Authors
Silence Do-Good or Ben Franklin
07/06/25 08:31 Filed in: History
Oh, how little do we know about the famous and historical figures. Read this about Ben Franklin.
"Among all the Founding Fathers, Benjamin Franklin had the most interesting extracurricular activities. Before he studied electricity or invented bifocals, America’s first postmaster general had a habit of writing essays for his brother’s Boston newspaper under the pseudonym “Silence Dogood.” The 16-year-old posed as a widow because the writing he submitted under his own name was rejected by the New-England Courant, which his older brother James published. Silence had much to say about a variety of subjects, with her commentary touching on such subjects as religion and politics, and she was an instant hit with the weekly paper’s readers — she even received marriage proposals.
Fourteen of these essays were published beginning in 1722, but all good things must come to an end. After slipping Silence’s correspondence under the Courant’s door for several months, Franklin eventually revealed his true identity. His brother was none too pleased with this deception, having warned the younger Franklin against growing too vain in the wake of the essays’ warm reception, and the fallout played a part in Franklin’s departure for Philadelphia — the city where he lived for the rest of his life."
"Among all the Founding Fathers, Benjamin Franklin had the most interesting extracurricular activities. Before he studied electricity or invented bifocals, America’s first postmaster general had a habit of writing essays for his brother’s Boston newspaper under the pseudonym “Silence Dogood.” The 16-year-old posed as a widow because the writing he submitted under his own name was rejected by the New-England Courant, which his older brother James published. Silence had much to say about a variety of subjects, with her commentary touching on such subjects as religion and politics, and she was an instant hit with the weekly paper’s readers — she even received marriage proposals.
Fourteen of these essays were published beginning in 1722, but all good things must come to an end. After slipping Silence’s correspondence under the Courant’s door for several months, Franklin eventually revealed his true identity. His brother was none too pleased with this deception, having warned the younger Franklin against growing too vain in the wake of the essays’ warm reception, and the fallout played a part in Franklin’s departure for Philadelphia — the city where he lived for the rest of his life."
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Dickens and Andersen
29/05/25 08:57 Filed in: Books
Here is a "factoid" from time gone by related to Charles Dickens (a favorite author) and another author I have read though less familiar with, Hans Christian Andersen. They could have been more friendly in a relationship as authors but a visit went poorly and changed all of that. See here.
"Famed British novelist Charles Dickens and Danish fairy-tale writer Hans Christian Andersen (known for The Ugly Duckling and The Little Mermaid) could have been lifelong friends. They met in 1847 at a swanky party; Andersen told Dickens he was “the greatest writer of our time,” and Dickens, in turn, sent Andersen several books he signed as “his friend and admirer.” The pair were close pen pals for the next decade, but their relationship quickly went south in 1857, when Andersen visited Dickens for what was supposed to be two weeks, but stretched on for five.
Dickens later wrote in a letter to his friend William Jerdan — one of multiple letters to multiple people about the visit — that “whenever [Andersen] got to London, he got into wild entanglements of cabs and sherry, and never seemed to get out of them again until he came back here, and cut out paper into all sorts of patterns and gathered the strangest little nosegays in the woods.”
While Andersen, who was notoriously difficult to be around, remembers the visit fondly, for the Dickens family it was both peculiar and exhausting. Andersen was moody, anxious, and sensitive to rejection. Dickens’ daughter Katey called Andersen a “bony bore,” and one morning, Dickens’ wife Catherine found the visitor face down on the lawn, crying and clutching a bad review of his most recent book. After Andersen’s departure, Dickens left a note on the mirror in the guest room: “Hans Andersen slept in this room for five weeks — which seemed to the family AGES.” In the following years, Andersen continued to write letters to Dickens, but Dickens stopped responding.
"Famed British novelist Charles Dickens and Danish fairy-tale writer Hans Christian Andersen (known for The Ugly Duckling and The Little Mermaid) could have been lifelong friends. They met in 1847 at a swanky party; Andersen told Dickens he was “the greatest writer of our time,” and Dickens, in turn, sent Andersen several books he signed as “his friend and admirer.” The pair were close pen pals for the next decade, but their relationship quickly went south in 1857, when Andersen visited Dickens for what was supposed to be two weeks, but stretched on for five.
Dickens later wrote in a letter to his friend William Jerdan — one of multiple letters to multiple people about the visit — that “whenever [Andersen] got to London, he got into wild entanglements of cabs and sherry, and never seemed to get out of them again until he came back here, and cut out paper into all sorts of patterns and gathered the strangest little nosegays in the woods.”
While Andersen, who was notoriously difficult to be around, remembers the visit fondly, for the Dickens family it was both peculiar and exhausting. Andersen was moody, anxious, and sensitive to rejection. Dickens’ daughter Katey called Andersen a “bony bore,” and one morning, Dickens’ wife Catherine found the visitor face down on the lawn, crying and clutching a bad review of his most recent book. After Andersen’s departure, Dickens left a note on the mirror in the guest room: “Hans Andersen slept in this room for five weeks — which seemed to the family AGES.” In the following years, Andersen continued to write letters to Dickens, but Dickens stopped responding.
Dickens Minor Characters
15/05/16 15:35 Filed in: Interests
I have always enjoyed Charles Dickens books. I love the BBC TV productions of these stories. I was hooked when in high school we studied "A Tale of Two Cities" and one understood the symbolism there.
So is there more to Dickens? Check it out.
"Allow me to introduce Mr Plornishmaroontigoonter. Lord Podsnap, Count Smorltork, and Sir Clupkins Clogwog. Not to mention the dowager Lady Snuphanuph. As for Serjeant Buzfuz, Miss Snevellicci, Mrs. Wrymug, and the Porkenhams… who the dickens are all these people? Why do they have such weird names?
They are the best of names, they are the worst of names, from an age of onomastic wisdom and hypocoristic foolishness, an epoch of… well you get the picture. You may recognize this raggle-taggle cast of minor characters, in all their rich variety, as stemming from the fevered imaginings of one Charles Dickens."
So is there more to Dickens? Check it out.
"Allow me to introduce Mr Plornishmaroontigoonter. Lord Podsnap, Count Smorltork, and Sir Clupkins Clogwog. Not to mention the dowager Lady Snuphanuph. As for Serjeant Buzfuz, Miss Snevellicci, Mrs. Wrymug, and the Porkenhams… who the dickens are all these people? Why do they have such weird names?
They are the best of names, they are the worst of names, from an age of onomastic wisdom and hypocoristic foolishness, an epoch of… well you get the picture. You may recognize this raggle-taggle cast of minor characters, in all their rich variety, as stemming from the fevered imaginings of one Charles Dickens."
Mary Shelley and the Seeds of Frankenstein
21/04/16 13:23 Filed in: Interests
Mary Shelley is the author of the novel, Frankenstein. Her family roots are a bit famous and also likely dysfunctional. Her early life and marriage was also dysfunctional which may be some of the psychology behind the wounded soul of a grab bag person of Frankenstein. This article explains more of her life and marriage to Lord Percy Shelley and life around another aristocrat, Lord Byron.
