Charles Dickens

Charles Dickens was born on 7th February 1812 in Portsmouth, in the county of Hampshire on the south coast of England. His home in Old Commercial Road was in Landport a district of Portsea Island. His full name was Charles John Huffam Dickens and he was the second of eight children to John Dickens (1786–1851) and his wife, Elizabeth (née Barrow, 1789–1863).

His family moved to Ordnance Terrace, Chatham, Kent when Charles was ten and again moved to Bayham Street, Camden Town, London when he was ten.

It is generally thought that his early years were seen as an idyllic time particularly when compared with the following years. He spent much time reading and being outside and I maybe there that he developed a keen observational abilities. His family at that time had moderate wealth which enabled him to have some private education at the William Giles' school, Chatham. But family fortunes rapidly changed when his father spent excessively and ended up as a debtor in the Marshalsea prison. In those times, debt did not only affect the head of the family but the whole household cold often end up in the prison. Much of this was covered in Little Dorrit. However, Charles did not join his family but Charles was able to help support his family and pay for lodgings with a family friend. This was because the 12-year-old Dickens had begun working at a Blacking Warehouse earning a few shillings (tens of pence) a week. 

His personal experience of working in such an arduous and inhospitable environment, together with his acute observations of the lot of those around him, made a deep impression on Dickens. Later, he revisited many of the issues in his writings and literature.

 Charles' father, John was left a few hundred pounds which eased his situation, enabled him to petition for and be granted release from the prison and repay creditors. Unfortunately Charles himself did not get immediate relief and continued working.

In 1827, Dickens began work as a clerk in a law office as a trainee which eventual would have led to a legal carer. His knowledge of the law and, at time, the slowness and unfairness of the legal processes were visited in his works. Next he became a court stenographer.

From 1833, his first journalism in the form of sketches which appeared in periodicals.  He became a political journalist reporting on both parliamentary debate and locally on election campaigns working for the Morning Chronicle. 'Sketches by Boz', his first collection of pieces were published in 1836 which in turn resulted in the serialisation of his first novel, 'The Pickwick Papers' in March 1836. He married Catherine Thomson Hogarth in 1836 by whom eventually he had ten children. His sister-in-law Mary, joined he household but she died in 1837 which Charles felt greatly.

Dickens had experienced considerable success and acclaim. He produced in instalments Oliver Twist between (1837–39), Nicholas Nickleby (1838–39), The Old Curiosity Shop (1840-41) Barnaby Rudge: A Tale of the Riots of 'Eighty as part of the Master Humphrey's Clock series (1841).  Also he continued to contribute to and edit journals throughout much of his subsequent literary career.

Dickens made two trips to North America one in 1842 which was very successful. He described the visit in his American Notes for General Circulation. A Christmas Carol was written for December 1843. After briefly living abroad in Europe, he continued with continued his Dombey and Son (1848), David Copperfield (1849–50), Bleak House (1852–53), Hard Times (1854), Little Dorrit (1855-57), A Tale of Two Cities (1859) and Great Expectations (1860-61). Between 1850 and 1870 Dickens also was the publisher, editor and a major contributor to the journals Household Words and All the Year Round. 

He bought Gad's Hill Place in 1856 which remained his home right up until his death in 1870. In 1857, he formed a relationship with Ellen Ternan, an actress in a collaborative play written with Wilkie Collins. It remains unclear what the exact nature of the relationship was but it was enduring past the time when Dickens separated from his wife in 1858. He continued to support is wife and children and did not divorce her.

The 9th June 1865 was the day when Dickens was involved in rail accident at Staplehurst. Many carriages left the rails owing to a rail worker's mistake and there were fatalities and injuries. Dickens helped amongst the stricken and later managed to retrieve the unfinished manuscript of 'Our Mutual Friend' from the wreckage. He was shaken by the crash and subsequent health problems may have their roots in this accident.

Much of his remaining life was taken up with public readings and public performance which were very popular. He found this increasingly satisfying though the punishing performances and schedules increasingly took a toll on his health. He still managed tours to England, Scotland and Ireland, completed 'Our Mutual Friend' and started his final book, 'The Mystery of Edwin Drood' which remained incomplete at his death. Although unwell, Dickens carried on, against his doctor's advice until he collapsed. He rallied a bit but died on 9th June 1870 at his home in Gad's Hill Place.

He was widely mourned by many and buried in the Poet's Corner of Westminster Abbey.

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