you know, shakespeare would have said that, charles dickens, tolstoy, all of the great writers wouldhis box of the highly commercial—thriller guy? you're not really seen as a literary writer, a guy who actually has an enormous, immense gift with words. i'm too old now for it to stick in my throat, but there was a time when i resented it very much. and there was also a time when i believed, as a younger man, more naive, that there was a way to build a bridge between, let's say, the literary and... ..and the popular. that there was a way to actually have both things at the same time. and i think there was a time when that did happen, although even at the height of his popularity charles dickens was loved by the multitude, by the people in the cheap seats, if you will. they crowded the docks at baltimore when the latest edition, the latest chapter of little dorrit came in, and the dock actually collapsed and people drowned because they were so anxious to see what happened next. and the literary critics of that day felt that that was just below them. because there is this sort of elitist

. >> she had charles dickens come into the white house. >> she was way ahead of jackie kennedy.ringing some of these leaving lights into the white house. she was entrusted in the more intellectual literary pursuits. and with her bad angle i don't think that anyone understands with those receptions were like when they threw up in the white house for 5000 people. >> several hours of standing. >> hours and hours and hours of finding your feet. >> this will launch accredited seems like a very intimate place to be able to bring key members of congress and others. so was it in fact a way to be in the inner sank them of the president and advances goals? >> i am not sure. i don't think so. for one thing i think that fewer congressman in those days were interested in talking to a novelist or talking to a cultural figure like that. she brought what would be known as the swedish nightingale came to essentially brought her to the white house. now that would have been a celebrity. perhaps the members would have wanted to see this. there is a bifurcation here between abigail them or creating

maybe the most you can say is what historian bradley said of him while paraphrasing charles dickens. he was the best of generals. and the worst t

maybe the most you can say is what historian bradley said of him while paraphrasing charles dickens. he was the best of generals. and the worst thank you so much. weeknights this month. we're featuring american history tv programs as a preview of what's available every weekend on c-span 3 tuesday and evening of programs on the life and legacy of abraham lincoln. we begin with a tour of petersen house where president lincoln died john wilkes booth shot the president as he watched to play across the street at ford's theater watch tuesday beginning at 8pm eastern and enjoy american history tv every every weekend on c-span 3 american history tv on c-span 3 every weekend documenting america's story funding for american history tv comes from these companies who support c-span 3 as a public service. next on american history tv james haley author of captive paradise a history of hawaii discusses the life of musician composer and author liliuokalani the last queen of the kingdom of hawaii mr. haley also sketches the story of modern hawaii from the arrival of captain james cook in 1778 through