Charles dickens

Biography

Charles Dickens

An Interactive Presentation By Acacia Fry

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"No one is useless in this world who lightens the burdens of another."

- Charles Dickens

Dickens's birthplace

Dickens's Home 1817-1821

Charles Dickens was one of the greatest novelists in the Victorian era. He is known for his journals, short stories, and some of literatures best-known fictional characters.

Who was charles Dickens?

Charles John Huffman Dickens was born in Portsmouth, Hampshire, England on February 7, 1812.

Dickens Childhood

Charles’s father, John Dickens, was a clerk in the Royal Navy Pay Office. His mother was Elizabeth Barrow. Together they had 8 children, Charles being the 2nd oldest.Not long after he was born, Charles and his family moved from Portsmouth to Chatham in Kent where he spent most of his childhood. Because John worked at the Navy Pay Office, they allowed Charles to go to a private school. However after having all 8 kids, the family once again lived in poverty forcing them to move back to a small town near London.

Illustration of Dickens working in a shoe-blacking factory

After a few years his father was tragically thrown in debtors’ prison as he tended to live beyond his means and what they could afford.While the rest of his family was sent to Marshalsea prison, Charles was sent to work at Warren’s blacking Warehouse, where he spent 10 hours a day pasting labels onto pots of shoes polish. He made a mere 6 shillings a week.While he slaved at the facory, he lived with a family friend, Elizabeth Roylance in Camden. After John Dickens's mother passed, she left him enough money to pay off his debt and get released from prison. Charles then moved to Southwark with an insolvent court agent and the rest of his family.

Supporting the family

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1838

Oliver Twist was published in 3 volumes

1842

Dickens visits the US for the first time

1843

A Christmas Carol was published with 6,000 copies immediately selling.

1849

He wrote The Life of Our Lord for his children.

Timeline

1850

He published David Copperfield and started his own magazine, Household Words.

1859

A Tale of Two Cities was published.

1861

Great Expectations was published

1869

He began working on his last novel, The Mystery of Edwin Drood

Accomplishments

Some of Dickens's accomplishments include editing a weekly journal detailing their day to day life and family struggles for over 20 years, writing 15 well known novels, 5 novellas, and hundreds of short stories and nonfiction articles. He also extensively lectured and performed readings, was an indefatigable letter writer, and campaigned vigorously for children's rights, education and social reforms.

His novels captured the lives of the poor families in England and it exposes the conditions that they lived in. In addition, many of his works are cherished classics, including A Tale of Two Cities and A Christmas Carol.

His works are known for their humor, social realism, and readability. He was also a philanthropist and social reformer who set up a home for "fallen" women.

Dickens believed in exposing social wrongs using the power of literature to bring about social reform. The notes he published after traveling to the US, American Notes for General Circulation, was an attack on slavery which he thought was connected with the unfair treatment of the poor in England.

- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Dickens#:~:text=Dickens%20edited%20a%20weekly%20journal,education%20and%20other%20social%20reforms- https://www.enotes.com/topics/charles-dickens/questions/discuss-achievements-charles-dickens-please-answer-396274- https://www.enotes.com/topics/charles-dickens/questions/discuss-achievements-charles-dickens-please-answer-396274

Sources:

Conclusion...

Charles Dickens died of a stroke on June 9th, 1870 at 58 years old. However, his legacy extends beyond literature, as his writings continue to inspire social change, influence public policy, and captivate readers worldwide. He has had a significant impact on society making him one of the most celebrated authors in history.

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Cover of Charles Dickens's Oliver Twist

Modern cover of Charles Dickens's The Life of Our Lord.