Dickens

Dickens, Charles Grade Level:  6-8  9-12 During his lifetime, Charles Dickens enjoyed praise for both his humorous works (e.g., Pickwick Papers) and his darker tomes (e.g., Bleak House). Still the most widely read of the Victorian novelists, Dickens is now chiefly celebrated for his most serious works including The Tale of Two Cities and David Copperfield. According to the Dictionary of Literary Biography, more has been written each year about Dickens than about any other English author but William Shakespeare. This entry from the Educational Paperback Association, which adds to the volumes written about him, serves as an excellent introduction to his life and work. Topic: Dickens, Charles,--1812-1870 URL: http://www.edupaperback.org/showauth.cfm?authid=87 Dickens and Christmas Grade Level:  6-8  9-12 Investigate how the writings of Charles Dickens have influenced how Christmas is celebrated today. In the midst of the Industrial Revolution, little time was allowed for holidays and celebrations. Christmas trees, carols, and cards existed in England, but it was Dickens' book, "A Christmas Carol," that revived the heart of the holiday. Even today, it reminds readers that Christmas is about more than gifts; it is about forgiveness, charity, and kindness. Find out what ailment Tiny Tim likely suffered from, and read a description of Ebenezer Scrooge. Topic: Dickens, Charles,--1812-1870 URL: http://www.fidnet.com/~dap1955/dickens/christmas.html Dickens: A Brief Biography Grade Level:  9-12 In an 1860 biographical sketch, Harper's Weekly noted, "Mr. Dickens has written so much and so well that the severest ordeal any thing new that he writes has to undergo is the comparison with what he has written before." Charles Dickens, author of such sprawling and popular novels as David Copperfield and Great Expectations, receives a thorough treatment in this Victorian Web entry, which features ample biographical materials (including a chronology, people and places that influenced him, and his professional achievements) and commentary on his works--particularly, issues of history, religion, politics, and science; characterization; imagery; themes; and more. Topic: Dickens, Charles,--1812-1870 URL: http://www.victorianweb.org/authors/dickens/index.html Biography of Charles Dickens (1812-1870) Grade Level:  9-12 When he was only sixteen, Charles Dickens secured a job as a court reporter and then another as a reporter for A Mirror of Parliament. These assignments later led to other newspaper work and to editing positions. He managed to publish several sketches in magazines, but the serialization of The Pickwick Papers heralded his arrival as a novelist. This GradeSaver entry comprises a complete biographical essay, as well as links to GradeSaver study guides for five novels: Bleak House, A Christmas Carol, Great Expectations, Hard Times, and Tale of Two Cities. Topic: Dickens, Charles,--1812-1870 URL: http://www.gradesaver.com/classicnotes/authors/about_charles_dickens.html Best of Times: The Theater of Charles Dickens Grade Level:  6-8  9-12 Although Charles Dickens is probably best known as a novelist, his first love was the stage. This online exhibit from the New York Public Library describes the theatre of Charles Dickens and his many roles in live theatre during that time. Learn about Charles Dickens as an actor, a playwright, and a public reader. You can also find information about the dramatization of his works onstage. Read about his shorter works and his novels that have been brought to stage. Topic: Dickens, Charles,--1812-1870 URL: http://www.nypl.org/research/lpa/dickens/ Charles Dickens. Dickens' Narrative Technique Grade Level:  9-12 Dickens writing describes landscapes and settings to provide a "stage" for the story in the reader's imagination. His narrative techniques draw the reader into the story. Dramatic events and pictures come to mind in a Dickens' novel. His descriptions do not require the reader to interpret for symbolism, but "paint" a picture. His words take the place of set-design, wardrobe, lighting, and props that are a part of plays or cinema. Explore the literary techniques and character development used by Charles Dickens. Topic: English prose literature URL: http://www.literature-study-online.com/essays/dickens.html The Dickens page Grade Level:  9-12 This Charles Dickens' web site offers an extensive look at this famous English author. From academic resources to recreational resources, from the Dickens' Society to the Dickens' Project, this site has it all. Read reviews, essays, and critiques authored by professors and literary experts about many of Charles Dickens' works. Tremendous amounts of links are provided that offers viewers a comprehensive and critical study of this English novelist. Topic: Novelists, English URL: http://lang.nagoya-u.ac.jp/~matsuoka/Dickens.html#New Dickens Made Simple.com Grade Level:  6-8  9-12 This web site covers the works of author