Charles Dickens (1812 - 1870) was a Victorian author whose novels include A Christmas Carol, Oliver Twist, David Copperfield, and Great Expectations.
Charles Dickens (1812-70) was born in Portsmouth, on the south coast of England, but his family moved to Chatham while he was still very young. His most pleasant childhood years were spent in Chatham, and re-creations of these scenes appear in a disguised form in many of his novels. His father, John Dickens, was a minor clerk in the Navy Pay Office and, like Mr.
Micawber in David Copperfield, was constantly in debt.In 1822, John Dickens was transferred to London, but debts continued to pile up, and the family was forced to sell household items in order to pay some of the creditors. Young Charles made frequent trips to the pawnshop, but eventually his father was arrested and sent to debtors' prison, and at the age of twelve, he was sent to work in a blacking warehouse, where he pasted labels on bottles for six shillings a week.This experience was degrading for the young boy, and Dickens later wrote: 'No words can express the secret agony of my soul. I felt my early hopes of growing up to be a learned and distinguished man, crushed in my breast.' The situation is an exact parallel to David Copperfield's plight at the wine warehouse.
Even after his father was released from prison and the family inherited some money, his mother wanted him to continue with his job.Later, for two and a half years, Dickens attended school at Wellington House Academy, and then in 1827, at the age of fifteen, he began work as a clerk in a law office and taught himself shorthand so he could report court debates. At the same time, he was learning about life in London and frequently attended the theater, even taking acting lessons for a short time.Meanwhile, Dickens had fallen in love with Maria Beadnell, a frivolous young girl whose father objected to his daughter's being courted by a young reporter from a lower middle-class background. Nothing came of this relationship, but it probably intensified Dickens' efforts to make something of himself. In 1832, he began working as a parliamentary reporter for two London newspapers, and two years later, he joined a new paper, the Morning Chronicle, where he was asked to write a series of sketches about London life. This request resulted in Sketches by Boz, which appeared in installments that were later, in 1836, published in book form.
Dickens' career as an author was begun. This led to an offer to write a monthly newspaper series about a group of humorous English clubmen. These pieces became The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club, and after they appeared, Dickens' reputation as a writer was assured.He now felt financially secure and quit his job as a parliamentary reporter to devote all his time to writing. He married Catherine Hogarth in April 1836; however, the marriage was never a happy one and Dickens separated from his wife twenty years later.His writing output increased, and a number of novels, including Oliver Twist and Nicholas Nickleby, were published — first in monthly installments and then as novels.
By the 1840s, Dickens was the most popular writer in England. In 1849, he began one of his most important novels, David Copperfield.
His friend John Forster proposed that he tell the story in the first person, and this suggestion proved to be a perfect method for Dickens to fictionalize the background of his early life. David Copperfield became the 'favorite child' of its author and in it Dickens transcribed his own experiences, producing not only a fine novel, but a disguised autobiography as well.But the novel is not pure biography; rather, it is Dickens' experiences made into fiction.
In the novel, David escapes from the warehouse to a sympathetic aunt, and he marries Dora after the 'timely' death of her father. This did not happen in real life, and it is almost as though Dickens were reconstructing parts of his childhood the way he wished it had been. In the novel, too, Dickens shows his contempt for his parents (in the guise of the Murdstones) for sending him to the blacking factory, and, at the same time, his devotion to them (the Micawber family) as lovable eccentrics. Dora Spenlow becomes both Maria Beadnell and, later, the simple-minded Catherine Hogarth, his real wife. The novel, thus, is both fantasy and fact.Little needs to be said about the humor in the novel; it is simply to be enjoyed.
The scene at the inn where the waiter eats David's dinner, the night of revelry when David becomes drunk and falls down the stairs, the preposterous Micawber boarding the ship with a telescope under his arm — all are near-slapstick pieces of good fun, and it is easy to understand the continuing popularity of the novel.After David Copperfield, Dickens wrote novels that were bitter and caustic. Bleak House is a brooding satire on the law courts, while both Hard Times and Little Dorrit suffer from uncontrolled social outrage. The wildly humorous characters of Sam Weller, of The Pickwick Papers, and Mr. Micawber give way to dark, sinister figures, and although the later novels perhaps show more craftsmanship, most readers feel that the 'magic' had worn off.During the last years of his life, Dickens traveled in England and America, giving public readings from his works. The strain weakened his health, and he died in 1870 at the age of fifty-eight.
At the time of his death, he was working on a novel, The Mystery of Edwin Drood, and though many writers have attempted to supply an ending, the book remains unfinished.
Elizabeth Dickens, the mother of Charles DickensCharles was the second of the couple’s eight children.Finances were a constant concern for the family. John and Elizabeth were an outgoing, social couple. The costs of entertaining along with the expenses of having a large family were too much for John’s salary. When Charles was just four months old the family moved to a smaller home to cut costs.Despite the family’s financial struggles, young Charles dreamed of becoming a gentleman. In 1824, when he was 12, it looked like his dreams would never come true.That year, the family sent Charles to work in a blacking or shoe-polish factory. Charles was deeply marked by these experiences. He rarely spoke of that time of his life.
Illustration by Fred Bernard of young Charles Dickens at work in a shoe-blacking factory. (from the 1892 edition of Forster’s Life of Dickens)Happily, John Dickens was able to come to an agreement with his creditors within a few months of his imprisonment. Shortly after that, he ended his son’s employment at the blacking factory and enrolled him in Wellington House Academy instead.including the influence of Mary Weller and the betrayal by his mother. Dickens Enters the Workforce 1827 – 1831In May of 1827 Dickens left Wellington House Academy and entered the workforce as a law clerk at the firm of Ellis and Blackmore. His duties included keeping the petty cash fund, delivering documents, running errands and other sundry tasks.In 1829 he changed careers and became a court stenographer.
