The mystery of edwin drood was the fifteenth novel of charles dickens. Charles dickens, as revealed in claire tomalins excellent biography, is both more and much less than what i expected from a lifetime of a christmas carol and knowing pieces of his books. In fact the man behind the most celebrated novels of the victorian age and of all times was what we would call today a hyperactive dude, both in personal life and in public and literary life. Drawing on dickens s personal letters, his collected works, and the authors own ragstoriches story, charles dickens transports readers to victorian england for an immersive, highly visual view into the life of the man behind some of literatures most enduring characters. See our list of articles on the life of charles dickens. Charles dickens was a british novelist, journalist, editor, illustrator and social commentator who wrote such beloved classic novels as oliver twist, a christmas carol, nicholas nickleby, david. How charles dickens life influenced oliver twist the range of his creative activity is, in the first place, limited to the world of his youth cecil 169.
Charles dickens february 7, 1812june 9, 1870, penname boz, was a very popular and prolific british author who lived and wrote during the victorian era. His books are synonymous with the word classic, and indeed, dickens has penned some of. Charles dickens life an illustrated hypertext biography. Great expectations and a christmas carol and vivid characters are unforgettable. Discover how charles dickens had a brush with death in a railway accident in 1865. A more recent biography, written by a leading biographer of other writers including jane austen, thomas hardy, and.
Charles was the second of eight children to john dickens 17861851, a clerk in the navy pay office, and his wife elizabeth dickens 17891863. A life unlike peter ackroyds dickens, which begins with dickenss death at gads hill in 1870, claire tomalins book opens with an 1840 episode with dickens as juror at a murder trial. A christmas carol, suddenly conceived and written in a few weeks in late 1843, was the first of these christmas books a new literary genre thus created incidentally. Two biographies examine the brilliant but tormented life of charles. A life unlike peter ackroyds dickens, which begins with dickenss death at gads hill in 1870, claire tomalins book opens with an. In dickens biography, life of charles dickens 1872, john forster wrote of david copperfield, underneath the fiction lay something of the authors life. From young age, his education was greatly hampered due to the poor financial condition of his family. Charles john huffam dickens frsa was an english writer and social critic. Charles john huffam dickens was born 7 february 1812 in portsmouth, england. Our mutual friend is the last novel that charles dickens completed before his death. Charles dickens was one of the most popular writers in english in the 19th century.
In addition, he worked as a journalist, writing numerous items on political and social affairs. The house he was born in, mile end terrace, is now the dickens birthplace museum and is today furnished, more or less as it would have been at the time of his birth. Published 173 years ago this month, charles dickens a christmas carol was an instant bestseller, followed by countless print, stage and screen productions. Charles dickens was the greatest novelist of the victorian era, a keen social critic, and a popular entertainer. Charles dickens was one of the most prolific and popular writers of the victorian era, writing 15 books and dozens more short stories, essays, and novellas. He is more in terms of his constant writing as an adult, his dedication to charitable interests, his working himself up in society from a difficult youth. They begin a romantic relationship that lasts for the rest of dickens s life. Five of the best books about charles dickens interesting literature. Both tomalin and michael slater, who cites the same passage in his 2009 biography, charles dickens, found the newly translated dostoyevsky letter in a 2002 article in the dickensian. Read a biography about the life of charles dickens the victorian author whose epic stories e. It was dickenss personal favourite among his own novels, as he wrote in the authors preface to the 1867 edition of the novel.
The book sold well and dickens gained a firm financial footing that would carry him the rest of his life. Charles john huffam dickens was born on february 7, 1812, at portsea later part of portsmouth on the southern coast of england, to john and elizabeth dickens. Charles dickens was born in the landport suburb of portsmouth on friday 7th february 1812. Five of the best books about charles dickens interesting. What was it like to live in charles dickens london. Charles john huffam dickens is born in portsmouth, england, the second child of john and elizabeth dickens.
