TRIVIA TODAY - Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Greetings Infomaniacs,

Earlier this month (the 7th to be exact) marked the bicentennial of Charles Dickens' birth. Here at the library, we hosted a full day of films that were adapted from his works. I got to sit in for the morning showing of Great Expectations. In the afternoon Oliver Twist was shown, and the evening movie was Nicholas Nickleby.

I realized that I've seen many of the movies based on his writing, but I haven't actually read any of his books. Surprisingly, Dickens missed the required reading list in my high school English classes.

So, when I have a few minutes here and there, I've been attempting to read Oliver Twist. It is a very serious and eye-opening story, and while it is interesting, I may have to put this reading on hold. After spending hours reading books and articles for school, I need some light, easy reading in my spare time!

In any case, I have a few fun facts for you about Charles Dickens in honor of his 200th birthday. Happy belated birthday, Mr. Dickens!

Enjoy!
Melissa

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TODAY'S MYSTERY QUOTE
QUOTE: "Literature adds to reality, it does not simply describe it. It enriches the necessary competencies that daily life requires and provides; and in this respect, it irrigates the deserts that our lives have already become."

HINT: (1898-1963), British scholar and novelist.


RANDOM TIDBITS
His name "Dickens" was a curse, possibly invented by Shakespeare. Instead of saying, "What the devil?" as a profanity, people exclaimed, "What the dickens?" The first usage of that word, according to the Oxford English Dictionary, was William Shakespeare's The Merry Wives of Windsor.

According to the New York Times, Dickens was on a train that derailed over a bridge, in the only first-class carriage that didn't plummet into a river. He not only found the key that freed his friends, he went to the carriages below and gave water and brandy to those who needed it.

Dickens helped create "Urania House" where former prostitutes could learn to read and write, as well keep house. He searched prisons and workhouses for potential candidates and interviewed them personally.

He probably had obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD). According to a Dickens biography, the writer, said that Dickens "had a habit of rearranging furniture whenever he stayed in a hotel room and inspecting his children's bedrooms every morning, leaving behind notes when he was not satisfied with their tidiness."

Dickens had written half of a novel, The Mystery of Edwin Drood, but left it unfinished when he died of a stroke in 1870. Dickens left no clues behind as to who killed his protagonist, although many suspect his uncle. There have been multiple radio, television, and theater reworkings of this story, each with different endings.

Hans Christian Andersen was Dicken's close friend and mutual influence. Andersen even dedicated his book Poet's Day Dream to Dickens in 1853.


VIDEO CLIP
Oliver Twist: I Want Some More
This classic scene when Oliver Twist utters his famous Please Sir I want some more,' is the most defining moment of the movie, everyone despite ever reading or seeing the movie is familiar with this memorable line.

Watch It Now: Oliver Twist: I Want Some More


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TODAY'S MYSTERY QUOTE
QUOTE: "Literature adds to reality, it does not simply describe it. It enriches the necessary competencies that daily life requires and provides; and in this respect, it irrigates the deserts that our lives have already become."

ANSWER: C.S. Lewis.

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