Charles Dickens. The characters, plots and themes of several of Dickens' works are discussed and links are provided to other web sites with additional information. The works covered include Oliver Twist, David Copperfield, A Tale of Two Cities and many more. Of special note is the proper MLA citation provided for each article on the site. Topic: Dickens, Charles,--1812-1870 URL: http://www.dickensfordummies.homestead.com Charles Dickens Grade Level:  9-12 Charles Dickens was one of the great literary geniuses of all time and one of the most popular. It has been estimated that one out of ten Britons, who could read, read his works, His nickname was "The Inimitable" and it can be argued that in all of English literature, his creativity is rivaled only by Shakespeare's. As shown on this web site, he was an enormously complex man. View biographical information as well as many of his most famous works. Additional links are provided for continued research. Topic: Novelists, English URL: http://www.scholars.nus.edu.sg/victorian/authors/dickens/dickensov.html Dickens, Charles Grade Level:  9-12 An annotated bibliography of prose, poetry, film, video, and art, the Literature, Arts, and Medicine Database comprises entries that serve as resources in health/pre-health and liberal arts settings. The works in the database were annotated because of their value in medical humanities. Seven works by Charles Dickens are represented: the essay "A Curious Dance Round a Curious Tree," the short story "Doctor Marigold," the novellas A Christmas Carol and The Cricket on the Hearth, and three novels. The entries for each include a summary and commentary, as well as the key words by which the works may be searched. Topic: English literature URL: http://litmed.med.nyu.edu/People?action=view&id=2746 Dickens. Life & Career. Introduction / PBS Grade Level:  6-8  9-12 Charles Dickens used his short stories and novels to describe Victorian London, fight for social reform, and create unforgettable characters. Dickens wrote fifteen novels and numerous other articles, reviews, stories, and sketches. His novels were initially published serially, in installments, alone or as part of weekly or monthly magazines. Serial publication meant more readers could afford to buy and read fiction. The success of "The Pickwick Papers" created a dramatic increase in the publication of fiction. Topic: English prose literature URL: http://www.pbs.org/wnet/dickens/life.html Charles Dickens Grade Level:  9-12 Classic Reader's free online collection of classic stories currently comprises more than three thousand works of literature (including nearly two thousand short stories) by more than three hundred authors. New works are added regularly. The entry on English author Charles Dickens, generally regarded as the greatest writer of the Victorian period, features a biographical sketch ("Dickens's works are characterized by attacks on social evils, injustice, and hypocrisy"), an image, and the complete text of more than two dozen novels and a dozen short stories. Topic: Novelists, English URL: http://www.classicreader.com/author.php/aut.17/ Charles Dickens Grade Level:  9-12 Humanities Web comprises such resources as biographies, timelines, chronologies, images, electronic texts of primary sources, articles, and recommendations for further research and reading, all of which "show the interconnections, the web, the links, between history, the arts, and culture--and how each plays off and influences the others." The entry on Victorian novelist and social critic Charles Dickens features an image, brief biography, chronology, quotations, and the complete text of twelve novels, including Great Expectations and A Tale of Two Cities. According to Dickens, "Trifles make the sum of life." Topic: Novelists, English URL: http://www.humanitiesweb.org/human.php?s=l&p=c&a=i&ID=220 Charles Dickens (1812-1870) Grade Level:  6-8  9-12 Described in this BBC biography as the "quintessential Victorian author," Charles Dickens is probably better known to students as the author of such novels as The Tale of Two Cities, David Copperfield, Oliver Twist, and Great Expectations. Rising from the poverty in which his father's wanton spending habits landed his family, Dickens became a successful parliamentary journalist before publishing The Pickwick Papers in 1836, after which he dedicated himself entirely to his literary pursuits. Topic: Literature URL: http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/dickens_charles.shtml Charles Dickens Grade Level:  6-8  9-12 Biblio, an online marketplace for used, rare, and out-of-print books, maintains a database of more than three hundred author biographies and bibliographies. Representing contemporary writers (e.g., Samuel Beckett and Thomas Pynchon), bestselling authors (e.g., Patricia Cornwell and Jude Deveraux), and common names in the literary canon (e.g., Henry James and John Steinbeck), the database includes