Gossip by any other name

A great source of pride for any Englishman is our long history of producing literary giants: William Shakespeare, Charles Dickens, Jane Austen, George Orwell, Thomas Hardy, Abraham Lincoln.

Abraham Lincoln? He wasn't an English literary giant, was he?

I didn't think so either but while researching this week's Web Watch feature, I was forced to doubt my own mind and question the exact origins of the sixteenth president of the United States of America.

Had Mr Lincoln quietly sailed across the Atlantic and quickly adopted a native twang before going on to make his mark on the political landscape? Apparently not, but this week's web site claims to 'profile some of the greatest names in English Literature' and there he is, Abraham Lincoln. I cannot explain this anomaly but his inclusion doesn't detract from what is an excellent web site.

Originally put together in the year 2000, talkingto.co.uk invites you to have a chat with some of the most talented and prolific writers in English history. Created by the Times Educational Supplement, the site was put together to offer students of all ages the opportunity to interact with the authors of the plays and books they were studying. Somewhat surprisingly, since the authors are all long gone, every question receives an open and honest answer. I should probably reveal that a panel of experts is actually answering on behalf of our esteemed novelists and playwrights but I don't want to spoil it for you so I'll keep quiet.

Unfortunately, the overwhelming popularity of this site has stretched resources to breaking point so the interactive element is currently suspended. There is good news though; the many questions posed by students since the site's inception remain in place and the answers, all written in the first-person, leave us with a wonderful insight into the lives and works of these literary greats.

And it seems that some of the students are quite the nosey-parkers. If Charles Dickens ever popped round for a cup of coffee, I am not sure I would ask him if he was homosexual! I certainly wouldn't ask him if he loved his wife's sister more than his wife. That's not to say I wouldn't want to. It's just that I am too polite. Luckily, the people asking these questions aren't. They are inquisitive, curious and, in some cases, downright impertinent. And that's the beauty of the site. You get the answers to all those questions you'd like to ask but wouldn't dare to in real life. But this is virtual life. It's great fun.

Amongst the impertinent are the informed and the intelligent. You can find out how Shakespeare tried his hand at acting, quickly discovered he couldn't cut the mustard and decided to focus his energies on writing instead. Luckily that decision worked out a little better for him.

This site is a veritable treasure trove. I discovered that George Orwell went to school in Henley on Thames, Virginia Woolf wrote her diary in the third-person, the motivation for Charles Dickens' Oliver was closer to home than you might think and Thomas Hardy was way ahead of his time. Add to that the discovery of Jane Austen's decision to abandon a potentially scandalous novel for fear of rejection from both her publishers and her family and you can see why it is easy to spend literally hours roaming around this site.

Talkingto.co.uk is a brilliant idea and during my visit many questions came to mind that I would just love to ask. So much so, I have sent an email asking if there are any plans to resurrect the interactive elements of the site. I will keep you posted but meanwhile take a peek into the lives of our literary geniuses - I think you'll like what you find.

http://www.talkingto.co.uk/

Jacqueline Alexander

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