NPR Puzzle 4/15/12 - It's Magic! No, It's the Dickens!

Here's this week's NPR Puzzle:

Name a famous novel in two words. The first word has five letters, and the second word has 11. If you have the right novel, the initial letters of the novel's title, reversed, are the initials of its author. What's the novel, and who is the author?

Ross is a bit of a Charles Dickens aficionado, so this one was easy. Okay, so I first thought of Great Expectations (5, 12) but then Ross thought of David Copperfield (5, 11) and all was well.

Haven't I done Charles Dickens' Wiki page already? No? It just feels like I have. Anyway, I decided to do David Copperfield's Wiki page. The magician, not the nearly-orphan. (I had to ask Ross if the character was an orphan. I mean, they're all orphans eventually, but I gather DC has a stepfather, for what that's worth.) So here are places from David Copperfield's life, starting with the surprising fact that he was born in Metuchen, NJ:

Metuchen, NJ, David Copperfield's birthplace

Copperfield has levitated over the Grand Canyon

And walked through the Great Wall of China (lower left)

And had a show in Las Vegas (seen here from Henderson)

In 2006, Copperfield bought Musha Cay in the Bahamas from the co-founder of the Blockbuster video chain

West Palm Beach, Florida, where David Copperfield was not robbed at gunpoint. Oh, the gun was there, but he used sleight of hand to hide his possessions from the thieves.

Time for...

Here are this week's picks:

Fewer than 50  51 - 100 101 - 150 151 - 200 201 - 250 251 - 300 301 - 350 351 - 400 401 - 450 451 - 500   501 - 550 551 - 600 601 - 650 651 - 700 701 - 750 751 - 800 801 - 850 851 - 900 901 - 950 951 - 1,000

1,001 - 1,050 1,051 - 1,100 -- HenryBW 1,101 - 1,150 -- Jim, Mendo 1,151 - 1,200 1,201 - 1,250 1,251 - 1,300 -- SkyDiveBoy 1,301 - 1,350 1,351 - 1,400 1,401 - 1,450 1,451 - 1,500 -- Ross 1,501 - 1,550 1,551 - 1,600 -- Magdalen 1,601 - 1,650 -- Dave 1,651 - 1,700 1,701 - 1,750 -- Marie 1,751 - 1,800 1,801 - 1,850 1,851 - 1,900 1,901 - 1,950 1,951 - 2,000

2,001 - 2,050 -- David 2,051 - 2,100 2,101 - 2,150 2,151 - 2,200 2,201 - 2,250 2,251 - 2,300 2,301 - 2,350 2,351 - 2,400 2,401 - 2,450 2,451 - 2,500 2,501 - 2,750 2,751 - 3,000 3,001 - 3,250 3,251 - 3,500 3,501 - 4,000 4,001 - 4,500 4,501 - 5,000 More than 5,000 More than 5,000 + new record.

Our tie-break rule:  In the event that a single round number is announced, AND two separate people picked the ranges leading up to and leading up from that round number, the prize will be awarded to whichever entrant had not already won a prize, or in the event that both entrants had won a prize already or neither had, then to the earlier of the two entries on the famous judicial principle of "First Come First Serve," (or in technical legal jargon, "You Snooze, You Lose").