biographies and, in many cases, partial lists of works. This entry features information about the life and career of English author Charles Dickens, whose volume of work includes A Tale of Two Cities, Great Expectations, and Oliver Twist. Topic: Novelists, English URL: http://www.biblio.com/authors/576/Charles_Dickens_Biography.html David Perdue's Charles Dickens Page Grade Level:  9-12 The sole purpose of this David Perdue's site--a labor of love if ever there was one--is to educate a new generation of readers by increasing their awareness of Charles Dickens' life and works. Calling Dickens "nineteenth-century London personified," Perdue serves up fast facts about the writer, biographical data, pages devoted to each of his novels, an alphabetical cross-linked list of more than four hundred characters, a glossary, a map of Dickens' London, and more. Topic: Literature URL: http://charlesdickenspage.com/index.html Charles Dickens Made Simple Grade Level:  6-8  9-12 If you have ever read A Tale of Two Cities, Oliver Twist, or any of the other works of famed author Charles Dickens, you may have been a bit confused by some of the plots or the different aspects of the characters. This web site can help you to enjoy the work of Dickens a bit more. It analyzes the stories and gives you more detailed information about their plots and their characters. You will be able to more fully understand and appreciate the art of Dickens after you have finished here. Topic: World history--19th century URL: http://dickensfordummies.homestead.com/ A Biography of Charles Dickens Grade Level:  6-8  9-12 If you have ever read A Tale of Two Cities, Oliver Twist, or any of the other works of famed author Charles Dickens, you can probably see why he is credited with being one of the most phenomenal authors ever. His art continually attacked such things as social injustice and hypocrisy, as well as the political aspect of his culture. Here you can read a biography of Dickens that will give you a bit of an insight into his life and how he came to write the pieces that are still enjoyed today. Topic: World history--19th century URL: http://www.incwell.com/Biographies/Dickens.html Charles Dickens, 1812-1870 Grade Level:  9-12 The University of Adelaide Library maintains eBooks@Adelaide, a free virtual collection of classic works in literature, philosophy, science, and history. The texts, most of which are complemented by biographical notes and related links, can be read online or downloaded for later use. English writer Charles Dickens is represented in this collection by several works, including The Pickwick Papers, Oliver Twist, Nicholas Nickleby, The Old Curiosity Shop, and David Copperfield. The entry includes an image of the author and an essay culled from the 1910 publication A Short Biographical Dictionary of English Literature by John W. Cousin. Topic: Novelists, English URL: http://etext.library.adelaide.edu.au/d/dickens/charles/ David Perdue's Charles Dickens Page Grade Level:  6-8  9-12 The works of popular authors in any time period help explain the cultures and history of that time to the generations that follow. Charles Dickens was an English author in the 19th century, creating such works as A Tale of Two Cities and Oliver Twist. This web site lets you take a closer look at the man behind the novels. Here you will see how his art influenced people all over the world, and why he is still considered to be one of the greatest novelists to have ever held a pen. Topic: World history--19th century URL: http://www.fidnet.com/~dap1955/dickens/ Audio Interview with Peter Ackroyd about Charles Dickens Grade Level:  9-12 Don Swaim produced "Book Beat," a daily broadcast that focused on authors and books. The show, which was nationally syndicated by the CBS Radio Stations News Service, featured some of the greatest writers of the twentieth century, from Ray Bradbury to John Updike, Toni Morrison to Tom Clancy. Swaim's thirty- to forty-five-minute interviews were edited for the two-minute segment. Wired for Books now offers the complete, uncut, behind-the-scenes interviews, including the full audio of Swaim's 1991 interview with Peter Ackroyd, author of Dickens: Public Life & Private Passion and Dickens' London. Ackroyd discusses Dickens' life and analyzes his work. Topic: Novelists, English URL: http://www.wiredforbooks.org/peterackroyd/index.htm Dickens London Grade Level:  6-8  9-12 The population of London grew from one million in 1800 to 4.5 million in 1880. The capital of Britain grew due to the Industrial Revolution, and was particularly influenced by the beginning of the railroads. New docks increased, and trade exploded. The streets were filled with manure, coal smoke, and a thousand vehicles an hour. Rich and poor people crowded the streets. Several outbreaks of cholera were caused by drinking water contaminated by sewage. The first police force was established, along with workhouses for the poor. Topic: