The Dab of Dickens, The Touch of Twain, and The Shade of Shakespeare

By: Elliot Engel PhD

Narrated by: Elliot Engel, David Birney, Scott Brick, Grover Gardner, Joe Barrett, Stefan Rudnicki, Ralph Cosham

Selections from A Dab of Dickens, A Touch of Twain, Literary Lives from Shakespeare’s Old England to Frost’s New England by Elliot Engel, PhD, with Illustrative Literary Performances

They are icons of the literary world whose soaring works have been discussed and analyzed in countless classrooms, homes, and pubs. Yet for most readers, the living, breathing human beings behind the classics have remained unknown - until now. In this utterly captivating book, Dr. Elliot Engel, a leading authority on the lives of great authors, illuminates the fascinating and flawed members of literature’s elite. In lieu of stuffy biographical sketches, Engel provides fascinating anecdotes.

Elliot Engel has taught at the University of North Carolina, North Carolina State University, and Duke University. He earned his MA and PhD as a Woodrow Wilson Fellow at UCLA, where he won the Outstanding Teacher Award. He has written ten books, and his mini-lecture series on Charles Dickens ran on PBS stations around the country. His articles have appeared in numerous newspapers and national magazines, including Newsweek. He has lectured throughout the United States and on every continent.

©2002 Elliot Engel (P)2012 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Wonderful

Wouldn’t it enrich and enthuse high schoolers to have this presentation. Great actors, great background so enjoyable!

A most educative work

I have learned so much about these great writers in this work than I ever thought possible.

Mostly excellent

The parts where the author was telling us things about all three authors is excellent. The parts where Shakespeare was read was exhausting, and I had to skip half of it. I was confused, after he told us about Dickens’ early life, to then have a story of a totally different early life, with no introduction. Was this made up? The Twain part was all understandable (although how people thought the parts about the cruise were funny is beyond me).

Delightful surprise!

Would have loved to have had this professor when I was At NCSU. Funny, engaging, well put together with background I never knew about these writers. Enjoy!

More knowledge

Learning the history and the music selection. I sat and listened and the day just slipped away.