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☆ Alice Munro, Nobel Prize winner and ‘master of the short story,’ dies aged 92
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-14 | by ( Yahya Salem | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

CNN —Alice Munro, the Nobel Literature Prize winner best known for her mastery of short stories and depictions of womanhood in rural settings, has died in Ontario, Canada, at the age of 92. The news was confirmed to CNN “with great sadness” by a spokesperson at her publisher, Penguin Random House. It largely sets the tone for Munro’s prose; semi-autobiographical in nature and exploring the universality of the human urge for self-discovery, love, and independence, through the mundanity of everyday life in small, rural communities. Alice Munro, left, and Margaret Atwood at the National Arts Club in February 2005. Munro’s mastery of short stories and literature has been lauded by many of her contemporaries.

Persons: Alice Munro, Munro, “, Emily Brontë, Charles Dickens, Lucy Maud Montgomery, ”, ” Stephen Pearson, James Munro, Catherine, Eudora Welty, Flannery O’Connor, Carson McCullers, —, General’s, ” Munro, Margaret Atwood, Atwood, Diane Bondareff, James Wood Organizations: CNN, Penguin Random, “ The Paris, Guardian, Fairfax Media, University of Western, CBC, Yorker, National Arts Club, Literature Locations: Ontario, Canada, Wingham , Ontario, ”, University of Western Ontario, Vancouver, Victoria, Canadian, Russian

☆ Opinion: Trump’s image is on the line
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-24 | by ( Richard Galant | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +20 min

We’re looking back at the strongest, smartest opinion takes of the week from CNN and other outlets. … Deals are my art form.”Having a lot of money distinguished him from other presidential candidates, Trump contended. ‘I don’t need anybody’s money,’ Trump said in his June 2015 presidential campaign announcement.”“Now Trump needs money, a lot of it. In July 2006, she met Trump at a celebrity golf tournament and says that the two had sex that weekend. “Whatever the Fifth Circuit and Supreme Court decide next, the question for President Joe Biden is what to do now,” wrote Lawrence Downes.

Persons: Charles Dickens, “ David Copperfield, Micawber, ” Micawber, “, Dickens, Donald Trump, Letitia James, Trump, he’ll, ”, Tony Schwartz, I’ve, Frida Ghitis, ’ Trump, … Dana Summers, Joe Biden’s, Julian Zelizer, Biden’s, ” Bill Bramhall, Stormy Daniels, Peacock, Ana Marie Cox, Daniels, she’s, Peter Navarro, He’s, Mike Johnson, Kevin McCarthy, House Republicans —, Matt Gaetz ’, Marjorie Taylor Greene, Johnson, Clay Jones, Paul Sracic, Fareed Zakaria, Biden, Peter Bergen, Bashar al, Assad, ” Bergen, Vladimir Putin, Richard Aboulafia, ” David Horsey, Joann, Lynda Gorov, it’s, ” Kate Middleton’s, Princess, Wales, Sara Stewart, Kate, that’s, she’ll, Joe Biden, Lawrence Downes, “ Biden, Greg, Abbott, ’, ” Downes, Trump’s, Jared Kushner, Kushner, Donald Trump’s, Aseel Mousa, Drew Sheneman, Max Besbris, ” Besbris, Linda Thomas, Greenfield, Thomas, Eleanor Roosevelt, ‘, ” Don’t, Grace Elizabeth Hale, Elizabeth Yuko, Avi Weiss, Jennifer Jones, Jill Filipovic, Christine Blasey Ford Derrick Johnson, Peter Rutland, Holly Thomas, Lily Allen, Mary Ziegler, Lanhee Chen, Steve Garvey, Adam Schiff, Patricia Grisafi, Caitlin Clark Walt Handelsman, Caitlin Clark, Amy Bass, Kamilla Cardoso, UCLA’s Kiki Rice, ’ ” Clark, Bass, Pete ’ Maravich, Court, Serena Williams, Clark, Maravich …, — Organizations: CNN, New, Trump, Agency, Twitter, Save, Maga Inc, Biden, Content Agency Trump, House Republicans, Rep, Ohio GOP, Russia ISIS, ISIS, Boeing, Airbus, Crafts, Boys, BBC Studios, Circuit, Texas Gov, Abbott, of Justice, Texans, Harvard, National Association of Realtors, United Nations, “, University of Iowa, ESPN, Iowa Hawkeyes, NCAA Division Locations: Save America, New York, Baton Rouge , Louisiana, Ohio, Russia, Moscow, Iraq, Syria, Syrian, “, Iran, Afghanistan, ”, Ukrainian, Windsor, ” Texas, Texas, Gaza, Southern, Rafah, Egypt, Israel, Gaza City, Al, Grace Elizabeth Hale : Mississippi, ‘, California