England--Civilization--19th century URL: http://www.fidnet.com/~dap1955/dickens/dickens_london.html A Tale of Two Cities Grade Level:  9-12 Following a disagreement with his regular publishers, Victorian author Charles Dickens developed a new periodical, All the Year Round. His second historical novel, A Tale of Two Cities, was published serially in that magazine from April through November of 1859. The SparkNotes study guide for A Tale of Two Cities includes a plot summary and discussion of the novel's context; a character list and analyses of the primary characters; a review of the key themes, symbols, and motifs; a chapter-by-chapter review; explanations of important quotations; and study questions, essay samples, and an online quiz. Topic: Dickens, Charles,--1812-1870 URL: http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/twocities/ David Copperfield Grade Level:  9-12 Charles Dickens referred to David Copperfield as his "favourite child," and many critics regard the novel as his finest depiction of childhood. The author drew heavily on his own life experiences, including financial stresses his family endured at the hands of his father, satirically portrayed in the character Mr. Micawber. The SparkNotes study guide for David Copperfield includes a plot summary and discussion of the novel's context; a character list and analyses of the primary characters; a review of the key themes, symbols, and motifs; a chapter-by-chapter review; explanations of important quotations; and study questions, essay samples, and an online quiz. Topic: Dickens, Charles,--1812-1870 URL: http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/copperfield/ The Cambridge History of English and American Literature- Volume 13 Grade Level:  9-12 The English fiction of the Victorian era is the focus of this encyclopedia volume, which includes critical essays about the novels of Charles Dickens, Charlotte and Emily Bronte, and other lesser-known English novelists. In addition, the site contains a section devoted to political and social novels of the Victorian period, including the works of George Eliot, Benjamin Disraeli, and Charles Kingsley. Critical resources for other genres of literature, such as drama and poetry, are also offered. Topic: Bronte, Charlotte,--1816-1855 URL: http://www.bartleby.com/223/index.html

Two Illustrations for Dickens's Great Expectations by Edward Ardizzone (1900-1979) Grade Level:  9-12 Well-known classic "Great Expectations," by Charles Dickens, was illustrated by British illustrator Edward Ardizzone. Investigate how Ardizzine crosses the line between illustrating the text and adding his own interpretation and details. Discover how the illustrations use foreshadowing to reveal that the character is being followed, and to perhaps make the reader wonder about the identity of the agent following him. Consider how this implies that the illustrator knows more than the narrator about what is going on in the story. Topic: Ardizzone, Edward,--1900-1979 URL: http://www.scholars.nus.edu.sg/victorian/art/illustration/ge/ardizzone.html The Wilkie Collins Pages Grade Level:  9-12 Wilkie Collins, good friend to Charles Dickens, was once the best known, best loved, and best paid of all English novelists. Discover why there was a decline in his popularity after his death, read many of his most famous works, and view biographical information about his life. Some portraits are also included on this web site. Topic: Novelists, English URL: http://www.wilkiecollins.com/ Madame Alexander Dolls Grade Level:  K-5  6-8  9-12 This web page is a great place to find information on the Alexander Doll Company. Read about the company's founder, Beatrice Alexander Behrman, who founded her company in 1923 with dolls made of cloth. Many of her dolls represented fictional characters such as Alice in Wonderland, the Little Women and characters from the novels of Charles Dickens. How the company changed over the years is detailed on this page. Topic: Alexander Doll Company URL: http://www.worldcollectorsnet.com/ma A Pathfinder on the Evolution of the English Detective Novel Grade Level:  9-12 Elements of detective stories, like deductive reasoning, have long been present in literature. It wasn't until the 19th century, however, that the first stories appeared with a detective as the main character. That was in the short stories of an American, Edgar Allan Poe. It was British authors like Charles Dickens and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle who made the detective novel popular. The 20th century saw popular British female authors join the ranks, like Agatha Christie and Dorothy Sayers. Topic: Mystery fiction URL: http://www.unc.edu/~rdtowery/detective_novel.htm About Self-Education.. Grade Level: 6-8  9-12 As you read biographies about the lives of famous people, you will discover that many of them were self-taught. American society today focuses on formal education, but American history