His Life
Charles Dickens is much loved for his great contribution to classic
English literature. He was the quintessential Victorian author. His epic
stories, vivid characters and exhaustive depiction of contemporary life are
unforgettable.
His own story is one of rags to riches. He was born in
Portsmouth on 7 February 1812, to John and Elizabeth Dickens. The good fortune
of being sent to school at the age of nine was short-lived because his father,
inspiration for the character of Mr Micawber in 'David Copperfield', was
imprisoned for bad debt. The entire family, apart from Charles, were sent to
Marshalsea along with their patriarch. Charles was sent to work in Warren's
blacking factory and endured appalling conditions as well as loneliness and
despair. After three years he was returned to school, but the experience was never
forgotten and became fictionalized in two of his better-known novels 'David
Copperfield' and 'Great Expectations'.
Like many others, he began his literary career as a
journalist. His own father became a reporter and Charles began with the
journals 'The Mirror of Parliament' and 'The True Sun'. Then in 1833 he became
parliamentary journalist for The Morning Chronicle. With new contacts in the
press he was able to publish a series of sketches under the pseudonym 'Boz'. In
April 1836, he married Catherine Hogarth, daughter of George Hogarth who edited
'Sketches by Boz'. Within the same month came the publication of the highly
successful 'Pickwick Papers', and from that point on there was no looking back
for Dickens.
As well as a huge list of novels he published autobiography,
edited weekly periodicals including 'Household Words' and 'All Year Round',
wrote travel books and administered charitable organisations. He was also a
theatre enthusiast, wrote plays and performed before Queen Victoria in 1851.
His energy was inexhaustible and he spent much time abroad - for example
lecturing against slavery in the United States and touring Italy with
companions Augustus Egg and Wilkie Collins, a contemporary writer who inspired Dickens'
final unfinished novel 'The Mystery of Edwin Drood'.
He was estranged from his wife in 1858 after the birth of
their ten children, but maintained relations with his mistress, the actress
Ellen Ternan. He died of a stroke in 1870. He is buried at Westminster Abbey.
His Work
Wondering what books Dickens wrote? He was the author of 15
novels. (However, one of those is incomplete.) He also wrote short stories,
essays, articles and novellas.
The Pickwick Papers – 1836
The Pickwick Papers, also known as The Posthumous Papers of
the Pickwick Club, was the first novel of Charles Dickens. It was published by Chapman & Hall in monthly
installments from March of 1836 until November 1837. Dickens worked a very serious subject into comedic Pickwick
Papers, that of the injustice of the justice system.
Oliver Twist – 1837
The second novel of Charles Dickens was Oliver Twist. The
first edition had a longer title, Oliver Twist; or, The Parish Boy’s Progress. It was initially published in monthly installments that
began in February of 1837 and ended in April of 1839. The character Fagin was named after Bob Fagin, a fellow
employee that young Charles Dickens met when he worked at a blacking factory.
Nicholas Nickleby – 1838
The first installment of Nicholas Nickleby was published in
March 31, 1838 and the last installment was published in October 1, 1839. Dickens’s mother, Elizabeth Dickens, was the model for the
always-confused Mrs. Nickleby. Luckily for Charles she didn’t recognize herself
in the character. In fact, she asked someone if they “really believed there
ever was such a woman”.
The Old Curiosity Shop – 1840
The Old Curiosity Shop was published in installments in the periodical,
Master Humphrey’s Clock. The first installment was printed in April of 1840 and
the last was printed in February of 1841. Dickens was traumatized by the death of the book’s
character, Little Nell. As he was writing the novel he felt as though he were
experiencing the death of one of his children. It also brought back painful
memories of the death of his sister-in-law, Mary Hogarth.
Barnaby Rudge – 1841
Barnaby Rudge was published in installments from February to
November of 1841. It appeared in the magazine Master Humphrey’s Clock. The historical novel is set during the Gordon Riots of 1780.
Martin Chuzzlewit – 1843
Martin Chuzzlewit was first published by Chapman & Hall
in installments that began in January of 1843 and ran through July of 1844. The novel was written after Dickens traveled to America in
1842. The trip left Dickens with a very unfavorable impression of the United
States.
Dombey and Son – 1846
Dombey and Son was first published in installments that
began in 1846 and ran through 1848. Dickens gave a reading of the first installment of Dombey to
some of his friends. It went very well and gave Dickens the idea of doing
public readings.
David Copperfield – 1849
David Copperfield, Dickens’s eighth novel, was first
published as a serial. The first installment was published in May of 1849. The
last installment was issued in November of 1850. David Copperfield held a special place in Dickens’s heart.
In the preface to the 1867 edition, Dickens wrote, “like many fond parents, I
have in my heart of hearts a favourite child. And his name is David
Copperfield.”
