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The Life of Charles Dickens

(1812-1870)

            Charles Dickens was an English author who achieved the status of celebrity during his lifetime, and even today is considered the greatest of the Victorian writers. Inherent in all of his work is a dark nostalgia that seemingly glazes over the text in a mystical haze, while also sharpening scenes and characters through the fog. It is this layer of memories carefully juxtaposed over all of his work that makes the emotional power of Dickens' novels so strong. Out of this mist, his most famous characters arise, including the aspiring writer David Copperfield, the greedy and grumpy Ebenezer Scrooge, the tragic Little Nell, and the twisted Miss Havisham.

           Charles Dickens was born Landport, Hampshire, in 1812. His father was a clerk of the British Navy's pay office by the name of John Dickens, who despite being well paid; often found himself and his family in serious financial troubles. After spending his early years in a school in Chatham, where he was applied special attention from the schoolmaster, Dickens was forced into a bleak reality. His father had wound up in the Marshalea debtor's prison and would not be released until he paid the owed sum of 40 pounds. Not having this money on hand, John Dickens was forced to stay in the prison until he could afford to pay the debt. In order to keep the family afloat financially, John had his son Charles leave the school environment and work in a blacking factory. It was here that Dickens learned of the poor treatment received by the low class in their work place, and grew to loathe child labor. Of this period, Dickens refused to comment to anyone except a close friend by the name of John Forster, who later wrote Dickens' biography.

            After the death of his mother, John Dickens was finally able to pay off his debt, and he immediately had his son quit his job at the factory. Dickens' mother Elizabeth insisted that the young Dickens continue working in the factory, but John Dickens disagreed with her. The two fought bitterly for awhile, and Dickens was never to forget his mother wanting to place him back into that wretched factory. Dickens once again enrolled at school, this time at the Wellington House Academy in London. He spent three years at the school before leaving to attend Mr. Dawson's school in 1827. That same year, Charles was to a law office clerk. It was from these years spent serving in a law office that Dickens derived most of his hatred for lawyers. In 1928, he left his job at the law office and became a stenographer for a London paper. Dickens was so good at what he did that he eventually received an offer to publish a book of sketches. In 1836, SKETCHES BY BOZ was published under the pseudonym of Boz. The collection sold remarkably well for a book of its type. During these years as a shorthand performer, Dickens' reputation grew as a writer, while his opinion of lawmakers diminished. The witness to many an injustice, Dickens was to forever remember how badly the low class was treated by their employers, the government, and the bourgeoisie of Britain.

            In 1929, Dickens met Maria Beadnell, the daughter of a wealthy and respectable banker. The two maintained a relationship until 1933, but it is generally thought that Maria was merely playing Dickens for a fool while she remained available should a wealthy socialite come along to sweep her of her feet. When the relationship ended, Dickens fell into a depressed stupor. His despair, however, was to be to the joy of his readers, however, for the young writer soon became very serious in his writing. These early years were to be some of Dickens' most productive, and as his reputation grew with readers, he began to socialize more often in the literary circles of London. He was soon courting a young woman named Catherine Hogarth through her father, George Hogarth, an editor. They married in 1936, the same year that Dickens was approached to work on a project now known as THE PICKWICK PAPERS. Over that year and the next, Dickens was to work on this novel and publish it in serials that cost a shilling a piece. The venture proved to be very successful economically, with over 40,000 of the installments selling each month they were published.

            The same year as THE PICKWICK PAPERS and his union with Catherine began, Dickens' wife's sister was to move in. Mary Hogarth was a beautiful sixteen-year-old who captivated Dickens, but was to die of an illness in 1937. Dickens was deeply saddened by the death of Mary, and in his depressed state, he was to become more productive than ever. Before THE PICKWICK PAPERS was finished, Dickens began work on two other novels, THE ADVENTURES OF OLIVER TWIST and THE LIFE AND ADVENTURES OF NICHOLAS NICKLEBY. From 1837 to 1839, monthly installments of both novels were published and eagerly bought by both the poor and rich alike. At the cheap price of one shilling, anyone could afford to read Dickens' work, and almost everyone was reading Dickens. His works were the Victorian equivalent of today's soap operas; with readers discussing amongst each other what twists and turns the stories would take in next month's installment. Dickens success, however, was not to remain consistent, for after the publication of THE OLD CURIOUSITY SHOP (1841), Dickens was to begin THE LIFE AND ADVENTURES OF MARTIN CHUZZLEWIT. The novel was a very harsh criticism of America thinly veiled with a story, and did not sell well.

