The writings of Charles Dickens, an English author and comedic character creator, are regarded as masterpieces of world literature. His early experiences with famine and debt enslavement did not stop him from realizing his creative potential; rather, they enabled him to expose the darker aspects of Victorian society in his books.
Childhood
Fate decreed that Dickens’s parents were unable to give their eight children a nice upbringing. The young writer’s works eventually reflected his severe poverty and never-ending debt.
The second child of John and Elizabeth Dickens was born in Landport on November 7, 1812. The family patriarch was employed at this time as an official in the Royal Navy (a naval installation). After three years, John was moved to the capital and promptly dispatched to Chatham, a city in Kent. Charles completed his schooling here.
The novelist’s father got caught in a horrific debt trap in 1824, leaving the family desperately short of cash. At that time, creditors were required by British government rules to send debtors to a special prison, which is where John Dickens ended up. The wife and kids, who were regarded as debt slaves, were likewise imprisoned every weekend.
The aspiring writer had to leave early for work due to personal problems. The boy’s modest income as a child in a blacking mill was six shillings per week, but luck was on Dickens’s poor family. John was able to pay off his obligations when he received a distant relative’s property. In addition to working part-time as a reporter for a local newspaper, he was granted an admiralty pension.
Charles kept up his studies and manufacturing employment when his father was freed. After graduating from Wellington Academy in 1827, he received a salary of 13 shillings a week to work as a junior clerk in a law office. The man spent a year working here, and after learning shorthand, he decided to become a freelance reporter.
The young writer’s career took off in 1830, and the Morning Chronicle encouraged him to join its editorial staff.
Books
Public interest in the budding reporter was immediate, and readers enjoyed the notes, which encouraged Dickens to write more. During his early years, Charles found significance in literature.
The first descriptive and moral writings were published in 1836 and were dubbed “Essays of Boz” by the author. The essays’ topic proved to be pertinent to the reporter’s social status as well as that of the vast majority of Londoners. Newspaper articles featuring psychological profiles of members of the minor bourgeoisie gave their young author notoriety and acclaim.
Dickens was praised by Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky as a superb writer who adeptly captured contemporary reality in his works. The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club (1837) was the prose writer’s debut work in the 19th century. The book includes genre sketches that highlight the traits of the British people, including their gregarious and vivacious personality. A growing number of readers became interested in Charles’s writings because of their positivity and lightheartedness.
The 1838 publication of “The Adventures of Oliver Twist” created a stir in English society. It is difficult to overstate the social impact of this work: laws were altered, improving the lives of low-income and orphan children, and inspections were started on the capital’s shelters.
However, when the author was tranced and having epileptic episodes, the heroes of “The Antiquities Shop” literally chased after her. Charles was harassed not only by little Nell from The Antiquities Shop but also by Mrs. Gump, the drunken nurse from Martin Chuzzlewit. As Dickens said, he saw women in the most unlikely places; she murmured disgusting things to him in the temple.
It’s interesting that American readers were offended by Martin Chuzzlewit because they felt that the well-known writer was making fun of their way of life and customs.
In the publicist’s imaginative biography, the wonderful “Christmas Stories” is another noteworthy piece. Among the books in this collection was “A Christmas Carol,” which introduced readers to the character of Ebenezer Scrooge, who later came to represent materialism. He had a historical prototype, by the way, in the form of John Eloues, one of the wealthiest aristocrats of his day.
The story of “A Christmas Carol” has been filmed multiple times. The earliest movie, “Scrooge, or Marley’s Ghost,” was premiered in 1901. The story was also adapted into a cartoon in 1971.
Joint works, such as “The Idle Journey of Two Idle Apprentices,” which Charles documented with his friend Wilkie Collins, are also included in the writer’s bibliography.
Despite being one of the most well-known books in the author’s bibliography, “David Copperfield” (1859) was not something the author liked to think about. Names and likenesses of Dickens’ social circle were frequently employed in his writing. Thus, in the story, Copperfield’s wife Dora passed away. Charles welcomed his ninth child, a daughter he called Dora, while he was writing the book. For the rest of his life, the publicist hated himself for the baby’s death, which did not even result in a year of existence.
In Great Expectations (1861), a different real-life character of the author was transformed into a literary one. Ellen Ternan, a youthful actress who later served as the model for the eccentric Estella Havisham, was his final love.
Individual existence
Dickens’s first love was Maria Beadnell, a bank manager’s daughter. The young man was a basic reporter in 1830, which did not make him popular with the affluent Beadnell family. The writer’s father, a former debt prisoner, had a ruined reputation, which added to the unfavorable sentiment toward the groom. Maria studied in Paris and came back feeling strange and chilly.
The novelist wed the friend of his journalistic acquaintance’s daughter in 1836. Katherine Thomson Hogarth was the name of the girl. The publicist was strict and severe with his wife, pointing out to her that her real goal in life was to have children rather than to disagree with her husband. As a result, he eventually started to hate his wife.
Although Katherine was the classic’s devoted wife and they had 10 children together, arguments and fights were common between the couple. For the writer, the family turned into a burden, an ongoing cause of anxiety and suffering.
Dickens fell in love once more in 1857. The eighteen-year-old actress Ellen Ternan was his pick. The passionate prose writer gave his sweetheart a rental flat where they had their special dates. The two were deeply in love till Charles passed away. The 2013 film “The Invisible Woman” is devoted to the lovely bonds that exist amongst creative types. Later on, Ellen emerged as the author’s primary heir.
Death
Dickens was writing with intensity and managing a difficult personal life; his health was becoming less than stellar. Notwithstanding his physical infirmities, the writer persisted in his diligent job.
Following a literary tour around American towns, health issues started to surface. The author’s limbs and legs were amputated several times starting in 1869. The great classic passed away the following morning after suffering a stroke on June 8, 1870, while staying at the Gadshill estate.
Buried in Westminster Abbey was Charles Dickens. The novelist became a hero of English literature as his reputation and popularity grew after his passing. Even now, readers’ emotions are touched by the author’s well-known works, which prompt them to reflect on the unexpected nature of fate.
Memory
One of the best prose authors of the 19th century is honored in a number of novels and movies; his likeness can be found on British banknotes and Soviet stamps; a crater on Mercury bears his name.
A museum honoring Dickens is located in his former London residence, and his tiny hometown of Portsmouth is host to an exhibition. Many museums and collections still house his possessions, which include a cane, a travel kit, pictures, photos, original editions of his writings, and other items.
Despite Dickens’s wishes in his will not to have any monuments built in his honor, several have been built in Australia, the United States, England, and Russia.
English prose writer and literary critic Angus Wilson released “The World of Charles Dickens” in celebration of the author’s 100th birthday.
The novelist will turn 210 on February 7, 2022, which is also his birthday. This incident was the subject of numerous displays in libraries and museums, including the Trubniki residence of Ilya Ostroukhov.