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June 9, 1870. Charles Dickens sat writing at his desk. He had been laboring more than was his custom on his latest book. Though the story was progressing well, Mr. Dickens was not feeling well. His left hand clawed at the air. His left foot dragged on the ground. And though he had recently retired from public performances with a final reading from Pickwick, his pen scarcely ceased its scratching. A profound and perplexing mystery was unfolding beneath that pen and Mr. Dickens’ knew it well. If only his readers might know it as well.It had been five years...

Before Hercule Poirot, Miss Marple and even Sherlock Holmes, there was Charles Dickens' Inspector Bucket. He may be less well-known and not possess the deductive brilliance of his successors, but in his plodding, dogged, methodical, clean-shirted way Mr Bucket is one of the all-time great detectives. In Bleak House, while others soak themselves in gin and criminality, the Inspector has his breakfast of tea, toast and marmalade before a day's work quietly, politely dredging up the truth from London's darkest depths. Inspector Bucket is a central character in the BBC's ambitious new 20-episode series Dickensian, which starts tonight. It's something...

Yet, somehow, it's always conservatives who get tagged as Scrooges. (Just do a Google search of "Scrooge Republican" to see.)

Georgia Police and federal agents have arrested Ebony Monique Dickens over a Facebook post in which she allegedly proclaimed her plans to shoot “every white cop” she can find.

Little Jimmy Dickens, a diminutive singer-songwriter known for his sense of humor and as the oldest cast member of the Grand Ole Opry, has died. He was 94. Dickens died Friday at a Nashville-area hospital of cardiac arrest after suffering a stroke on Christmas Day, Opry spokeswoman Jessie Schmidt said. Dickens, who stood 4-foot-11, had performed on the Opry almost continuously since 1948. His last performance was Dec. 20 as part of his birthday celebration. He sang "Out Behind The Barn" and delivered his trademark comedy. He had turned 94 a day earlier. "The Grand Ole Opry did not have...

Tis this season! George C. Scott stars in this superb version of Charles Dickens' classic tale of redemption and second chances. In English with Greek subtitles.

Since you ask me what I wish, gentlemen, that is my answer. I don’t make merry myself at Christmas and I can’t afford to make idle people merry. I help to support the establishments I have mentioned: they cost enough: and those who are badly off must go there.” “Many can’t go there; and many would rather die.” “If they would rather die,” said Scrooge, “they had better do it, and decrease the surplus population.”

I favorite portrayal of old Scrooge! Full Movie and FREE!

Tax cheat and crook Charlie Rangel is back in the news again for not disclosing funds. In 2010, Rangel lost his chairmanship of the Ways and Means Committee because of an investigation into 2 corporate-funded trips to the Caribbean. Later that year, the House of Representatives formally censured him after he was found guilty of 11 ethics violations. Violations included failure to disclose over $600,000 in assets on a financial disclosure report as well as short changing the IRS for 17 years on rental income from his villa in the Dominican Republic. He also raided his PAC for $393,000 to...

Since you ask me what I wish, gentlemen, that is my answer. I don’t make merry myself at Christmas and I can’t afford to make idle people merry. I help to support the establishments I have mentioned: they cost enough: and those who are badly off must go there.” “Many can’t go there; and many would rather die.” “If they would rather die,” said Scrooge, “they had better do it, and decrease the surplus population.”That phrase–surplus population–is what first tipped me off to Dickens’ philosophical agenda. He’s taking aim at the father of the zero-growth philosophy, Thomas Malthus. Malthus’ ideas...

At 46 she's considerably younger than her character, the decrepit Miss Havisham. But Helena Bonham Carter can be seen looking haggard and tortured as the heiress locked in the past in the new trailer for the latest adaptation of Charles Dickens’s novel Great Expectations. The English actress is seen sporting huge bags under her eyes, a grey pallor and a wretched look on her face.

Ralph Fiennes’s film about the secret love affair between Charles Dickens and a woman more than half his age is finally shooting. It was announced to great fanfare at the Cannes Film Festival a few years ago when Christine Langan, head of BBC Films, joined forces with producer Stewart Mackinnon to get Abi Morgan to adapt Claire Tomalin’s brilliant 1991 book The Invisible Woman. That book told of Dickens’s relationship with actress Nelly Ternan which started when she was 18 and he was 45.

Tuesday marks the 200th anniversary of the birth of Charles Dickens — the great 19th century English novelist who gave us stories of pathos and comedy, and colorful portraits of the people of London, from the poor in the back streets, to the rich in the parks and avenues. Lots of Dickens' phrases — like "Bah humbug" and "God bless us, every one!" — have slipped into our minds and our memories. And along with the words, the characters, too — from hungry orphan Oliver Twist to sweet and lonely little Nell to cruel Mr. Murdstone. "After Shakespeare, Dickens is...

Nice google script for Charles Dickens' 200th birthday. Happy Birthday Boz!

Bicentenary of English novelist's birth will be marked by fans around the world, including by the Queen at Buckingham Palace. Queen Elizabeth is throwing a star-studded party for him at Buckingham Palace, and in Buenos Aires, leading cultural figures will gather in an old orphanage to read from his works. Charles Dickens may have died in 1870, but legions of fans around the world unite on Tuesday and beyond to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the birth of a titan of English fiction. In one sense, the story of the author of familiar classics like A Christmas Carol, Bleak House...

SCROOGE WAS A LIBERALDecember 22, 2010It's the Christmas season, so godless liberals are citing the Bible to demand the redistribution of income by government force. Didn't Jesus say, "Blessed are the Health and Human Services bureaucrats, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven"? Liberals are always indignantly accusing conservatives of claiming God is on our side. What we actually say is: We're on God's side, particularly when liberals are demanding God's banishment from the public schools, abortion on demand, and taxpayer money being spent on Jesus submerged in a jar of urine and pictures of the Virgin Mary covered...

Oprah Winfrey has chosen a pair of Charles Dickens classics, "A Tale of Two Cities" and "Great Expectations," as the latest selections for her popular book club. Winfrey said on Monday's episode of "The Oprah Winfrey Show" she has never read Dickens before. She said, "It's the best of times, readers," and called the books timeless classics.

Tolkien and Dickens descendants collaborate on children’s fantasy August 11th, 2010 by xoanon Poet Michael GR Tolkien’s reworking of classic children’s fantasy is read for audiobook by Charles Dickens’s great-great grandson. It is a match made in publicists’ heaven: the grandson of JRR Tolkien and the great-great grandson of Charles Dickens have collaborated for the first time on a verse retelling of a classic fantasy story. Poet Michael GR Tolkien, the eldest grandson of the Lord of the Rings author, was inspired by Florence Bone’s prose fantasy for children, The Rose-Coloured Wish, first published in 1923. Telling the story of...

On June 9, 1865, the 'tidal train', as the Victorians called the train which picked up cross-Channel passengers, was making its way from Folkestone to London, rattling through Kent at 50 miles per hour. Between Headcorn and Staplehurst, a gang of platelayers was working on the line and had taken up 50 feet of track. Their foreman had miscalculated the time of the approaching train. A crash was inevitable. The train careered over a little bridge into a stream. Ten passengers were killed and 40 injured.

'Tis the season — every year at this time — for the various renderings of A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. This year, the current animated version in the cinema — starring a computer-generated Jim Carrey in multiple roles — has won some plaudits for sticking with the spirit of the Dickens original. So it might come as some surprise to learn that when Dickens himself performed A Christmas Carol, he didn't do it as it's written. And during this holiday season, you can see the proof. In a small glass case at the New York Public Library, there sits...