"My first most vivid and broad impression of things seems to have been gained on a memorable raw afternoon, towards evening," he writes. "I found out for certain that this bleak place overgrown with nettles was the churchyard." The novel is set in an unnamed country down by the river - within as the river wound 20 miles of the sea. It doesn't need much introduction, because it's the opening of a novel.
Dickens. Tolstoy. Their names and reputations shake the ground – and so do their books, if you drop one. But whose legacy is more enduring? Whose vision truer and more relevant today? Should you embark on War and Peace or Our Mutual Friend? To battle it out, in 2018 Intelligence Squared brought two celebrated writers, John Mullan for Dickens and Simon Schama for Tolstoy, to our stage. They called on a cast of star actors, including Tom Hiddleston, to bring their arguments to life with readings from the authors’ finest works. The debate was chaired by author, playwright and broadcaster Bonnie Greer. This is the first instalment of a three-part episode.
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