Bleak House – 1852
Bleak House was published in installments from March 1852
through September 1853. This novel has the distinction of being perhaps the only
work of classic literature featuring a character that dies by spontaneous
combustion.
Hard Times – 1854
The novel first appeared in Dickens’s Weekly periodical,
Household Words. Hard Times was published in installments that began in April
of 1854 and ran through August of 1854. Hard Times takes an unsympathetic look at Utilitarianism.
This no-nonsense movement relied heavily on statistics, rules and regulations.
Little Dorrit – 1855
Little Dorrit was published in installments from December of
1855 through June of 1857. The Marshalsea debtors’ prison plays a large part in Little
Dorrit. What very few people knew was that Dickens’s father had been sent to
Marshalsea for three months.
A Tale of Two Cities – 1859
The first chapters of A Tale of Two Cities appeared in print
in April of 1859. The last chapter was printed in November of that same year. A play, The Frozen Deep, was the inspiration for A Tale of
Two Cities. Not only did the play give Dickens the idea for A Tale of Two
Cities, it brought about lasting changes to Dickens’s life in the form of Ellen
Ternan.
Great Expectations – 1860
Great Expectations was initially published in All the Year
Round, a weekly periodical founded and owned by Charles Dickens. There were
nine monthly installments, running from December of 1860 until August 1861. In the novel Pip, like Dickens himself, dreams of becoming a
gentleman. However, Pip comes to realize that there is more to life than wealth
and station.
Our Mutual Friend – 1864
Our Mutual Friend is the last novel that Charles Dickens
completed before his death. An interesting feature of the novel is its focus on the
“dust” business.
The Mystery of Edwin Drood – 1870
The Mystery of Edwin Drood was the fifteenth novel of
Charles Dickens. Dickens was only halfway finished with the book when he died.
Hanna Saad
ReplyDeleteHe is seems to be a nice man with a rough past. He made books that did really well. But i dislike him since how he treated his wife because he wanted someone younger so he can get inspired. He left someone sweet and kind and made his children come with him except for one.
I accept many parallels between his life and oliver twist. I also expect a lot of personification.
Olivia Dionisio
ReplyDeleteI learned that Charles Dickens began working in a factory then later wrote his first novel, Pickwick Papers. He began to sell 43,000 books a month. He later moved into his "dream house" with the money he received from Pickwick Papers. He continued to write and became a very well known and wealthy author. He wrote books such as, a Christmas Carol, Oliver Twist, A Tale of Two Cities, and many more.
I think that Oliver Twist will be a good book because I remember reading a Christmas Carol in 7th grade and it is a good book and I enjoyed it which may mean that Oliver Twist will be too.
Jillian Boyer
ReplyDeleteCharles dickens had a hard childhood, he fell into poverty and as forced to pay for his father's debt in a child labor factory. When he got out, he went through a few failed jobs and failed loves before settling on his wish to be a writer. He was unique in his writings and procedures, as well as being a genius writer. He became immensely popular with his first few works. HE married and had 10 children. Life seemed to be going amazing, but he was extremely unsatisfied and lonely in hi life. He divorced his wife for a young actress and although most of his children followed him, they soon went back to their mother after his death. Charles dickens wasa perfect example of having everything in the world but happiness. became sickly and his writings took a dark turn. He was constantly worried that his past would come back to bite haunt him and that he would return to his unfortunate childhood. Near the end of his life, after 14 novels, he knew he was going to ie so he started doing live readings as a change of scenery for him. He started one last novel, a mystery. If he knew he was going to die soon, maybe he wrote his last novel to be a mystery to spite the world. If he was anticipating his death, he may have not even had an ending planned, so as to leave his large audience in anticipation for the rest of their lives. Even during the happier beginning to his career, during the time he wrote oliver twist, he was still constantly being hurt by his past. As a new young writer, he would want to express his life and his problems through an interesting viewpoint, as the character oliver twist. Oliver will probably also have the life he never could, and the life he wishes for himself. Oliver will probably achieve all the aspirations and goals that dickens had at the time. He will fall in love, and he will get rejected but move on and find another perfect girl. He will start as a hurt, abandoned boy in a hard life and rise to be the best and the most fortunate.