☆ Book Club: Let’s Talk About Barbara Kingsolver’s ‘Demon Copperhead’
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-16 | by ( ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Barbara Kingsolver’s novel “Demon Copperhead,” a riff on “David Copperfield” that moves Charles Dickens’s story to contemporary Appalachia and grapples engagingly with topics from poverty to ambition to opioid addiction, was one of the Book Review’s 10 Best Books of 2022. And — unlike an actual copperhead — “Demon Copperhead” has legs: Many readers have told us it was their favorite book in 2023 as well. In this week’s spoiler-filled episode, the Book Review’s MJ Franklin talks with his colleagues Elisabeth Egan (also an editor at the Book Review) and Anna Dubenko, The Times’s newsroom audience director, about Kingsolver’s novel and its enduring appeal. We’d love to hear what you loved (or didn’t) about “Demon Copperhead.” Share those thoughts in the comments and we’ll try to weigh in. I read a pre-publication galley, so when I read it, I didn’t have anyone to discuss it with and that almost killed me.

Persons: Barbara Kingsolver’s, “ David Copperfield, Charles Dickens’s, MJ Franklin, Elisabeth Egan, Anna Dubenko, we’ll, … Elisabeth Egan, “ Locations: Appalachia

☆ A Lincoln Trove Lands at the Library (Pie Safe Included)
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-24 | by ( Jennifer Schuessler | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

The New York Public Library’s grand research library at Fifth Avenue and 42nd Street is home to Virginia Woolf’s walking stick, Charles Dickens’s desk chair and the original Winnie-the-Pooh. But one evening last week, a crowd in one of the library’s elegant public rooms was milling around a goofier treasure: an Abraham Lincoln-themed pie safe. The safe — a large cabinet made to store pies, inlaid with decorative punched-tin panels celebrating the president — was probably created for one of his campaigns. It was on view at a memorial for Jonathan Mann, a collector whose trove of rare letters, photographs, banners, ballots, ribbons, campaign songbooks and other sundry bits of Lincolniana is being acquired by the library.

Persons: Charles Dickens’s, Abraham Lincoln, —, Jonathan Mann Organizations: New York Public, Fifth Locations: Virginia

He also found four poems written by Flora Fairfield, a known pseudonym of Alcott's. As he scrolled through digitized newspapers from the American Antiquarian Society, he found a story titled “The Phantom." I’m interested in gathering more of it.”When first contacted by Chapnick about the writings, Gregory Eiselein, president of the Louisa May Alcott Society, said he was curious but skeptical. This isn't the first time that scholars have found stories written by Alcott under a pseudonym. In the 1940s, Leona Rostenberg and Madeleine Stern found thrillers written under the name A. M. Barnard was an Alcott pseudonym.

Persons: Max Chapnick, Louisa May Alcott, Gould, Charles Dickens, Flora, Alcott's, “, she’s, she’s hustling, ” Chapnick, ” Alcott, ”, — Meg, Jo, Beth, Amy —, Greta Gerwig, Chapnick, Alcott, Gould —, I’m, Gregory Eiselein, I’ve, Louisa Alcott, ” Eiselein, Anne Phillips, “ Alcott, ” There’s, Leona Rostenberg, Madeleine Stern, Barnard, didn’t, We’re, ” Elizabeth Pope, “ We’re Organizations: “, Northeastern University, American Antiquarian Society, “ Little, Boston Public Library, Louisa May Alcott Society, Kansas State University, Kansas State, American Locations: WORCESTER, Massachusetts, Concord , Massachusetts, Flora Fairfield, Worcester, Olive

☆ All of Betty White's movies, ranked by audiences
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-17 | by ( Meghan Cook | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: 1 min

White's lowest-rated film is "The Third Wish" (2005). Jenna Mattison and Betty White in "The Third Wish." Cheshire Smile ProductionsAudience score: 5%Summary: Aspiring writer Maggie Malone (Jenna Mattison) receives three magical wishes from a magical copy of Charles Dickens' "Great Expectations" that help her believe in love. "This is a really bad movie," wrote one disappointed Rotten Tomatoes user. "There's really not a great deal to recommend."

