I'm going to have a lot of literary figures at my dinner, so brace yourself. Good old C.S. is definitely my number one though. First off, he is a phenomenal writer. I mean have you read The Chronicles of Narnia? He is also an amazing speaker and thinker. There is a quote by The New Yorker on the back of my copy of Mere Christianity that claims "If wit and wisdom, style and scholarship are requisites to passage through the pearly gates, Mr.Lewis will be among the angels." Enough said. Plus, we share the same birthday.
2. Henry VIII and Thomas Cromwell
I figured that they would come to the dinner together even though things didn't work out so well between them at the end with that whole beheading misunderstanding. I'll start with Henry. Arguably history's most famous ruler, Henry was an educated and accomplished absolute monarch who ruled England from 1509 until his death. His political genius is usually overshadowed by the drama of his personal life which has inspired a plethora of books, movies, and HBO series. Besides having six wives, two of whom he beheaded, and dozens of mistresses, Henry is most well known for his break with the Roman Catholic Church. And that is where Thomas Cromwell comes in. If you have read Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel then Cromwell is probably on your guest list too. If not, you should read it. Basically, he was this brilliant nobody who rose from nothing to become Henry's closest advisor and it was Cromwell who helped make the whole Church of England thing happen.
Pretty much no explanation is required. I know this is like the biggest cop out answer ever. It is a legitimate answer though; I mean who doesn't want to hang out with Jesus? Plus, he would turn the water into wine. And I bet he's not as creepy as he looks in the picture.
4. Elizabeth Tudor
Clearly, I have a thing for the Tudors. As well as European monarchs in general. Plus, Elizabeth was one of the most powerful women in history. She was also a serious feminist; she never married but flirted with everyone to get what she wanted. Her reign over England is often referred to as the Golden Age and she may be best known for heading England's shocking defeat of the Spanish Armada. The only real black spot on her record is that whole incident where she had to behead Mary Queen of Scots. But I guess being England's greatest ruler was all about making the tough decisions.
I just love this woman. Austen's works were known for their social commentary especially concerning marriage as a means of securing money and a place in society in the 19th Century. She was totally a romantic though. I mean have you read Pride and Prejudice? (I have, 5 times. Plus I own the audiobook.)
Well you can't have a fantasy dinner without inviting at least one incredibly attractive guy. But really, Leo is incredibly intelligent and his movie choices are superb. I never regret seeing anything that he's in. My personal favorites are Blood Diamond, Catch Me If You Can, and The Titanic. Shutter Island and Inception were really good too (although very similar) but you have to stand the test of time to make it on my favorites list.
This woman is phenomenal. She wrote To Kill A Mockingbird based on incidents of racism that she witnessed in her hometown in Mississippi. It was the only book she ever wrote. She's won about a million honors and awards but always declined to make a speech. I feel like if I invited her to dinner she'd feel obligated to speak.
Ok so I am fully aware that Dumledore is a fictional character. But if dead people can come to my dinner then so can fictional characters. Anyways, according to J.K. Rowling Dumbledore is the "epitome of goodness" and I have to agree. Dumbledore judged people by their character rather than the purity of their blood. Plus, he made really, really good speeches to Harry at the end of the first couple of books when they still followed the formulaic Privet Drive+Hogwarts+trials for Harry+Dumbledore's office+ride home where Harry suddenly feels better about everything sequence. I'm pretty sure J.K Rowling stole Dumbledore from J.R.R Tolkien (Gandalf anyone?) but I mean Dumbledore is way cooler anyways. I totally didn't see the gay thing coming though...
I'm pretty sure that Fareed is the first live person on this list so he should be totally honored. If you have never watched GPS with Fareed Zakaria you need to go set your Tivo right now. Fareed also writes a column for Time Magazine. He is an expert on international politics and his show is basically a compilation of fascinating interviews plus his insightful bipartisan commentary. He's like a more legit Anderson Cooper because after seeing his performance on Jeopardy we all know that Anderson is not half as intelligent as he makes himself out to be. Fareed on the other hand is a total genius.
I'm not sure how much these two would really contribute to our dinner conversation. Basically I'm just inviting them to provide the music. I mean I would like to ask Dave Grohl about Nirvana. Stephan Jenkins would probably be too drugged up to say much but maybe I could convince him that Third Eye Blind needs to play a show in Texas that I can actually attend.