Celia Hoffman
ReplyDeleteCharles Dickens was born in 1812, to a middle-class family. He had 7 siblings, and out of all of them, he was the most entertaining. When his family moved to London they came into debt. Dickens’ father resembled his character David Copperfield because they both struggled to handle money. He was sent to work at a shoe factory while his family was put in a poor house. It wasn’t good for Dickens to separate from his family. He worked for a year and was very traumatized, but his mother wanted him to continue to work. Instead, Dickens went to a very strict school. At 16 he became a clerk. He was a journalist and went on trips with political candidates, which gave him experiences he could use later in his writing. Dickens fell in love with a woman who didn’t love him back, so he was motivated to write. After having a few things published, Dickens met Catherine Hogarth. Then he started to work on the Pickwick Papers, which started his fame. He starts to work on plots and wrote his major novels. He writes Oliver Twist, Nicholas Nickleby, and others. Dickens’ sister-in-law, Mary Hogarth dies, and he becomes obsessed. She appears in his novelThe Old Curiosity Shop. In 1942, he is invited to America to give a lecture tour. He is disappointed by his trip and writes Martin Chuzzelwit. Dickens comes into debt with his publishers but, shortly after he writes A Christmas Carol. After that, Dickens wrote Dombey and Son, which was the first book he did a public reading with. Then he wrote David Copperfield, one of his more famous novels, and one of his personal favorites. He later goes on to have kids, a divorce and writes more novels, one being A Tale of Two Cities, which was very famous. Dickens dies from a stroke in 1870 when he was halfway finished with The Mystery of Edwin Drood.
I expect to see a lot of plot twists in Oliver Twist. Since it was one of his more famous novels I’m excited to see why people enjoyed it so much. Even though he wasn’t a great guy, I’d like to see how he wrote and if I will like it. I’m excited to get more into the book and I hope it will be as good as some of the other novels we’ve read.
Nick Entner
ReplyDeleteI learned that Charles dickens was an excellent writer but he wasn't the best man. He had many children with his wife but then eventually left her and took all of the children with him. This is just an awful thing to do. At the end of his writing career he had became very depressed and he eventually started to write very depressing novels. His final work was very different from his work at the beginning.
Since Charles Dickens wrote the novel Oliver Twist in his early years I think that the ending of the book will be happier than the others he wrote. I also think that it will be different than anything I have ever read before because it will end with cliffhangers throughout the chapters. The novel was written a long time ago so I think that it will be a different style of writing than I have seen before.
Suhani Karki
ReplyDeleteI think that Charles Dickens was a very disturbing and awful man. Although Charles stories were entertaining and he wrote very well, his personality was the most horrendous of all. After Dickens has children with his wife he realizes that his wife isn’t as good looking anymore and that he doesn't actually like her. And miraculously his first lover writes to him that she wants to meet up with him. Charles, excited about meeting her, he plans to seduce her but when he arrives to her house she is overweight and ugly. Charles then starts to write about her in his novels, making fun of her.
Charles Dickens life has many twists and turns and because of all the major changes he went through I think I can expect to see a story with a lot of cliffhangers. Since Charles Dickens wrote the novel Oliver Twist in his early years I think that the ending of the book will be happier than the others he wrote. Dickens book Oliver Twist, will be very eventful and exciting to read.
Jacob Moore
ReplyDeleteWhat I learned about Charles Dickens is that he was a very good writer and had an interesting life. During charles’s life he lived both life styles of being rich and poor which he later depicted in some of his novels. He also Had a sort of interesting love life. When he was younger he had fallen in love with a woman who didn't love him back at all. Later Dickens got married and had 10 kids. Years after he Married he got less and less attracted to his wife and then met up with his first crush but then she was fat and ugly too. He later wrote cruel stories about his first crush. Over all I think he was a good writer and nothing else.
I expect to see a Pretty goold novel when reading Oliver twist. Since it was one of his earlier novels i'm expecting it to be a happier story with a nice ending. Im also expecting to see him depict some of his life experiences in the novel. Overall I think it will be a really good book and I can't wait to read it.
Shruthi Saravanan
ReplyDeleteAfter hearing everything I see Charles Dickens and a great author, an unpolite man with a rough childhood. With learning about all the events that took place to him at such a young for quite a while. He saw his family get locked up in jail while they dragged him away from them and throwing him in this shoe business which he hated. His dream was all crushed so quickly and he felt hopeless. So with this, I can easily say that these flashbacks/traumas will stick with him throughout the rest of his life. This we can easily prove to be true with what people said he felt, depressed. Though with all these emotions and terrible memories I guess his way of getting out of it was by writing and creating stories. Though by doing this there are good chances and quite a few of his emotions got into the book and tied it in with the story. In one of his novels, Oliver Twist, I could guess that the main character would be on his own, alone like an orphan. I feel like he put this in because he probably felt like an orphan due to being pulled away from his family and being on his own. The kid might have some ups and downs throughout the story, maybe more downs than ups. Even though Charles Dickens was able to get back up after his huge downfall in his childhood his life still was rocky with his family, fame, and writing. Though this book was written early in his career so maybe he will have some happy points due to the fact that he probably hasn’t struggled through his future too much yet.