Persons: Jenna Mattison, Betty White, Maggie Malone, Charles Dickens, White, Rotten Locations: Cheshire

NEW YORK (AP) — Eddie Izzard is returning to a New York stage this winter for an ambitious version of “Hamlet.” It's ambitious because the actor-comedian will be the only one on stage. Izzard will play all the William Shakespeare parts in a one-person staging adapted by Izzard's brother, Mark, and directed by Selena Cadell. Performances at Greenwich House Theater run from Jan. 25-March 3. “You’re just at the edge of your skill set and pushing out even further.”This “Hamlet” will ask Izzard to play noblemen, women, ghosts, soldiers, courtiers, lovers and fools. Earlier this year, Izzard said she was adding Suzy to her name but would remain known as Eddie Izzard in public.

Persons: — Eddie Izzard, ”, Izzard, William Shakespeare, Izzard's, Mark, Selena Cadell, “ It’s, ” Izzard, “ You’re, “, Cadell, Charles Dickens, of, Mick Perrin, John Gore, Victoria, Abdul ”, Judi Dench, Joe Egg ”, don’t, Suzy, Eddie Izzard, ___ Mark Kennedy Organizations: Greenwich House, Associated Press, WestBeth Entertainment, Mick Perrin Worldwide, Broadway Locations: New York, London’s, of Denmark, “

☆ Bologna's 'leaning' tower, the Garisenda, closed off amid subsidence fears
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-25 | by ( Julia Buckley | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

And now the medieval Garisenda “leaning” tower in Bologna is sparking very modern publicity, with concern that it might be subsiding. But it leans at an angle of four degrees – only a little more upright than the Leaning Tower of Pisa, set at a tipsy five-degree angle. Shortened in later years, it sits in the city center beside the Asinelli – a tower twice the height, which tourists can climb. Lepore said that the tower “has been leaning for several centuries, and it has been the subject of various interventions over decades.”The Garisenda, seen next to the higher Asinelli tower, leans at a four-degree angle. Lepore represents the center-left Democratic Party, and his council opposition has cast him as failing to protect the tower.

Persons: we’ll, Stanley Tucci, CNN — Dante Alighieri, Charles Dickens, Dante, Matteo Lepore, ”, Lepore, Genoa’s, ” Lepore, “, Lucia Borgonzoni, Borgonzoni, Fabio Bergonzini Organizations: CNN, intel, Northern League, Democratic Party Locations: Italy, Bologna, Manhattan, Pisa, Emilia, Romagna, Lepore, “

☆ Here's why Target and Costco are having wildly different experiences with America's $41 billion shoplifting problem
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-27 | by ( Dominick Reuter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Costco and Target issued contrasting statements Tuesday about how retail crime is affecting them. Target said it would close 9 stores, citing crime – Costco said theft was "not a big issue for us." It also noted that theft incidents seem to be getting increasingly violent. Costco's success in skirting the impact of retail theft comes down to several operational factors that seem to run counter to Target's approach to business. AdvertisementAdvertisementAlthough Costco and Target are reporting almost opposite experiences with retail theft, the bigger picture resists superlatives.

Persons: Costco, —, Brian Cornell, Frederic J . Brown, Richard Galanti, Galanti, Cornell, Lindsey Nicholson, Charles Dickens, Dominick Organizations: Costco, Target, Service, Shoppers, Getty Locations: Queens , NY, Seattle, Kirkland, Portland, New York

☆ We asked Elon Musk's dad what he thought about the new book out on his son. He had a lot to say.
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-27 | by ( Grace Kay | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Errol Musk told Insider he isn't happy with what he's heard about the new biography on his son. AdvertisementAdvertisementErrol Musk isn't happy with Walter Isaacson's recent biography about his son, Elon Musk. Isaacson's biography on Elon Musk is filled with accounts of incidents where the Tesla CEO and other family members claim Errol Musk bullied and demeaned Elon. In the book, Isaacson wrote that Elon Musk and his brother Kimbal Musk have cut off communication with their father — an assertion Errol Musk denies. Isaacson, Elon Musk, and Kimbal Musk did not respond to a request for comment ahead of publication.