is filled with great people who were self-educated. These people include Thomas Edison, Albert Einstein, Abraham Lincoln, Benjamin Franklin, and Bill Gates. The ideas and contributions of the self-educated include Boolean logic, magic squares, Bernoulli numbers, and the novels of Charles Dickens. The first person to discover a comet through a telescope was a self-educated woman, and the Prime Minister of Australia during World War II was self-educated too. Topic: Self-instruction URL: http://home.att.net/~w.j.reilly/resume/SelfEduc.htm Among the Unknown Public Grade Level:  9-12 Subtitled "Household Words, All the Year Round and the Mass-Market Weekly Periodical in the Mid-Nineteenth Century," this academic but accessible article first appeared in the Spring 2005 issue of the scholarly journal Victorian Periodicals Review. As Lorna Huett reveals, several popular periodicals during the Victorian era were penned either anonymously or pseudonymously by reputable and well known writers such as Charles Dickens and Wilkie Collins. This entry describes these journals, which comprised humorous sketches and serials intended for the everyday reader. Topic: English periodicals URL: http://muse.jhu.edu/demo/victorian_periodicals_review/v038/38.1huett.html Anthony Horowitz Grade Level:  6-8  9-12 Describing his childhood as something from a Roald Dahl or Charles Dickens novel, Anthony Horowitz explains that he knew he was a writer by the time he was eight and that he asked for books, a typewriter, and pens for his birthday when he was young. In this entry from the official web site of the Alex Rider series he helms, Horowitz further acknowledges that he became a writer to compensate for his rotten youth. In addition to the insightful essay, visitors will find information about the characters and plots of Horowitz's popular series. Topic: Horowitz, Anthony,--1955- URL: http://www.alexrider.com/About/Anthony-Horowitz Detective Story Grade Level:  6-8  9-12 Detective stories include a mystery or puzzle as a solution to a crime is found through deductive reasoning. A detective follows the clues logically, in spite of confusing circumstances. Whodunits evolved from the reader witnessing the detective's solution, to being involved in deductive reasoning themselves. Elements of detection were found in stories of the 16th to 18th centuries, as well as in the British Gothic novels of the early 19th century. Detective stories became popular in the 19th century, including ones written by Charles Dickens, Wilkie Collins, and the renowned Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Topic: Private investigators in literature URL: http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761559994/Detective_Story.html Elizabeth Gaskell Grade Level:  9-12 Although she enjoyed great popularity during her lifetime, Elizabeth Gaskell's literary reputation now pales in comparison to that of George Eliot or the Brontë sisters. Gaskell, the daughter and wife of Unitarian ministers, wrote several novels, beginning with Mary Barton, that focused on the misery of the working poor. In this attention to the so-called "Condition of England," she joined such writers as Charles Dickens and Benjamin Disareli. The biography at this site includes an image and insights into Gaskell's life and work. Topic: Women novelists, English URL: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/wives/writers/gaskell.html Elizabeth Gaskell Grade Level:  9-12 As the daughter and wife of Unitarian ministers, Elizabeth Gaskell witnessed firsthand the poverty of the working class in Manchester, England. The experience informed her early novels, including her first work, Mary Barton: A Tale of Manchester Life. Published in 1848, it alternately alarmed its Victorian readers and elicited praise from Gaskell's contemporaries, including Charles Dickens. The complete text of this, two other novels (Cranford and Wives and Daughters), and Gaskell's masterful The Life of Charlotte Bronte complement the biography at this site. Topic: Women novelists, English URL: http://www.readprint.com/author-40/Elizabeth-Gaskell George Eliot, 1857-1876: A Biographical Introduction Grade Level:  9-12 Literary novels can go beyond simply being entertaining. They can convey a philosophy, the author's beliefs about the human condition. Mary Ann, or Marion, Evans was George Eliot talented author. She wrote only one book under her real name. She was an assistant editor for the Westminster Review, and examined the literature of Dickens and Austen from a modern perspective. She believed in expressing the reality of life and the environment in stories, rather than following literary conventions. Topic: Women authors, English--19th century--Biography URL: http://www.victorianweb.org/authors/eliot/pva92.html Horowitz... Anthony Horowitz Grade Level:  6-8  9-12 The author's life reads like a novel written by Charles Dickens, and his own novels for younger readers are