Books do pretend ...but squeezed in between is even more that is true—without what you may call the lies, the pages would be too light for the truth, you see? Matthew Pearl More Quotes by Matthew Pearl More Quotes From Matthew Pearl I don't like my birthday. I don't like things that are directed towards me. It took me a long time to get over people asking me to write my name in the book. Matthew Pearl me time birthday people What's most explosive about historical fiction is to use the fictional elements to pressure the history to new insights. Matthew Pearl new historical pressure history When Charles Dickens arrived in Boston Harbor, where he started, they had to keep it secret because there was such a mob of people expecting him, and they actually chased down his carriage at the hotel, the Parker House Hotel. Matthew Pearl down hotel house people When Dickens arrives in the United States in November of 1867, he's already in questionable health. So by the end of the trip, he was really in failing condition, and really, he would never recover completely after this point, and you could sort of draw a straight line to his ultimate decline and death. Matthew Pearl you november health death If we think about what mystery entails as a genre, certainly a big part of it is a resolution. Matthew Pearl about big think mystery When it comes to referring to Dickens's life, performing plays with your nine children for friends and family during Christmas is Dickensian. Matthew Pearl family christmas life children Surprisingly, it was not an American but a British company that opened an amusement park in 2007 called Dickens World, located in the English county of Kent, complete with an Ebenezer Scrooge Haunted House, a Great Expectations Boat Ride and the as-advertised 'costumed Dickensian characters.' Matthew Pearl ride great boat world Considering what a prolific writer Dickens was, the word 'Dickensian' could legitimately cover a vast thematic territory, explaining at least some of the variety of its applications. Matthew Pearl word some variety territory Dickens's final book, 'The Mystery of Edwin Drood,' forms the jumping-off point for my new novel, 'The Last Dickens'. This last work by Dickens has very little social commentary and a pretty tightly efficient storyline and cast of characters. Not necessarily what we think of when we think what characterizes Dickens. Matthew Pearl think mystery work book Films have become shorter in length, jumpier in style, and simpler in story so that they can be more easily transferred to once under-exploited international markets. Matthew Pearl more become story style As new technology emerges as the greatest challenge to novels since the advent of film, it may be that the fragmentation of storytelling into installments key to Dickens's era will be recreated in some way. Matthew Pearl challenge new technology way The novel has always been a contradictory form. Here is a long form narrative mainly read originally by consumers who were only newly literate or limited in their literacy. The novel ranked below poetry, essay and history in prestige for a long time. Matthew Pearl poetry time long history My high school English teacher in junior year, Dr. Robert Parsons, assigned us some Poe stories, including 'The Black Cat' and 'The Purloined Letter.' Being an animal person, I had trouble with 'The Black Cat!' I got hooked instead by 'The Purloined Letter,' a Poe story with detective C. Auguste Dupin. Matthew Pearl black animal teacher school I still have my high school copy of the collected Poe - missing its covers and pretty worse for the wear. Matthew Pearl copy wear high-school school I think respectful conflict is intrinsic to the spirit of literature. It reminds us that literary history is living and evolving and thrives on us being active participants. Matthew Pearl think conflict literature history One important idea I hope is reflected in 'The Poe Shadow' is that fiction can add as much to history as nonfiction does. Matthew Pearl shadow important hope history Harvard was also a little bit of a villain in my first book, 'The Dante Club.' I guess there might be a way to make Harvard more of a sympathetic presence, but it's such a powerful institution that it more naturally lends itself toward not necessarily a negative but an obstructionist element in a story. Matthew Pearl villain book way negative
