Literature Network » Charles Dickens

Behind the Phantom's Mask

Content courtesy of

From: Chicago Sun-Times
Date: 19910106
Author:Roger Ebert

Sun-Times film critic Roger Ebert has always wanted to write a cliff-hanger serial. He first fell in love with the form as a kid going to Saturday matinees and as a reader of great Victorian serial writers, such as Charles Dickens and Wilkie Collins - whose formula was "make them laugh, make them cry, make them wait." Ebert decided to write this serial, "Behind the Phantom's Mask," "basically for fun," and says its tone is loosely inspired by the comic writing of P.G. Wodehouse, who specialized in complicated plots involving bizarre and eccentric characters. "Most of the people in this ...

Read the rest of this article with a Free Trial at HighBeam Research.

Other Articles on Charles Dickens

About Our Articles: We've partnered with Highbeam Research to provide these article excerpts for your research needs. However, due to copyright laws, we cannot publish the whole article. To view these articles in full length you'll need to use the link above to access the free trial at Highbeam.