reminiscent of Ian Fleming's works featuring James Bond. Who is he? Anthony Horowitz, who in this interview with the Jewish Exponent maintains that his brutal experience in boarding school made him a writer. Both prolific and popular, Horowitz has parlayed his memories and imagination into a profitable career. Learn more about the man behind the Alex Rider adventures. Topic: Horowitz, Anthony,--1955- URL: http://www.jewishexponent.com/article/10950/ Jane Austen Grade Level:  9-12 Dr. Andreas Tuber, associate professor of philosophy at Brandeis University, maintains the course notes and background materials for his course "Coming into One's Own" online. These resources include a lengthy entry on English novelist Jane Austen. The material includes an image, a biographical and critical essay, and literary criticism on each of her novels, and bibliographies. According to Tuber, Austen's novels, like those of Charles Dickens, remain both widely read and popular, despite their status as "classics." Topic: English authors URL: http://people.brandeis.edu/~teuber/austenbio.html John Irving (1942-) Grade Level:  9-12 American author, John Irving, maintains that he is not an intellectual, but rather a carpenter who "builds stories." His volume of work includes such novels as The World According to Garp, A Prayer for Owen Meany, and Cider House Rules. This guide to Irving features a number of facts about the author including his education and previous jobs. As a child, he "couldn't get enough of" Dickens. Learn which novel inspired him to become a writer. Topic: Irving, John,--1942- URL: http://books.guardian.co.uk/authors/author/0,,96552,00.html Leo Tolstoy (1828 - 1910) Grade Level:  9-12 The work of Russian novelist Leo Tolstoy, who read widely in fiction (Dickens, Sterne, Goethe, Thackery, and more) and philosophy (Plato and Rousseau), "grew originally out of his diaries, in which he tried to understand his own feelings and actions so as to control them." The Free Library entry features an image and biography of Tolstoy, as well as online versions of four of his works: Anna Karenina, Father Sergius, Master and Man, and War and Peace. Topic: Tolstoy, Leo,--graf,--1828-1910 URL: http://tolstoy.thefreelibrary.com/ Mary Anning Grade Level:  6-8  9-12 Mary Anning (1799-1847) was an early British paleontologist and fossil collector. This article presents examples of her personal and family life. The description of her first year of life describes how she was struck by lightening. Mary started selling fossils as a child because her father had died and their family needed money. She found the world's first nearly complete plesiosaur. Mary Anning is described in Charles Dickens' journal as "the carpenter's daughter has won a name for herself, and deserved to win it". Topic: Anning, Mary,--1799-1847 URL: http://www.strangescience.net/anning.htm Periodical Grade Level:  6-8  9-12 Periodical is defined as a technical and scholar journal to an illustrated magazine for mass circulation. Compared to a newspaper a periodical is different in the format and the pages are smaller and are usually bound. The section about English periodicals gives a list of the foremost English periodicals of the 19th century. The "Edinburgh Review" (1802-1929), had these well-known writers: Sir Walter Scott, Thomas Macaulay, Matthew Arnold, William Hazlitt, and Thomas Carlyle. "Household Words" (1850-1859) was edited by Charles Dickens. Topic: Periodicals URL: http://www.bartleby.com/65/pe/periodcl.html Philip Pullman (1946-) Grade Level:  9-12 The Guardian's guide to British author Philip Pullman comprises an image, links to two related Guardian and Observer features, and a number of facts about the author arranged under such headings as "Critical verdict," "Influences" (Swift and Dickens, according to the Guardian, and Blake and Milton), "Now read on," and "Recommended biography." Pullman, author of numerous books for young adults, is perhaps best know for the His Dark Materials trilogy, the third book which was the first children's book to capture the Whitbread Prize. Topic: Pullman, Philip,--1946- URL: http://books.guardian.co.uk/authors/author/0,,798016,00.html Starting Points: Civil Procedure Grade Level:  9-12 The Seattle University Law Library explains the basic information of a civil procedure. Topics covered are jurisdiction, pleading, and discovery. There is some information on the history of civil procedure in the United States. The first framework for civil procedure is very similar to the one described in Charles Dickens' book "Bleak House." This research guide lists many books that are helpful in further research on various topics related to civil procedures. It also explains what you will find in the different books. There are also links to three websites. Topic: Library legislation URL: http://www.law.seattleu.edu/library/research/startingpoints/civpro The Arabic Novel: A History and a Guide Grade Level:  9-12 The