Yasmiin Ali
ReplyDeleteI think that Charles Dickens was a very awful man. Although his stories were written very well, his personality was very bland and not so thoughtful towards others. When Dickens finally got married and had kids he later realizes that his wife was not as good looking as she was before and loses his feelings towards her. When Charles Dickens receives a letter from a girl that he had a crush on when he was younger to meet he hopes to seduce her. After meeting her and seeing that she's overweight and not as pretty as she used to be. Charles then starts to write about her in his novels, making fun of her.
I expect to see a lot of plot twists in Oliver Twist. Since it was one of his more famous novels. Even though he wasn’t a great guy, I’d like to see how he wrote so differently from his other writings. Although this was a novel from his early years, I think the ending of the book will be happier than the later published novels.
Evan Lin
ReplyDeleteCharles Dickens was a great writer but a very unlikable person. He treated his wife poorly and cheated on her with younger ladies. While 9 of 10 children stayed with him was because he was rich. The only reason he toured in America was for money. He became famous really quickly after living in poverty when he was a child. He uses a lot of his experiences as a child in his writings.
I expect Oliver Twist to include many parallels to Dicken's life and also some good storytelling.
1. After viewing the documentary I can tell that Dickens wasn’t the greatest person and did not have the best personality, but did write great stories. Dickens was born in 1812 into a pretty good family. However, his father wasn’t all that great and didn’t treat him well and he ended up going into debt. During a low point in his life he surprisingly wrote one of his best novels called A Christmas Carol.
ReplyDelete2. As we read Oliver Twist I expect it to have lots of twist and turns because that’s basically how his life went. He wrote this book towards the beginning of his care rather than later so this book will probably be more eventful and more happy than others he wrote.
Michael DiCenzo
ReplyDeleteWhat I learned about Charles Dickens is that he was a very good writer and had an complicated life. During Charles's life, he lived both lifestyles of being rich and poor which he later depicted in some of his novels. He also Had a sort of interesting love life. When he was younger he had fallen in love with a woman who didn't love him back at all. Later Charles got married. Years after he Married he got less and less attracted to his wife and then met up with his first crush but then she was fat and ugly too.
I expect to see a good novel when reading Oliver Twist because it was one of his earlier novels.Since it was one of his earlier novels I'm expecting it to be a happier story. I'm also expecting to see him depict some of his life experiences in the novel.
Xingyun Pan
ReplyDeleteCharlies Dicken was a great author in the 1800s. He was born in the Industrial Revolution which people’s lives changed dramatically. His family was sent to jail because of the bad debts, he as the oldest male in the family was sent to the factory to work ten hours a day to repay the debt. Although he finally came out, the memory in the workhouse would never be forgotten. I expected to see people’s lives in the workhouse and how people act and feel there in Dicken,s novel Oliver Twist. After his family released from the prison, his mom still wants him to work in the factory because they need the money. I think this decision of his mother changes his personality which shows later on.
After he is released from the factory, Charlies went to a strict school and started to work as a journalist. I expect to see some part of the school in Oliver Twist and how teachers treat students and the relationship between students. Charlies fell in love with a beautiful woman but she will get married soon. Charlies’ heart broke and start writing. He became famous really soon and got married to his wife Marry Hoggard. Charlies’ novels are liked by people all around the world, he could get rich easily if he wants, but he keeps writing the things he wants to write instead of writing for money. Although he is a successful writer but he is not as good at being a husband. He had ten children with his wife and she becomes overweight but she is still kind and sweet. Charlies cheated his wife and separated with her. He died of a stroke in 1870.
Sean Curtis-
ReplyDeleteCharles Dickens began working in a factory then later wrote his first novel, Pickwick Papers. He began to sell 43,000 books a month.. He continued to write and became a very well known author. He wrote books such as, a Christmas Carol, Oliver Twist, and many more.
I expect to see a lot of plot twists in Oliver Twist. Since it was one of his more famous novels. Even though he wasn’t a great guy, I’d like to see how he wrote so differently from his other writings. I think the ending of the book will be happier than the later published novels.
Dowol Lee
ReplyDeleteWhat I learned about Charles Dickens was mostly he was a wonderful author that had fantastic writing skills, but he was not a person that people would like. He did bad things and did not make up for them. He even cheated on his own wife. I also learned what might have caused that. He had a very rough childhood. He had to work at the age of 12 and his father was sent to jail for a year as well which was probably really rough on him. He also did not enjoy the school he went to because they were very strict.
In Oliver Twist, I expect to see a little bit of reflection from his own life, living in the Victorian Era. Like his life, i think there will be a lot of big turning points that change the whole story.