Charles Dickens

Charles Dickens was an English novelist of the Victorian era and one of the most popular and influential writers in the English language. His novels exposed the social conditions of the industrial city and created a gallery of memorable characters.

Early Life and Education

Dickens was born in 1812 in Portsmouth and moved with his family to London. His father was imprisoned for debt, and the young Dickens was sent to work in a blacking factory.

The experience of poverty and of child labour marked him for life and informed his later writing. He attended school only intermittently and was largely self-educated.

He worked as a solicitor's clerk and then as a parliamentary reporter. He learned shorthand and became a successful journalist.

The Early Novels

The Pickwick Papers, published in monthly instalments from 1836, made his name. The work is a comic novel about the adventures of a club and its members.

Oliver Twist, published in 1837 and 1838, exposed the conditions of the workhouse and of the criminal underworld. Nicholas Nickleby attacked the Yorkshire schools.

The novels were published in serial form and were read by a wide public. The monthly instalments created a new relationship between the author and the reader.

The Mature Novels

The Old Curiosity Shop and Barnaby Rudge were followed by Martin Chuzzlewit and by the Christmas books, including A Christmas Carol.

David Copperfield, published in 1849 and 1850, is partly autobiographical. It is often regarded as his finest work.

Bleak House, Hard Times, and Little Dorrit criticised the legal system, the industrial system, and the bureaucracy. A Tale of Two Cities is set in the French Revolution.

Social Criticism

Dickens was a reformer and used his novels to expose abuses. He attacked the workhouse, the courts, the schools, and the sanitary conditions of the cities.

He was involved in charitable work, including the founding of a home for fallen women. He edited the journals Household Words and All the Year Round.

He campaigned for copyright reform and for the rights of authors. He travelled to the United States and criticised slavery and the American press.

Later Life and Death

Dickens gave public readings of his works, which were enormously popular and which exhausted him. He separated from his wife Catherine in 1858.

He was involved in a relationship with the actress Ellen Ternan. He died in 1870 at Gad's Hill Place, leaving The Mystery of Edwin Drood unfinished.

He was buried in Poets' Corner in Westminster Abbey. His will asked for a private funeral and for the maintenance of his name.

Legacy

Dickens is regarded as the greatest novelist of the Victorian age. His characters, including Scrooge, Fagin, and Miss Havisham, have entered the language.

His novels are studied for their social criticism and for their narrative technique. They have been adapted for the stage, for film, and for television.

The Dickens Fellowship and the Dickens Museum preserve his memory. His work continues to be read throughout the world.

The Serial Form

Dickens published his novels in monthly or weekly instalments. The form shaped the structure of the novels and the relationship with the readers.

The instalments ended with a cliffhanger or with a striking scene. The readers responded to the characters and to the events and influenced the development of the plots.

The serial form made the novels accessible to a large audience. The instalments were read aloud in families and in public houses.

The Christmas Books

A Christmas Carol, published in 1843, is the most famous of the Christmas books. The story of Ebenezer Scrooge and of the ghosts of Christmas has become part of the culture of the holiday.

The book was written in response to the condition of the poor and to the reports of child labour. It was an immediate success and has been adapted many times.

The other Christmas books, including The Chimes and The Cricket on the Hearth, treat similar themes. The genre contributed to the modern celebration of Christmas.

The American Tours

Dickens travelled to the United States in 1842 and in 1867. He was received with enthusiasm and was disappointed by what he saw.

He criticised slavery, the press, and the lack of copyright protection. The notes of his travels were published in American Notes and in Martin Chuzzlewit.

The visit contributed to the debate about slavery and to the campaign for international copyright. His views on America remained a subject of controversy.

The Readings

Dickens gave public readings of his works from 1858 until his death. The readings were theatrical performances and were enormously popular.

He selected passages from his novels and performed them with great energy. The readings contributed to his fame and to his financial security.

The readings exhausted him and contributed to the decline of his health. He gave his last reading in 1870.

See also

• Victorian literature
• Social novel