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Charles John Huffam Dickens was a well-known British Novelist, Illustrator, Journalist, and social commentator. He is remembered as one of the influential and most important writers of the 19th century. We will be discussing Charles Dickens biography with you.
In addition to his accomplishments, he has been praised for bringing out a change in society. He also provides a stark portrait of the Victorian-era underclass. Dickens wrote many praised classic novels such as Great Expectations, David Copperfield, Oliver Twist, and many more.
Here we will take a quick review of his life and the circumstances that motivated him to become a writer. So without any further delay, let’s begin.
Dickens’ Early Life
Charles was born on 7 Feb 1812, in Portsmouth, England. He was born to John Dickens and Elizabeth Barrow and was the second of eight kids. His father was a naval clerk but always dreamed of becoming rich.
While his mother always aspired to be a school teacher and director. Despite the unlimited efforts of his parents, the family remained poor. But the family was happy in this situation as they all were together.
In 1816, all the family members moved to Chatham, Kent. Here Dickens and his siblings were allowed to roam the countryside and explore the old castle in Rochester. Later in 1822, the family moved to Camden Town which is known as the poor neighborhood in London.
Poor Financial Condition
The financial situation of Dickens got worse because John has a dangerous habit of living beyond the family’s means. Because of this, he surrounded himself with a lot of debt and was sent to prison in 1824 for debt.
At this time, Charles was only 12 years old. Due to his father’s imprisonment, Charles was forced to leave school to work at a boot-blacking factory. Charles earned six shillings a week labeling pots of “Blacking” at the run-down, rodent-ridden factory.
It was the best that Charles could do to support his family. Because of this experience, Charles said goodbye to his youthful innocence. He also felt betrayed and abandoned by the adults who were supposed to take good care of him.
These sentiments later become a recurring theme in his writing. But after some time he got some relief as his father paid off his debts with the money that came from his family inheritance. However, when Charles was 15, he had to leave his education because of a family crisis.
He had to drop out of school in 1827 to contribute to his family’s income by working as an office boy. This job as it turned out became a launching point of his writing career.
Personal Life: Charles Dickens biography
Charles married Catherine Hogarth after publishing his first book. The couple together has 10 children. In the year 1850, Charles suffered two major losses. He lost his daughter and father. He also separated from his wife and slandered Catherine publicly.
Later, he was involved in an intimate relationship with the young actress Ellen Ternan. Many sources claimed that the two were involved in the relationship before Charles’s marital separation. It is also believed that Dickens went to great lengths to erase all the traces of Ternan’s presence in his life.
Writing Career: Major Charles Dickens Biography
Charles Dickens biography, life changing, started freelance reporting at the Law Courts of London within a year of being hired. After some years, he was reporting for 2 important London newspapers. Later in 1833, Charles started submitting sketches to different newspapers and magazines under the pseudonym “Boz”.
His clippings “Sketches by Boz” were published in his first book in 1836. This year, Charles began publishing “The Posthumous Papers” of the “Pickwick Club”. Dickens’ series (which was mainly written as captions for artist Robert Seymour’s humorous sports-themed illustrations) took the shape of monthly serial installments.
The Posthumous papers of the Pickwick Club were popular with the audience. In reality, Charles’s captions were more popular than the illustrations they were meant to accompany. Later, he edited magazines like All the Year Round and Household Words.
Some of Charles Dickens’s most famous books are
- The Pickwick Papers – 1836
- Oliver Twist – 1837
- Nicholas Nickleby – 1838
- The Old Curiosity Shop – 1840
- Barnaby Rudge – 1841
- Martin Chuzzlewit – 1843
- Dombey and Son – 18446
- David Copperfield – 1849
- Bleak House – 1852
- Hard Times – 1854
- Little Dorrit – 1855
- A Tale of Two Cities – 1859
- Great Expectations – 1860
- Our Mutual Friend – 1864
- The Mystery of Edwin Drood – 1870