Charles Dickens

"Whether or not I shall become the hero of my own

life remains to be seen."

Who

Charles John Hufman Dickens (1812-1870)

An English writer

pen-name was "Boz”

A Victorian era writer

Biography Born on February 7th, 1812 in Portsmouth, Hampshire,

England

Father, John Dickens (1785-1851), was a clerk in the

Navy Pay Office

John Dickens was very kind and his generosity caused

his family many financial difficulties.

Mother was Elizabeth née Barrow (1789-1863)

Charles had siblings: Frances and Alfred Allen, Letitia

Mary, Frederick William, Alfred Lamert, and Augustus

Newnham

LIFEAttended William Giles where he was a good student

When John Dickens, his father, was jailed in the Marshalsen Prison for debts, his family went with him except Charles (12) who worked at Warren’s Show Blacking Factory pasting labels on boxes to help supprt his family. During this time he lived at a boarding house in Canden Town.

His working conditions were bad and he was introduced to the hardships of the world

However, when his father was released, his father arranged for Charles to attend the Wellington House Academy in London as a day pupil from 1824-1827.

Dicken falls in love with Maria Beadnell, the daughter of a banker, whom he had courted for four years. However, her father sent her to finished school and their relationship eneded in 1833.

In 1836, he married Cataherine Hogart, the daugher of the Evening Chronicle editor. They had ten children together but seperated in 1858

Rumors has it that Dickens had affairs with both of Catherine’s sisters

Died in Gadshill from stroke on July 8th, 1870

Mary Beadnell

Formative moment in his life

During the months that he worked in the factory, he suffered humiliation and is idyllic childhood is crushed and he learned the harshness of the real world

When he worked at the factory, he stood for 16 hours a day standing in the front window of the factory and posting labels on bottles of show polish. He was humiliated by others seeing him doing the job, especially better off parents sneering and laughing at him.

The experience set the tone of his books for the rest of his life and drove him to set the foundation of his novels and short stories to depict suffering children and those who were the victims of justice

Role Models

Henry Fielding, Daniel Defoe, and Oliver Goldsmith

Admirers and Critics

Admirers: George Gissing and G.K. Chesterton

Critics: George Henry Lewes, Henry James, and Virginia Woolf

WorksPickwick Papers (1836-1837)

his first novel

A Christmas Carol (1843)

Mr. Scoorge

David Copperfield (1848-1850)

Most autobiographical work

work in a factory

Bleak House (1853)

social criticism

A Tale Of Two Cities (1859)

Great Expectations (1860-1861)

The story of Pip (Philip Pirrip) was among Tolstoy's and Dostoyevsky's favorite novels

The Mystery of Edwin Drood

Dickens died half way through this novel

ImpactTravelled and campaigned against social evils and brought awareness to social evils

Some say that he forced child labor laws into existence

Others also say that he changed the way poor were viewed and also the amount of assistance and regard given to them

Characteristics of Works

attacks on social evils, injustice, and hypocrisy.

represented suffering

Accomplishments

By his death he had written 12 novels, numerous short stories and essays, and was a fierce advocate for the poor.

He is famous partly for having created some of the most famous boy characters in literature.

Apparently, Oliver Twist was the first boy to be the main character in a novel.

Bibliography“Charles Dickens.” 3 Dec 2008 <http://www.kirjasto.sci.fi/dickens.htm>.

“Charles Dickens - Biography and Works.” 3 Dec 2008 <http://www.online-literature.com/dickens/>.

“BBC - History - Charles Dickens (1812 - 1870).” 3 Dec 2008 <http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/dickens_charles.shtml>.

“charles_dickens_pd_copyright_expired.jpg (JPEG Image, 288x309 pixels) - Scaled (88%).” 3 Dec 2008 <http://www.infed.org/images/people/charles_dickens_pd_copyright_expired.jpg>.

“Nona: Charles Dickens and homoerotic desire.” 3 Dec 2008 <http://pierrejoubert.blogspot.com/2008/01/charles-dickens-and-homoerotic-desire.html>.

“Dicken_main_pic.jpg (JPEG Image, 243x336 pixels) - Scaled (81%).” 3 Dec 2008 <http://wikis.lib.ncsu.edu/images/b/be/Dicken_main_pic.jpg>.

“Leaving Certificate English Resource Site, by John Jennings.” 3 Dec 2008 <http://www.iol.ie/~jenko/dickens.html>.