genre of the novel in Arabic literature has formed a new literature culture since its roots in the 19th century. Reassessment of Arabic heritage and culture has combined with European ideas and influences to feed experimentation with narrative forms, diverse content, and publishing in serial or book form. The first Arabic novel, by Mohamed Hussein Haykal, protests social pressures while introducing class structure and village life. It does so while introducing romantic individualism and the narrative style and language of the novel, much as Europe's Dickens combined history, social criticism, and sentiment. Read about the accomplishments of Naguib Mahfouz. Topic: Novelists, Arab URL: http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2006/798/cu5.htm The Literary Enclopedia - Detective Fiction (1830) Grade Level:  9-12 The genre of detective fiction has roots that go back much farther than Sherlock Holmes, even to Biblical times and Aesop's fables. In detective fiction, or whodunits, the plot focuses on detecting which character committed the crime. Classic detective fiction is of the Sherlock Holmes type, but Caleb Williams is considered the first British detective novel. The short stories of Edgar Allen Poe included detective stories. Even Dickens wrote several novels which included detectives as characters. The casebook genre explored fictionalized accounts of actual cases investigated by detectives. Topic: Mystery fiction URL: http://www.litencyc.com/php/stopics.php?rec=true&UID=267 The Romance of Sinclair Lewis Grade Level:  9-12 In 1992, the Library of America released Main Street and Babbitt in an omnibus edition. In the New York Review of Books, Gore Vidal mused on Sinclair Lewis' contributions to American literature: "In the end, Lewis was not to be talked of at all, but his characters--as types--would soldier on; in fact, more of his inventions have gone into the language than those of any other writer since Dickens." Born in Sauk Centre, Minnesota, in 1885, Lewis won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1930; he was the first American to receive the honor. Topic: Lewis, Sinclair,--1885-1951 URL: http://www.nybooks.com/articles/2805 Vice Presidents of the United States: Henry Wilson (1873-1875) Grade Level:  6-8  9-12 Reprinted from the volume Vice Presidents of the United States, 1789-1993, prepared by Mark O. Hatfield, with the Senate Historical Office and published by the U.S. Government Printing Office in 1997, this eight-page document provides student-researchers with a one-stop guide to all they ever needed to know about Henry Wilson. Following an introduction, this entry discusses Wilson's youth (which, according to Hatfield, resembled a Dickens novel), his rise from shoemaker to politician, his work on the military affairs committee, his ambitions, and more. Topic: Wilson, Henry,--1812-1875 URL: http://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/resources/pdf/henry_wilson.pdf Wilkie Collins Grade Level:  6-8  9-12 English novelist Wilkie Collins is a featured author of the month at the Montgomery County Public Libraries Readers' Café web site. You will find some brief biographical information about Collins and learn about his friendship and important working relationship with Charles Dickens. His unusual family life is mentioned. Learn the background of the genre known as sensation fiction. Several of Collins' most famous works are listed and summarized, and you can find publication dates for them. Topic: Novelists, English URL: http://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/apps/libraries/readerscafe/articledetails.asp?id=32&content=author Wilkie Collins -- 1824-1889 Grade Level:  9-12 Author and poet Wilkie Collins is presented at the Victorian Web site. A biography describes the friendship and writing collaboration between Collins and Charles Dickens. Find a complete list of works by Collins and their publication dates. Other information on the site includes Victorian political history and social history at the time Collins was writing. Science and religion in Victorian Britain is discussed too. You can also explore themes and imagery in his literary works. Topic: Collins, Wilkie,--1824-1889 URL: http://www.victorianweb.org/authors/collins/collinsov.html William Makepeace Thackeray Grade Level:  6-8  9-12 A comprehensive profile of the life and works of William Makepeace Thackeray (1811-1863) can be found at this web site. This article weaves together biographical information along with career highlights, resulting in an intimate portrait of the celebrated author of "Vanity Fair" (1848). Also included within this profile are links to notable Thackeray peers, including Alfred Lord Tennyson and Charles Dickens. A bibliography is included here as well, to refer you to the full-length texts of this most important Victorian author. Topic: Thackeray, William Makepeace,--1811-1863 URL: http://www.nndb.com/people/153/000087889/