I like the works of Charles Dickens. His A Tale of Two Cities is breathtaking in its scope and plotting. But even more fascinating are his insights into the psychology and motivations of the characters. Published just three years after the birth of Sigmund Freud and decades before our modern understandings of the mind, he accurately described, without naming, psychosis, repressed memory, and obsessive-compulsive behavior. He also shows how individuals can surpass what is expected of them and even of what they expect of themselves to do "a far, far better thing…" At this time of year, TV trots out every version of his A Christmas Carol that they can find. There have been over twenty