The Devilment and Duels of Life
Fyodor Dostoevsky was condemned to death—public execution by firing squad. The year was 1849 and the young Dostoevsky, fresh from…
Coincidentally: “Ebonics” for the new Mass
In 1996, the school board of Oakland, California, caused a stir by wanting to teach a dialect of English as…
Coincidentally: Old Boney
A reflection of Mark Twain abides: “How often we recall with regret that Napoleon once shot at a magazine editor…
The Thirty-Nine Steps by John Buchan: The Importance of the Impossible
If all literature were based upon plausibility and credibility, there would be no such thing as fiction. Imagination is a deterrent…
Coincidentally: Medicine on the March
Among the benefactions of gruel wars has been the promotion of medical science. The Hyksos invasion of Egypt advertised the…
The Tale of Mrs. Tittlemouse by Beatrix Potter
If there is anything pleasant in life, it is doing what we aren’t meant to do. If there is anything…
Homesick at Home: A Chestertonian Thanksgiving
“Frances! Come here! Come here at once!” Frances Chesterton started and flew from her half-prepared afternoon tea to the study…
Thanksgiving and the Tall Tale
“Thanksgiving Day. Let all give humble, hearty, and sincere thanks, now, but the turkeys.” ~ Mark Twain, Pudd’nhead Wilson’s Calendar…
Guilt Gone Wilde: The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
If Oscar Wilde had been a man of our time, he might have had rather mixed feelings about the LGBT liberation…
Coincidentally: A More Delightful Vision
Would anyone like a sure-fire formula for a Broadway hit? I think this fits the bill: a one-act play in…
