InBleak House(1852-1853), Dickens had already explored with great skill the ruthless precincts of the law courts. His next three novels—Hard Times(1854),Little Dorrit(1855-1857), andA Tale of Two Cities(1859)—were not so well sustained and were, despite memorable scenes, less popular wit...
Founded two years earlier by English gentlemen ill-prepared for pioneering, its residents face extreme starvation during the "Starving Time" of 1609-1610, resorting to cannibalism and grave-robbing. Today: Many Americans' knowledge of colonial history is limited to the romanticized tale of eleven-...