CHARLES

DICKENS
Veselina Tomova
◦ Was born Charles John Huffam Dickens on February 7,
1812 in Portsmouth, Hampshire (south coast of
England)
◦ Father John Dickens and mother Elizabeth
◦ Second of eight children
◦ Started off as happy
◦ Studied at a comfortable private school
Early Life
◦ Loved to read novels and produce theatricals with his
siblings
◦ Had a photographic memory—used to create characters
later in life
◦ When Dickens was 10, his family moved to Camden
Town, a poor district in London
◦ His father ran into financial problems and was
imprisoned for his debt
◦ Started work at 12 at a shoe polish factory to support
the family
◦ The appalling conditions served as inspiration later Early Life
◦ They left a profound psychological effect on him
◦ At age 15, he started work as a junior clerk at a law
office
◦ He became an apprentice reporter in a court of law after
one year
◦ By age 21, he had become a journalist for a newspaper
covering election campaigns and other political matters
◦ His first published story was A Dinner at Popular Walk,
appearing in the Monthly Magazine in December 1833
◦ He married Catherine Hogarth, daughter of the editor of
the Evening Chronicle, in 1836
The Start of his
◦ They eventually had 10 children Career
◦ The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club was
published in monthly parts from April 1836 to
November 1837
◦ One of the most popular works of the time
◦ Dickens embarked on a career as a novelist
◦ Oliver Twist (1837-1839)
◦ Nicholas Nickleby (1838-1839)
◦ Master Humphrey’s Clock Series (1840-1841) The Start of his
◦ They were all published in monthly instalments before
being made into books
Career
◦ He still worked as a journalist, editing The Daily News,
Household Words, and All the Year Round
◦ In 1842, he travelled with his wife to the United States
and Canada
◦ He met the American president (John Tyler at the time)
and was fêted by the elite wherever he went Traveling and
◦ He gave lectures to adoring audiences and raised
support for copyright laws and the abolition of slavery
Writing
◦ Served as inspiration for his controversial American
Notes (1842)  gave an analysis of American society
◦ Dickens soon published his series of five Christmas
Books:
◦ A Christmas Carol (1843)
◦ The Chimes (1844)
◦ The Cricket on the Hearth (1845)
Traveling and
◦ The Battle of Life (1846) Writing
◦ The Haunted Man (1848)
◦ He also briefly lived in Italy (1844) and Switzerland
(1846)
◦ Dickens continued his success with:
◦ Dombey and Son (1848)
◦ David Copperfield (1849-1850)
◦ Bleak House (1852-1853) Traveling and
◦ Hard Times (1854)
◦ Little Dorrit (1857)
Writing
◦ A Tale of Two Cities (1859)
◦ Great Expectations (1861)
◦ In 1856 his popularity allowed Dickens to buy Gad’s
Hill Place, an estate he had admired since childhood
◦ In 1858 Dickens began a series of paid readings, which
became instantly popular (performed over 400)
◦ Separated his wife and became involved with the young
actress Ellen Ternan
◦ He supported hospitals and homes for destitute women
Twilight Years
and children and lectured on the need for social reform and Death
◦ Despite his worsening health, he didn’t give up the
readings
◦ His last book was the comedy Our Mutual Friend
◦ He died on June 9, 1870 after suffering a stroke; he was
58
◦ Contrary to his wish to be buried in Rochester
Cathedral, he was buried in the Poets’ Corner of
Westminster Abbey
◦ The inscription on his tomb reads “He was a Burial
sympathizer to the poor, the suffering, and the
oppressed; and by his death, one of England’s greatest
writers is lost to the world.”
THANK YOU FOR THE
ATTENTION!