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Writers

Author Charles Dickens is best known for his memorable cast of characters, including Ebenezer Scrooge, David Copperfield and Oliver Twist, shown here.

The Essentials: Charles Dickens

What are the must-read books written by and about the famed British author?

Bluto (in the role of Sindbad) and Popeye face off

Holiday Gift Guide for Film Buffs

Movies every fan should have

Arezzo, Italy

Five Hundred Years of Giorgio Vasari in Arezzo, Italy

The "Roo de Loo" in Paris

Julia Child in Paris

Though the American chef popularized French cuisine, she hasn’t yet received her due in the city she loved

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Most Interesting

Winfrey steps aside after a decade, Caruso steps in

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The Consequences of Fun

A member of the Algonquin Roundtable would have loved going to Vegas

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Because You Never Know Where the Night Will Take You

Flannery O’Connor, chronicler of the American South, knows what real lady when she sees one

Martin Sheen in "The Way"

Martin Sheen’s Pilgrimage in “The Way”

The new movie by Emilio Estevez and featuring his dad, Martin Sheen, is a stunning depiction of famed religious pilgrimage

Glen Canyon National Recreation Area

Not Finding the Lost Explorer Everett Ruess

A recent book only adds to the enduring mystery of a legendary Southwest wanderer

From Cops

From D.W. Griffith to the Grapes of Wrath, How Hollywood Portrayed the Poor

In the era before the Great Depression and ever since, the film industry has taken a variety of views on the lower classes

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Spinning off a Comic With a Reference Book

In a new web comic series from “This is Indexed” artist Jessica Hagy discovers new ways of looking at famous quotes

Rufus Sewell as Aurelio Zen in the BBC series "Zen"

Italy, Via Murder Mystery

Forget the guidebooks. Whodunits offer a private eye on Italian art, food and culture

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Comings and Goings

To every thing there is a season

Francesco Rutelli, then Italy's culture minister, examines vases repatriated to Rome in 2007.

Acquisition Guidelines

Professor Ronald Greeley, 1939-2011

Ronald Greeley: A Gentleman and a Scholar

Some scientists are both great researchers and fine human beings. Ron Greeley was one of them

Some of the greatest writers in history have had works lost over time.

The Top 10 Books Lost to Time

Great written works from authors such as Shakespeare and Jane Austen that you’ll never have a chance to read

Seven Dials, in central London, was synonymous with poverty and crime, a black hole to most Londoners. Charles Dickens stormed it with pen and paper.

How Charles Dickens Saw London

Sketches by Boz, the volume of newspaper columns that became Dickens’ first book, invokes a colorful view of 19th-century England

Kenko had little trouble living with the idea that things were getting worse. "The most precious thing in life is its uncertainty," he wrote.

The Timeless Wisdom of Kenko

A 14th-century Japanese essayist’s advice for troubled times runs the gamut from quirky to prescient

Christie purchased Greenway in 1938. Years later, she recalled the spell that the estate had cast on her: "a white Georgian house of about 1780 or '90, with woods sweeping down to the Dart...the ideal house, a dream house."

Where Agatha Christie Dreamed Up Murder

The birthplace of Poirot and Marple welcomes visitors looking for clues to the best-selling novelist of all time

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Agatha Christie on the Big and Small Screen

Even though Dame Agatha may not have enjoyed adaptations of her mysteries, audiences have been loving them for decades

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