Best All-Time Beards 
Nov 15, 2008 6:49 PM CST

The Best All-Time Beards

These guys have the most notable chin hairs in history

(Newser) - To celebrate the public premiere of Charles Darwin's beard (or at least hair from it his great, great grandson found in a small leather box) at the British Natural History Museum, the London Times lists the best all-time chin hairs:
  1. Karl Marx. The collapse of the Soviet Union may have
...

Docs Try to Diagnose Tiny Tim
Docs Try to Diagnose Tiny Tim
Dec 23, 2007 3:39 PM CST

Docs Try to Diagnose Tiny Tim

Dickens gave scant evidence, but the web is full of theories

(Newser) - Armchair physicians across the web are trying to solve one of literature’s greatest mysteries: what the heck was wrong with Tiny Tim? All we know is that Dickens’ wretch was a small, sick, crutch-wielder, who was prone to weakness and doomed unless ol’ Ebeneezer loosened his purse strings. It’...

Chinese Follies Are All Too Familiar

US exhibited capitalist lapses once upon a time

(Newser) - Before Americans get on their high horse about China’s recent lapses into substandard products—not to mention those fake Harry Potter translations—they should look long and hard at their own history, the Boston Globe suggests. In the 19th century, it was the US that was considered the nation...

12 Stories