            In order to make some money, Dickens began wrote a novel about a money-grubbing miser by the name of Ebenezer Scrooge. A CHRISTMAS CAROL was published in 1843 to a moderate reception. The book did not sell as well as Dickens had hoped it would, partially because of him. He had wanted illustrations and fancy binding, and in turn the book had become so expensive to make that it could only be afforded by the rich. Nevertheless, the novel was to become a fixture of the Christmas holiday, along with Christmas cards, which were invented the same year as Dickens published A CHRISTMAS CAROL. After finishing THE LIFE AND ADVENTURES OF MARTIN CHUZZLEWIT in 1844, Dickens worked on a number of literary projects, but none were to attain the same popularity as his early work until the serialization of DOMBEY AND SON in 1848. The work proved to be very successful with readers, and Dickens soon had achieved economic stability.

            With his money troubles gone, Dickens received freedom for creativity in his works, and began work on the powerhouse novel DAVID COPPERFIELD. The work would be published from 1849 and 1850, and not only sold well with readers, but also solidified Dickens' reputation as a writer of worth. The work detailed the life of David Copperfield, a young man who aspires to write, but must work for a living before he can accomplish his dreams. The novel is Dickens' most autobiographical, and writing it was a very emotional experience for the aging novelist, as it reopened old wounds. Along with the memories that were recalled during the writing of DAVID COPPERFIELD was a letter from Maria Beadnell, who expressed her devotion still for Dickens. The author became excited with rekindling a relationship with the woman, and invited her to his home. To his surprise and disappointment, however, Maria had become overweight, moronic, and ridiculous in Dickens' eyes. He was later to mock her in his novel LITTLE DORRITT (1855-1857) with the character of Flora Finnich.

            Dickens moved to Gadshill Place, a dwelling he had had his sights set on since his father had pointed out the place to the author as a child, with his wife before the publication of DAVID COPPERFIELD, and their marriage did not survive the novel's completion. Catherine had grown overweight after birthing Dickens' a number of children, and Dickens had come to loathe the woman. His wife was not enjoying his company anymore and he was no longer enjoying hers, so the two separated in 1858. Dickens encouraged his children not to see their mother in spite of the woman, and they were only able to visit her again after the author passed away twelve years later. In this action can be seen the bitterness and desolation inherent in Dickens during his last years. His attitude has been marked as having grown worse after the publication of DAVID COPPERFIELD, as if reliving his many past experiences had squelched the fire within the writer's soul.

            Of interest to the reader is the fact that DAVID COPPERFIELD also marked a division in Dickens' work. Whereas his early work had been characterized by hard workers who were rewarded for their determination in the end, endings became much more unhappy following 1849. With the worry of falling into obscurity always behind the author, Dickens continued writing with a death veil hanging ominously over his life and works. With works with names like BLEAK HOUSE (1853) and HARD TIMES (1854), it is easy to see that Dickens was submerged in depression for much of the early 1850s. One of Dickens' greatest masterpieces was not far behind, however, and in 1859, A TALE OF TWO CITIES, a historical work set in the French Revolution focusing on two men with similar appearances who fall in love with the same woman, was published.

            The following year, Dickens began writing GREAT EXPECTATIONS, one of his most popular works. The novel appeared in monthly installments that sold incredibly well, with readers so wanting to know what would happen to Pip that they literally stormed the boats carrying the monthly chapters in their hold. The work became popular around the world, with the literary phenomenon reaching even Russia, where authors Fyodor Dostoevsky and Leo Tolstoy fell in love with the novel. After the completion of GREAT EXPECTATIONS in 1861, Dickens grew tired of writing, beginning to see it as laborious and tiring. Instead of work, Dickens began to tour across Britain giving readings of his old classics. The tour proved so popular that it was soon continued in America. The author soon became ill in his old age, though, and could not continue the tour after collapsing in 1869. His last public reading was held in City hall, Glasgow, with audience members watching the feeble and dying novelist slowly walk on stage after pausing for a food break consisting of beaten eggs and champagne. Once he took his seat and began reading, however, the old man captivated his audience by reading his old novels with a great energy. His performance proved memorable with many audience members.

            Dickens began work on a mystery novel after his retiring of the tour. THE MYSTERY OF EDWIN DROOL (1870) was planned to consist of twelve monthly installments, but halfway through, Charles Dickens died of a stroke on June 8, 1970. He was buried in the Poet's Corner of Westminster Abbey, London, joining such literary greats as Geoffrey Chaucer, Thomas Hardy, and Rudyard Kipling in their final rest.

The Works of Charles Dickens

Written by Cyanne Topaum

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