Charles Dickens was a genius or the first soap opera king?

[bentiger77]

Any strong views either way?

[MystyrMystyry]

He was both - but what's the point in asking the question? The reason why he wrote is well documented, the fact he wrote and the way he wrote are what's important

One of the most interesting things was he always wrote to a deadline (a deadline! Imagine writing to a deadline! And writing that well!) which he never missed, and everything was perfectly spelt and punctuated (very important to Dickens) and he was popular when it mattered (at his best) but if his writing was less that great he'd get immediate feedback in terms of sales

So really, if writing in a soap opera manner can produce something as great and unique as Dickens, who cares?