Persons: Errol Musk, he's, Elon Musk's, —, Errol Musk isn't, Walter Isaacson's, Elon Musk, demeaned Elon, Isaacson, Errol, Vader, Elon's Luke Skywalker, Elon, Errol Musk's, Cyrus McCrimmon, doesn't, he'd, Pip, Oliver Twist, Charles Dickens, Dr, Jekyll, Hyde, it's, Stone, Jana Bezuidenhout, I'm, Kimbal, –, we'd, Joel Saget, Chris Saucedo, " Isaacson, Kimbal Musk, Bill Gates, Elon wouldn't Organizations: Service, Elon, Denver, AFP, Microsoft Locations: South Africa, Florida

☆ A 'ferry house' made famous by Charles Dickens was converted into a 4-bedroom home with a private mooring. Now it's on the market for $2.8 million.
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-11 | by ( Mikhaila Friel | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: 1 min

A former ferry house just outside of London is on the market for £2.25 million, or around $2.8 million. The ferry house. DextersThe former ferry house on the River Thames was converted into a four-bedroom house in 2016 and comes with its own private mooring and a boat house, a spokesperson for real-estate agency Dexters told Insider. It has an open-plan reception, kitchen, and dining area, and an outdoor patio and terrace with views of the river, according to Dexters' press release. The property is located in Sunbury village, which is around a 45-minute train journey to central London, the press release states.

Persons: Dexters Locations: London, Sunbury

☆ The parents hiking America’s longest trails with five kids
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-28 | by ( Tamara Hardingham-Gill | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +13 min

Party of sevenOlen Netteburg (far left,) his wife Danae and their five children Lyol, Zane, Addison, Juniper, and Piper on the Continental Divide Trail. “We started reading some articles online to the kids about the Pacific Crest Trail and the Continental Divide Trail,” says Olen. Once things had settled down, they began reading up on “everything about having a baby in the wilderness” in order to be able to take on the Continental Divide Trail with their newborn. But having to carry a newborn along with them didn’t slow this hiking family down at all. In fact, they were able to complete Continental Divide Trail in six months, a month less time than the Appalachian Trail had taken them.

Persons: Olen Netteburg, Lyol, Zane, Piper, Danae, Danae Netteburg, Olen, ”, “, they’d, “ pare, “ We’d, They’ve, “ They’re, Olen’s, they’ve, Charles Dickens ’, Lucy Maud Montgomery’s “ Anne of, “ We’re Organizations: CNN, Triple Crown, CNN Travel, Canadian Rockies, West, Triple, Lucy Maud Montgomery’s “ Anne of Green Gables, Association, Coalition, Distance, Camino Locations: America, Georgia, Maine, New Mexico, Montana, Addison, Juniper, Zane, Mexico, California , Oregon, Washington, Canada, Chad, Africa, Pennsylvania, Uinta, Utah, Mount Springer , Georgia, Katahdin , Maine, North America, Oregon, Piper, California, Santiago, Spain, New Zealand

☆ ‘Swifterature:’ Belgian university launches course to analyze Taylor Swift lyrics
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-15 | by ( Leah Dolan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

CNN —Poetry, prose and now songwriting: Ghent University in Belgium is launching a new literature course dedicated to the literary merit of Taylor Swift’s discography. “Highly prolific and autobiographical in her songwriting, Swift makes frequent allusions to canonical literary texts in her music,” the class syllabus explains. “Using Swift’s work as a springboard, we will explore, among other topics, literary feminism, ecocriticism, fan studies, and tropes such as the anti-hero. In 2016, the University of Texas launched an English Literature course unpacking Beyoncé’s visual album “Lemonade” and its relationship to Black feminism. “But if anyone can teach you a lesson in how to respond to trolls, it’s Taylor Swift,” she concluded.

