What do we know about Dickens?

When I wrote my blog post about writers and their politics, I had given the issue considerable thought. 

Now, these two writers, Thomas Mallon and Adam Kirsch take a look at the issue from a different perspective in this week's New York Times book review section. 

What do we know about the writer's life. 

Each of the authors have a different opinion and present a case from their own perspective and from and about the perspective of living and deceased authors.

Two examples that resonate for me are Lillian Hellman and William Shakespeare.

Lillian Hellman, 1939 © via NY Times review

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lillian Hellman was reviled by her protractors because they believed they, and not she knew the truth.

William Shakespeare, Martin Droeshout engraving, 1609, via Wiki

Conversely, the mystery that surrounds William Shakespeare both elicits favour and an untold number of conjectures.

Sigmund Freud, 1926, Ferdinand Schmutzer via the Freud Museum

And in typical Jungian fashion, and true synchronicity, the Washington Post reviewed Adam Phillips new book, " Becoming Freud: The making of a psychoanalyst" in which many illuminating statements are made about memory and the biographical state. 

A book I've put at the top of my long list of must reads.