To qualify for that position Dickens had to learn the Gurney system of shorthand writing. Marriage and Fame 1833 – 1854In December 1833 Charles Dickens’s first literary effort was published. It was a sketch or essay entitled A Dinner at Poplar Walk.
Other sketches soon followed.In 1834 Dickens met Catherine Hogarth, the woman who would become his wife. They became engaged in 1835 and were married in April of 1836.
In January of 1837 the first of their ten children was born. The eldest went bankrupt and was later hired by his father. “Chickenstalker” joined the Canadian Mounted Police. The youngest became a Member of Parliament in New South Wales.was the first novel of Charles Dickens. It was published in monthly installments from March of 1836 until November 1837.Charles Dickens was the author of 15 novels.
He also wrote short stories, essays, articles and novellas.In June of 1837 something happened that only occurred once in Dickens’s career. He missed a deadline. He was writing two serialized novels at once,.
However in June of 1837 there was no Pickwick. There was no Oliver Twist. Instead there was a funeral.At that time, Dickens’s sister-in-law, Mary Hogarth was living with Charles and Catherine. Mary was a favorite with the couple and was like a little sister to Charles. On the evening of May 6th Mary went with the couple to the St.
James Theatre. Everything seemed fine. The group returned late in the evening and Mary retired for the night. Shortly after that Dickens heard a cry from Mary’s room. Despite her doctor’s care Mary passed away in Dickens’s arms the next day.Dickens would relive this sad incident in his life while writing.
He was traumatized by the death of Little Nell in that novel. Dickens wrote to a friend about Little Nell’s death, “Old wounds bleed afresh when I think of this sad story.”, the third novel of Charles Dickens, was published in installments starting in 1838. One of Dickens’s goals in writing Nicholas Nickleby was to expose the ugly truth about Yorkshire boarding schools.In 1841 Charles and Catherine traveled to Scotland and was published.Charles and Catherine traveled to America in 1842. The lack of such an agreement enabled his books to be published in the United States without his permission and without any royalties being paid.The United States left quite an impression on Dickens, a very unfavorable impression.Dickens was horrified by slavery, appalled by the common use of spitting tobacco and indignant about his treatment by the press. His feelings came out in American Notes and later in.
Charles Dickens’s sister-in-law Georgina Hogarth in later yearsIn September of 1843 Dickens visited the Field Lane Ragged School. In a letter to his friend, Miss Coutts, he described what he saw at the school:I have very seldom seen, in all the strange and dreadful things I have seen in London and elsewhere anything so shocking as the dire neglect of soul and body exhibited in these children. And although I know; and am as sure as it is possible for one to be of anything which has not happened; that in the prodigious misery and ignorance of the swarming masses of mankind in England, the seeds of its certain ruin are sown.In October of that year Dickens began work on. It was published on December 19, 1843. Publication of began in 1846.
It was Dickens’s seventh novel.1851 was a difficult year. John Dickens, the father of Charles Dickens, died in March. Catherine Dickens suffered a nervous collapse. Later, the youngest daughter of Charles and Catherine, died when she was only eight months old.There were also bright spots in 1851. It was the year that Dickens moved into Tavistock House. It was there that he wrote,.
The Later Years 1856 – 1870Dickens bought in 1856. He would own the home for the rest of his life. The above photo shows Dickens at Gad’s hill in 1862.
The back row from left to right is; H.F. Chorley, Kate Dickens, Mamie Dickens and Charles Dickens. Seated are C.A. Collins and Georgina Hogarth.In 1857 Dickens met the woman who was to be his companion until his death, Ellen Ternan.Dickens had already become disenchanted with his wife.
He wrote to a friend, “Poor Catherine and I are not made for each other, and there is no help for it. It is not only that she makes me uneasy and unhappy, but that I make her so too—and much more so.”Meeting Ellen stressed the differences between the marriage Dickens had and the relationship that he wanted. Later in 1857 Charles and Catherine took separate bedrooms.
In 1858 they legally separated.In 1858 Charles Dickens began giving professional readings. The readings were a combination of oratory and passionate acting. They were very popular and Dickens continued to give them throughout his life. “Charles Dickens as he appears when reading.” Illustration in Harper’s Weekly, December 1867.Charles Dickens founded the weekly publication All the Year Round. The first issue was printed in April of 1859. Dickens served as editor and publisher. One feature of the publication was its serialization of novels.
The first novel serialized in All the Year Round was.Publication of began in 1860. It was also serialized in All the Year Round.In June of 1865 Charles Dickens had a brush with death. Dickens, Ellen Ternan and her mother were involved in. The train’s first seven carriages went off a bridge that was being repaired.Dickens was uninjured and helped people that were hurt in the accident.
When help finally arrived and the accident scene was being evacuated Dickens remembered something. He made his way back into the wrecked train one last time to retrieve the latest installment of, the novel he was writing at the time.It would be the last novel he ever completed.Dickens returned to America in 1867 for an extensive reading tour.In 1869 Dickens’s doctor advised him against giving further public readings. The events were popular, but the strain to his system was too great.In October of 1869, at Gad’s Hill Place, Dickens began work on. He would never finish it.Dickens arranged a farewell tour and gave his last reading in March of 1870. It is thought that the effects of the readings was one of the factors leading to his death.On June 9, 1870 Dickens died at Gad’s Hill Place.