Persons: Taylor, Elly McCausland, McCausland, Sylvia Plath, Charles Dickens, William Shakespeare —, Geoffrey Chaucer’s “, Criseyde, Charlotte Brontë’s “, Margaret Atwood, Simon Armitage, “, Swift, Taylor Swift, ” McCausland, ”, Sylvia Plath’s, —, I’ll, “ I’m, There’s, it’s Taylor Swift Organizations: CNN, Ghent University, Oxford University, University of York, University of Oslo, New York University, Arizona State University, Berklee College of Music, Rice University, University of Texas, University of Copenhagen Locations: Belgium, Charlotte Brontë’s “ Villette, ”, ’, United Kingdom, Norway, Europe, United States, Houston

"The culture wars are coming to UK businesses, including the financial sector," said Andre Spicer, dean of City University's Bayes Business School. It also cited "risk factors including... controversial public statements which were felt to conflict with the bank's purpose". However, data from watchdog the Financial Ombudsman Service showed complaints about account closures represented a tiny fraction of a bank's overall customer base. Experts say other banks will now be scrambling to ensure their own policies and committees are behaving appropriately, to avoid further scandals. The CEO of Britain's biggest domestic bank Lloyds said on Wednesday the bank's own policies did not include looking at customers' political or personal beliefs.

Persons: Nigel Farage, Coutts, Andre Spicer, Howard Davies, Alison Rose, Rose, Peter Flavel, Charles Dickens, Queen Elizabeth II, Spicer, Harriet Baldwin, Bill Winters, Samuel Gregg, Banks, Gregg, University's Spicer, Rupert Younger, ", Sinead Cruise, Iain Withers, Lawrence White, Daniel Wallis Organizations: Brexit Party, NatWest, Bayes Business School, Coutts, Treasury, Bank of England, BBC, Standard Chartered, Farage, American Institute for Economic Research, Facebook, Financial, Service, Barclays, Lloyds, Centre, Oxford University's Said Business School, Thomson Locations: America

The ousting of Flavel is one of the first actions taken by NatWest's interim CEO Paul Thwaite, after the group's former CEO Alison Rose quit on Wednesday over the same matter. NatWest has faced intense scrutiny over the decision by Coutts to sever ties with Farage. An internal review obtained by the politician-turned-TV show host showed Coutts' wealth reputational risk committee had said his values did not align with the bank's own. Australian-born Flavel, who previously served as CEO of JPMorgan Private Wealth Management in Asia Pacific region, took the top job at Coutts in 2016. Mohammad Kamal Syed will step into the role of interim CEO of Coutts and NatWest's wealth businesses, Thwaite said, adding that Flavel was stepping down by "mutual consent".

Persons: Coutts, Peter Flavel, Nigel Farage's, Flavel, Paul Thwaite, Alison Rose, Rose, she'd, Farage, Howard Davies, Charles Dickens, Queen Elizabeth II, Mohammad Kamal Syed, Thwaite, Iain Withers, Sinead Cruise, Lawrence White Organizations: NatWest, BBC, Reuters, JPMorgan Private Wealth Management, Thomson Locations: Asia Pacific

☆ Regarding North Bath, Richard Russo Saved His Best for Last
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-23 | by ( Hamilton Cain | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

SOMEBODY’S FOOL, by Richard RussoWelcome back to North Bath, scrappy sibling to the larger, wealthier Schuyler Springs, down the road in woodsy upstate New York. While Schuyler Springs is famous for wine bars, pricey restaurants and a racetrack, North Bath (or “Bath”) prides itself on a rustic vibe, greasy spoons and scrapyards and grand Victorian fixer-uppers. Set over three days in February 2010, the novel opens with a bleak snapshot: The recession has wreaked havoc on local businesses and families. Russo reprises the cast from “Nobody’s Fool” (1993) and “Everybody’s Fool” (2016), framing their foibles as social comedy in the mode of Charles Portis or Charles Dickens. (There’s an allusion to “Great Expectations.”) As with both authors, tumult brews beneath sunny surfaces.

Persons: Richard Russo, scrappy, Schuyler, Richard Russo’s, “, Donald “ Sully ” Sullivan, Sully’s, Peter, Ruth, Russo, Charles Portis, Charles Dickens Locations: North Bath, Schuyler Springs, woodsy, New York, Bath

☆ Opinion | Barbara Kingsolver Thinks Urban Liberals Have It All Wrong on Appalachia
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-21 | by ( The Ezra Klein Show | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +58 min

It’s like there’s no point in asking who started this because it’s a really, really old antagonism. I think that’s probably what’s most critical right now is that all of our entertainment, our news media, it’s all made in cities. And he’s really pretty horrible, and he doesn’t feed them enough, and that’s really sad. You’re going to have a flat tire, and the guy that pulls up to help you is going to tell your dad within minutes. It’s not like most books you’re going to see.

