Am I the only Dickens fan here? I don't love everything he wrote, but I adore David Copperfield (with two p's), Tale of Two Cities, Oliver Twist and A Christmas Carol. I dont' care that he got paid by the word, I care that he wrote such wonderful characters in such an engaging fashion. Ain't nothin' wrong with writing for the common people.
George Higgins noted that Dickens was both his own agent and editor, and that agent Dickens and editor Dickens were both allergic to cutting out any of author Dickens' words each of which they uniformly regarded as splendid prose (and for which they were paid). It seems to me that in his honor/memory the 7th of February should be selected as National Prolix Day.
Dr. Frasier Crane<span>: "It was the best of times. It was the worst of times." </span> Norm Peterson<span>: Wait, whoa, whoa, whoa. Which was it? </span>
<span>Frasier: "As Sidney Carton climbed into the Apache helicopter, he said "'tis a far better thing I do, than I have ever done before. 'tis a far better [momentary hesitation from Frasier] butt-kicking I give, than I have ever given before."</span>
Look, I respect Dickens, but is there an author who was more obviously paid by the word?
ReplyDeleteNeal Stephenson?
ReplyDeleteStephenson has a special clause that gives bonuses for made-up words.
ReplyDeleteRelated: http://xkcd.com/483/
Victor Hugo?
ReplyDeleteAs someone who suffered through multiple Dickens novels in high-school English classes, I will not be celebrating this anniversary.
ReplyDeleteAlso on this day: Laura Ingalls Wilder in 1867.
ReplyDeleteSince my alias comes from Dickens (Our Mutual Friend) I am thrilled to see this post. Hooray!
ReplyDeleteAm I the only Dickens fan here? I don't love everything he wrote, but I adore David Copperfield (with two p's), Tale of Two Cities, Oliver Twist and A Christmas Carol. I dont' care that he got paid by the word, I care that he wrote such wonderful characters in such an engaging fashion. Ain't nothin' wrong with writing for the common people.
ReplyDeleteI'm a massive fan. Tale of Two Cities is the absolute best.
ReplyDeleteGeorge Higgins noted that Dickens was both his own agent and editor, and that agent Dickens and editor Dickens were both allergic to cutting out any of author Dickens' words each of which they uniformly regarded as splendid prose (and for which they were paid). It seems to me that in his honor/memory the 7th of February should be selected as National Prolix Day.
ReplyDelete<span>What about A Sale of Two Titties by Charles Dikkens, the well-known Dutch author?</span>
ReplyDeleteJohn McPhee?
ReplyDeleteDr. Frasier Crane<span>: "It was the best of times. It was the worst of times." </span>
ReplyDeleteNorm Peterson<span>: Wait, whoa, whoa, whoa. Which was it? </span>
<span>Frasier: "As Sidney Carton climbed into the Apache helicopter, he said "'tis a far better thing I do, than I have ever done before. 'tis a far better [momentary hesitation from Frasier] butt-kicking I give, than I have ever given before."</span>
Dickens wasn't paid by the word.
ReplyDeleteThere's a novel called called David Coperfield?
ReplyDeleteichi - it's by Edmund Wells. http://www.montypython.net/scripts/bookshop.php
ReplyDeleteTPE, it's Rarnaby Budge that's by Dikkens.