Wednesday, May 28, 2008

Charles Dickens

Except for A Christmas Carol and the musical Oliver, I can't say for certain if I have ever read a Dickens novel. Curiously, Dickens' characters show up in novels I read: The Starship series by Mike Resnick which I am currently reading and the Thursday Next novels. Charles himself makes an appearance in the Autobiography of Santa Claus.

Besides beingin the public domain, I wonder what the attraction is. David Copperfield is such a well-drawn character in Resnick's books--an alien who stays in character and calls the protagonist Steerforth.

I don't know if I know any public domain character so well that I could pull such a thing off. Sherlock Holmes, of course, is the go to guy. I wonder who else could be pressed into service.