Persons: Ezra Klein, ezra klein, —, Hernan Diaz, Barbara Kingsolver, “ David Copperfield ”, Dickens, It’s, barbara kingsolver, you’ve, ezra klein We’re, Nobody, I’d, I’ve, Bobby Ann Mason’s, “, — Wendell Berry, Robert Penn Warren, James Still, Harriette, Taylor Greer, you’re, George Washington, ” he’s, — he’s, he’s, I’ll, They’re, George W, Bush, they’re, barbara kingsolver You’re, we’ve, That’s, that’s, I’m, ” barbara kingsolver, barbara kingsolver Oh, barbara kingsolver ezra klein barbara kingsolver, ezra klein Yes, we’re, Charles Dickens, “ David Copperfield, ”, Tommy, ” It’s, ezra klein There’s, barbara kingsolver There’s, Tommy Traddles, Tommy Waddles, who’s, He’s, We’re, Tommy’s, she’s, it’s, Beth Macy, overdosed, ” ezra klein, There’s, grandkids, they’ve, Dori, doesn’t, Peggot, Frances Goldin, Arwen Donahue, She’s, Beth Macy’s, Lazarus, Laline Paull, ezra klein Barbara Kingsolver Organizations: New York, Fiction, Trump, Nicholas County High School, DePauw University, Walmart, The New York Times, . Times, New York Times, Farmers, “, Knoxville —, Purdue Pharma, Purdue, aha, Scots Locations: Appalachia, It’s, Georgia, Tennessee, North Carolina, Virginia, Kentucky, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, U.S, exploitations, Congo, Caribbean, Indiana, Nicholas, Arizona, Europe, Tucson , Arizona, Tucson, Paris, Athens, France, “ Shiloh, MAGA, America, Brazil, Eastern Europe, There’s, California, New York, “, Tommy, Pennington, Knoxville, there’s, nove, Lee County, that’s Lee County, that’s, United States of America, who’s, New York City

☆ ChatGPT Secret Training Data: the Top 50 Books AI Bots Are Reading
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-30 | by ( Adam Rogers | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +13 min

To figure out what GPT-4 has read, they quizzed it on its knowledge of various books, as if it were a high-school English student. One way to answer the question is to look for information that could have come from only one place. Genre — sci-fi, mystery, romance, horror — is, broadly speaking, more interesting, partially because these books have plots where things actually happen. Bamman's GPT-4 list is a Borgesian library of episodic connections, cliffhangers, third-act complications, and characters taking arms against seas of troubles (and whales). See what a bot makes of Gene Wolfe's "The Book of the New Sun," maybe, or Sheri Tepper's "Grass."

☆ King Charles' coronation is a great fit for London's Savile Row tailors
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-02 | by ( Kate Holton | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

[1/5] Handmade suits are seen at Anderson & Sheppard tailor on Savile Row, ahead of the Coronation of King Charles and Queen Camilla, in London, Britain, April 27, 2023. REUTERS/Dylan MartinezLONDON, May 2 (Reuters) - On Savile Row, the London street long celebrated for turning out sharp suits, tailors have been racing to prepare the red and gold uniforms that will feature in Britain's first coronation for 70 years, adorned with the new insignia of King Charles. Savile Row tailors have dressed kings, queens and their offspring for more than 150 years, and their craft gets a particular boost from long-time customer Charles - a lover of the countryside who also champions the farmers, weavers and mills producing much of the fabric. 'SLOWEST FASHION'Henry Poole, credited with creating the dinner jacket, or tuxedo, has held a British royal warrant since the 1860s when it supplied Queen Victoria. "The sustainability side of that is a major part of what Savile Row has always had," he said.

☆ Charles Dickens' former summer home is on sale for $27 million in one of London's most exclusive areas — take a look inside
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-09 | by ( Joshua Zitser | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: 1 min

It was once the summer home of world-famous author Charles Dickens and his family. Knight Frank/InsiderThe "Oliver Twist" author purchased the house in 1861 for the summer social season, bringing his wife and children along to stay there that summer and several summers after, according to The Telegraph. The author described the house as "really delightful" and often hosted other members of London's literary elite in it, the newspaper said.

