Those are the first two sentences of A Christmas Carol. Everyone knows them. I'm pretty sure everyone could also come up with a few more Dickens quotes, as well. How about, "It was the best of times. It was the worst of times." Or, "Please, sir, I want some more." Or the most famous line from Scrooge: "Bah, humbug!"
Charles Dickens was the Stephen King of Victorian England. Everyone read Dickens, knew his characters and novels. I'm sure everyone could quote Dickens, as well. He was one of the first internationally famous writers. When Dickens toured the United States, people lined the streets to see him. When he gave public readings, they were SRO events.
That is what always appealed to me about Charles Dickens. He was a celebrity because of his writing. That doesn't happen very often, even these days.. Dickens was able to make a difference in the world with his words. As I've said before, Dickens wrote A Christmas Carol to draw attention to the plight of the impoverished in England. (He also wrote it to make a lot of money. Dickens always had money problems.) Chuck had a huge social conscience.
December 13 is the feast day of Saint Lucy. Lucy is the patron saint of writers. I'm not sure why. Nothing in her biography indicates she had anything to do with writers or writing. She dedicated herself to a life of piety and holiness at a very young age. She also made a vow of virginity when she was a girl, which evenutally led to her arrest and imprisonment and torture. Lucy never gave up her trust in God's love. I'm thinking, somewhere along the way, Lucy wrote something important, as well. Maybe a prayer or psalm or a series of books about vampires. She did something to earn the title of patron of writers.
Saint Marty has an idea for a novel he wants to write: it's about a little orphan boy who finds out that he is actually a famous wizard. The orphan goes to a wizarding school and makes friends with a big, hairy giant.
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| Someone stole my idea |
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