This weekend I’ll be delivering my first public lecture, at the Orlando Public Library. I’m participating in their “What the Dickens” event, a year-long celebration of Charles Dickens. The timing is apt: I just returned from Dickens Universe, a yearly event in Santa Cruz for both scholars and the public. And right before that I
In the 1820s and 1830s, James Kendrew published a series of chapbooks for children. Most of these are stories about Simple Simon, or Jack Spratt, or Tom Thumb, but one is “The Little Maid and the Gentleman; or, We Are Seven.” Kendrew reprints Wordsworth’s poem, adding the new title and including woodcuts for each stanza.
I don’t write a lot about pop culture on this blog, but I’m following up my last post on Catching Fire with some thoughts on another recently-released film: Disney’s Frozen. (If you haven’t seen it, Kevin Fallon’s review at The Daily Beast gives a clear summary, with spoilers). The film is loosely based on Hans