☆ Charles Dickens’s ‘A Christmas Carol’ Review: The Soul’s Rebirth
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-24 | by ( Brad Leithauser | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +1 min

Charles Dickens’s “A Christmas Carol” is an evergreen delight for a host of reasons, not least for its length. The book’s events—which track the elderly, prosperous, stingy Ebenezer Scrooge’s psychic transformation from grouchy bear to purring pussycat—unfold in the course of one night. And, likewise, the book can, and should, be consumed in a single night, preferably Christmas Eve. In the book’s fictional world, Scrooge’s stunted soul is redeemed after serial visits from four ghosts, each conveying messages of fear and censure. If everything goes well, the evening’s two prime participants, Scrooge and you, wind up at the same juncture: releasing tears of joy.

☆ A Wintry Twist on an Age-Old Tale
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-23 | by ( Keith Christiansen | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Unless you are a miserly curmudgeon, such as Charles Dickens imagined as the protagonist of his famous Christmas tale, the likelihood is that you have a favorite Old Master painting that depicts the birth of Jesus and his veneration by shepherds or those mysterious “wise men from the east.” These are among the most frequently painted subjects of Western art; illustrations of a story that has proved irresistible. Already by the second century, the account found in the Gospels had been fleshed out to create a narrative that resonated on multiple levels. On the one hand, there is the tale of a pious, 12-year-old girl whose virginal state is entrusted to an old widower, Joseph—a carpenter by profession—who is shocked when he discovers she is pregnant and considers what action he should take to avoid the disgrace that will inevitably follow.

☆ Strange reports have claimed humans spontaneously burst into flames, but science can explain how bodies sometimes act like a candle wick
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-17 | by ( Paola Rosa-Aquino | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Nearly a year later, a coroner officially ruled that he'd died of a peculiar phenomenon, the Irish Independent reported — spontaneous human combustion. But if spontaneous human combustion is a real phenomenon, Byard added, why doesn't it happen more often? 'Spontaneous' human combustion over the centuriesIn the 17th century, a Danish anatomy expert described the first known case of spontaneous human combustion. Science says bodies can act like a candleThe prevalent scientific explanation for spontaneous human combustion is known as the wick effect, which proposes that humans can act like candles do. The pig's feet were left behind — exactly the result of many reported cases of spontaneous human combustion.

☆ Netflix 'Christmas Carol' reboot 'Spirited' misses Elon Musk irony
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-03 | by ( Ani Bundel | Ani Bundel Is A Cultural Critic Who Has Been Writing Regularly Since Her Work Can Also Be Found At Elite Daily | Weta'S Telly Visions | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +6 min

The Americanized “Spirited” is available on Apple TV+, while the British-based “Scrooge: A Christmas Carol” debuted on Netflix on Friday. Originally published in 1843, Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol” was that era’s equivalent of a bestseller, with 13 editions published in the first year of print alone. (“The Muppet’s Christmas Carol,” for example, cast perpetual hero Kermit T. Frog as Cratchit rather than Scrooge.) The animation is vibrant, capturing the feel of the old Claymation-style Christmas TV specials. It is a bizarre and somewhat grotesque rewriting of the story’s moral; it's “A Christmas Carol” seen through the lens of bothsiderism.

☆ 'Spirited' review: Will Ferrell and Ryan Reynolds try their hands (and feet) at musical comedy in 'A Christmas Carol' spoof
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-17 | by ( Review Brian Lowry | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —For those wondering who would build a giant holiday musical-comedy around Will Ferrell and Ryan Reynolds, the “produced by Will Ferrell” credit provides a helpful clue. “Spirited” tries turning “A Christmas Carol” on its head, and while it’s big and boisterous, the movie (hitting theaters before Apple TV+) isn’t consistently irreverent enough to feel like much more than a streaming stocking stuffer. Of course, playing with Charles Dickens’ oft-told tale brings a lot of shorthand to the proceedings, with Ferrell as the Ghost of Christmas Present, who stumbles upon Reynolds’ fast-talking Clint Briggs, a media consultant introduced trying to commoditize Christmas. Present identifies him as a candidate to become their next “perp,” offered a Scrooge-like shot at redemption. “Spirited” premieres November 11 in select US theaters and November 18 on Apple TV+.

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