Charles dickens the invention of the christmas books. His 1859 novel a tale of two cities set in london and paris is his. He wrote classic novels of the victorian era like great expectations, david copperfield, oliver twist and a christmas carol. His parents went on to have five more children to join charles and his elder sister, fanny, two of whom died in infancy. How charles dickens life influenced oliver twist essays.
An interesting feature of the novel is its focus on the dust business. Charles dickens books, ebooks, audiobooks, biography. This book has surely been a tourdeforce by the author in reconstructing the life of charles dickens. Charles dickens the book of life the school of life. Dickenss first published works appeared in 1833 and 1834 without his authors byline. Charles dickens 18121870 is probably the greatest novelist england has ever produced, the author of such wellknown classics as a christmas carol, great expectations, david copperfield and oliver twist. Flawless in its historical detail, and acute on the novels, claire tomalins superb dickens biography is most valuable in the sense it gives us of. Charles worked tirelessly as actor and stage manager and often adjusted scenes, assisted carpenters. The writer charles john huffam dickens, known simply as charles dickens, was born on february 7, 1812, in the city of portsmouth, england, and died on june 9, 1870, in his country house gads hill place, located in the county of kent, england. Dickens was born charles john huffam dickens on february 7, 1812, in portsmouth, on the southern coast of england. As he recalled to john forster from the life of charles dickens.
Awardwinning claire tomalin, author of a life of my own, sets the standard for sophisticated and popular biography, having written lives of jane austen, samuel pepys, and thomas hardy, among others. Tossed off while he was amply engaged in writing chuzzlewit, it was an extraordinary achievementthe one great christmas myth of modern literature. Here she tackles the best recognized and loved man of nineteenthcentury england, charles dickens. She has told familiar stories very well thomas hardy, jane austen. Her charles dickens biography is a fantastic book on a great man. Charles dickens was a british author who penned beloved classics such as hard times, a christmas carol, david copperfield and great expectations. Competition launched to find reallife dickens characters. A charity founded by charles dickens has launched a competition to find real modernday characters who could have provided the basis for one of the authors classic creations. Charles dickens charles dickens the invention of the christmas books. List of books, novels and short stories by charles dickens. The tumultuous life of englands greatest novelist, beautifully re.
Here are five of our favourites five of the finest books about dickens for the reader seeking to negotiate their way through the great novelists work. Dickens had a stroke and he died at the age of 58 june 9, 1870, leaving his novel the mystery of edwin drood unfinished. Charles dickens was the most famous writer in the english language during the nineteenth century and he remains one of the best selling authors of all time. A life from beginning to end biographies of british authors book 1 ebook.
Charles dickens biography charles dickens charles john huffam dickens was born in landport, portsmouth, on february 7, 1812. During the 1840s dickens, with a troupe of friends and family in tow, began acting in amateur theatricals in london and across britain. Among charles dickens s many works are the novels the pickwick papers 1837, oliver twist 1838, a christmas carol 1843, david copperfield 1850, bleak house 1853, and great expectations 1861. Key events and dates in a charles dickens timeline, compiled by phds and masters from stanford, harvard, berkeley. He deserves our attention for his ideas about sympathy, popularity. Not bad for a man whose start in life was far from ideal. From detailed biographies of dickens to groundbreaking works of literary criticism, there have been hundreds of books published about charles dickens s life and work. He routinely walked the city streets, 10 or 20 miles at a time, and his descriptions of nineteenth century london allow readers to experience the sights, sounds, and smells of the old city.
Dickens was only halfway finished with the book when he died. What has previously happened to a person has a tremendous impact on them. He was the author of over two dozen books, many of which. He was the second child of john and elizabeth hoffman dickens. Charles dickens belonged to a financially weak family. Charles dickens applied his unique power of observation to the city in which he spent most of his life.
489 1036 955 422 1226 1131 10 723 241 899 74 380 589 239 914 768 223 1568 1326 275 132 932 573 1444 790 691 934 1031 1450 606 1375 169