The Storyteller | Mary Vee

  My daughter found another classic for me to read. This one is Bleak House by Charles Dickens.  I hadn't heard of the story before but since I've enjoyed Dickens other fictional works I delved into the story.  Before I address the question in the post's title, I must first point out  Dickens' amazing choice in character's names and how well suited they are to their character. Look at just a few: You may need to say these names out loud to understand:   Tulkinghorn (talks a lot and is loud),  Snagsby (hen-pecked timid fellow), at first I heard Snacksby, he was a portly fellow too. Dedlock,  Boythorn,  Skimpole,  Guppy,  Bucket,  Jellyby,  Smallweed,  Nemo (“which means no one in Latin but he must be someone”)  AND more. Kudos Dickens! Back to the question in the title of my post...   Dickens initial thought to write this story came from noticing a legal case first read in the courts in 1797 a...

Today we will jet to Rome, to one of the settings in the book, The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas. Yes, much of the story takes place in France, but since we are virtually visiting Ro m e today,  we'll  discuss what happens to The C ount while he was there. An opening to an inner court, Rome - Photo by Mary Vee                                                         After Edmond Dantés escapes prison and becomes the Count of Monte Cristo, we find him in Rome at the carnival. Rome was the perfect place to set this scene. The city is crowded, busy, and full of life. The Count rode in a luxurious carriage while we traveled in a tour bus, no sane person would attempt driving Rome's city roads without experience. What amazed us most was the driver's ability to turn the monster vehicle ninety degrees without touching a curb....

Jerusalem, Photo by Mary Vee Today we’ll visit a small section of Israel near Jerusalem. Ahab's Well. The city's access to water was set up with miraculous engineering for the time.     The book we’ll talk about in connection with this well is  Gods and Kings  by Lynn Austin. I met Lynn years ago at a conference. As the keynote speaker, she spoke about her visit to Israel to research the story. She had to jump over several hurdles and at the time it didn’t look like she would be able to go.  While in Israel, she received special permission to visit places I could not see when I went, which intrigued me all the more.   This book is the first in a series of four, fictionalizing the life of Hezekiah and the kings that followed until the time Babylon took Jerusalem.   The photos from our journey today were taken in Israel by me, Mary Vee. So you understand, fictionalizing a Bible story enables an author (based on a great deal of research) to add components...